Stars Weekly
April 2, 2018 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release
LAST WEEK...
Friday, March 30: Stars 7, Fargo Force 2Shots: Stars 39, Force 27
PP: Stars 1-for-2, Force 0-for-2
The Lincoln Stars (31-21-1-1)
After an early goal from Force defenseman John Schuldt (0:59 1st), the Stars scored five-unanswered goals starting with forward Paul Cotter (10:44 1st) followed by two more from forward Devlin McCabe (0:57 2nd) and defenseman Carter Long (4:24 2nd) to take a 3-1 lead into the third period. Stars forwards Josiah Slavin (3:47 3rd) and Cotter (PP, 7:27 3rd) spread the lead to 5-1 before Force forward Griffin Loughran (9:32 3rd) answered back. Stars forwards Ashton Calder (17:16 3rd) and Zach Dubinsky (19:08 3rd) finished the scoring line at 7-2.
Stars goaltender Tomáš Vomá?ka (22-17-0) halted 25 of 27 shots in the win, while Force netminder Strauss Mann (19-8-3) stopped 32 of 39 shots in the loss.
Saturday, March 31: Stars 2, Fargo Force 3Shots: Stars 31, Force 34
PP: Stars 1-for-5, Force 2-for-4
The Lincoln Stars (31-22-1-1)
Stars forward Dominick Mersch (9:52 1st) scored the game's opening goal in the first period before two goals from Force forwards A.J. Drobot (SH, 2:06 2nd) and William Fallstrom (PP, 3:34 2nd) gave the home side a 2-1 lead. Stars forward Gustaf Westlund (PP, 4:33 2nd) tied the game, 2-2, moments later. However, Force forward Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup (PP, 14:31 2nd) pushed Fargo ahead 3-2 where the score would remain.
Force netminder Ryan Bischel (14-8-4) stopped 29 of 31 shots in the win, while Stars goaltender Tomáš Vomá?ka (22-18-0) saved 31 of 34 shots in the loss.
THIS WEEK...
Wednesday, April 4 vs. Des Moines Buccaneers - 8:05 p.m.
Friday, April 6 @ Tri-City Storm - 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, April 7 vs. Tri-City Storm - 7:05 p.m.
The Lincoln Stars play their final three-game week with a home meeting against the Des Moines Buccaneers on Wednesday followed by a road game against the Tri-City Storm on Friday and the regular season home finale against the Storm. The Stars have bested the Buccaneers in seven of their eight meetings this season with three of four coming at the Ice Box. However, seven of those eight games have been a two-goal differential with two of their last three meetings going into post-regulation play. The Stars have taken 11 of their last 15 games against the Buccaneers, improving to 64-31-0-3 overall in the club series. The Stars are also 36-13-0-1 at the Ice Box. The Stars will play the Storm for the first time since December 27, and the Storm have taken all five games against the Stars with three games left over the next two weeks. Since their last meeting, the Stars are 20-12-1-1 while the Storm are 12-16-2-2. The Stars own a 73-42-3-5 against the Storm since 2002-03.
PROMOTIONS:
WEDNESDAY: The Stars are offering $5 "Party Like a Rockstar" (Rockstar Energy Drink and vodka) drink specials throughout the game for the 8:05 p.m. start time.
SATURDAY: Fan Appreciation Night comes with a lot of surprises and bonuses for the final home game of the regular season. First, the Huge Announcement will be made at 6:00 p.m. in the Ice Box. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., and fans will be asked to go directly to their seats upon entering the building. More surprises will be given following the announcements.
The Des Moines Buccaneers split their two-game weekend with a 5-1 loss to the Sioux City Musketeers on Saturday followed by a 3-2 overtime win on Sunday over the Dubuque Fighting Saints. 10 different players posted points with forward Reed Lebster the only skater with a multi-point weekend (2 assists). Forward Marshall Rifai scored the lone goal on Saturday, while forward Kaden Bohlsen, Nicolas Werbik and Mike Hardman scored on Sunday with Hardman's being the game-winner. Goaltender Roman Durny stopped 49 of 56 shots over the weekend, and Jake Kucharski halted all 13 shots in relief on Sunday.
The Tri-City Storm fell 5-2 on Friday night against the Sioux City Musketeers as well as 4-2 to the Sioux Falls Stampede on Saturday night. Defenseman Hugo Blixt scored one goal in each game and accounted for half of the team's scoring. Defenseman Mike Koster and forward Filip Forsmark also tallied goals with Koster's on Friday and Forsmark's on Saturday. Goaltender Jake Barczewski stopped 71 of 78 shots throughout the weekend.
Western Conference Outlook:
The shuffle for the top-four spots in the conference continues with the Waterloo Black Hawks holding a slim advantage thanks to an 11-game point streak over the last month. The Fargo Force and Omaha Lancers kept their deadlock for second place, while the Sioux Falls Stampede stayed one point behind to complete the two-point spread through the top-four. The Lincoln Stars took sole possession of fifth place with a split weekend along with two losses by the Tri-City Storm. The Sioux City Musketeers won both games last weekend to keep hope alive for a playoff spot. The Des Moines Buccaneers also split their two-game weekend.
STAR BITS...
The Stars stand just three points away from making a return to the Clark Cup Playoffs. The Stars can clinch by themselves this week with either two wins or one win with one overtime or shootout loss. The Stars can also clinch with a win paired with a Sioux City loss, an overtime or shootout loss with a Sioux City regulation loss, or three points lost by Sioux City. The Stars and Sioux City each play three times this week, and the Stars have five games remaining in the regular season.
The month of March was the most successful span this season despite a rigorous schedule. The Stars went 10-2-0-0 during their 12-game month, which included the bulk of a 10-game win streak as well as a sweep of their six-day, nine-day stretch midway through the month. The team set new season-highs for wins, points (20) and win percentage (.833), surpassing their previous highs set in February of six wins, 13 points and a .722 win percentage. Scoring became a large storyline, averaging 3.58 goals per game while holding opponents to two goals or less in nine of 12 contests. At the same time, the Stars rose from a battle for sixth place to a nine-point lead with just two weeks remaining in the season.
United States Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2018
- Stars Weekly - Lincoln Stars
- USHL Names Players of the Week for Week 26 - USHL
- Storm Storylines - Tri-City Storm
- Rockstar Drink Night Wednesday with the Stars - Lincoln Stars
- Stampede Rally to Top Storm 4-2 - Sioux Falls Stampede
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