USHL Lincoln Stars

Stars Win 12th Straight Game

February 14, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release


The Lincoln Stars moved six points ahead of the Sioux Falls Stampede for first place in the Western Conference with an 8-3 win on Friday night at the Ice Box.

Lincoln (31-11-1-0) erupted for three goals in the first period with all three tallies coming on their first six shots of the game. The Stars struck three more times in the second, albeit in very different fashion. All three goals came in the final 3:05 of the period after Sioux Falls (27-11-2-1) had cut the deficit to two on a power-play goal at the 14:59 mark. Lincoln has won 12 straight games and nine straight home games.

Gio DiGiulian recorded his fourth multi-goal game and second of the month with two tallies late in the second period. DiGiulian has 20 points (9+11) over his last 15 games.

Former Stampede forward Hunter Anderson recorded three assists against his former team. He extended his point streak to nine games and has 12 points (2+10) during it. Anderson has 16 points (4+12) in 13 games since being acquired by the Stars Jan. 9 and has registered at least one point in 11 of those games while recording four multi-point efforts with Lincoln.

"Everyone has taken me in," Anderson said. "It's been easy to get comfy here. The friendships I've made already have been awesome. It's a great group of boys here."

Dashel Oliver got the scoring started with his 19th goal at the 6:55 mark. The fourth-year Star brought the puck north in the midst of a line change and scored on a wrist shot from atop the left circle. Oliver extended his point streak to 12 games and now has 23 points (10+13) in that span. That goal marked the fifth consecutive game that the Stars scored first and the 14th time in their last 16 games.

Alex Pelletier added to the lead by scoring from nearly the same spot just under two minutes later. Anderson picked up his first point with a drop pass from Pelletier, who scored his 12th goal of the season. Anderson helped provide a screen and Pelletier delayed long enough to double up the Lincoln lead.

Anderson earned his second assist a goal later when his shot from even with the goal line near side was denied but the rebound bounced up to the top of the far circle to Tanner Henricks, who found Daniel Shlaine near side. Shlaine waited and beat goaltender Waylon Esche down low to make it 3-0, Lincoln, at the 12:35 mark of the first. Shlaine has recorded a point in 13 straight home games and has 21 points (8+13) in that time.

DiGiulian scored his first of two goals at the 16:55 mark of the second to restore the three-goal lead. He cashed in on a wrist shot from the right circle on a two-on-one rush with Oliver to help the Stars' respond after a Stampede power-play goal just under two minutes prior. DiGiulian scored again on a beautiful play in the final minute of the period. Oliver fed the puck to him far-post side from behind the net and DiGiulian banked it in at the 19:13 mark for his 19th goal of the season.

In between DiGiulian goals, Caeden Herrington netted his 11th goal shortly after at the 18:24 mark on a give-and-go play with Jack Pechar. Herrington entered the zone after forcing a turnover and dropped the puck off to Pechaar before cutting to the net on the right-wing side. The return feed to Herrington couldn't be cleanly received but Herrington did enough to get his stick on the puck and work it five hole for Lincoln's largest lead of the night at the time. Herrington is tied with Dubuque's Matthew Desiderio for the USHL lead in goals among defenseman.

Kade Kohanski picked up his second goal in the last three games and sixth overall in the third period. Lefty Markonidis peeled free from a tie up behind the Sioux Falls' net to set Kohanski up all alone in front to give the Stars a 7-1 lead at the 3:10 mark of the third.

Bruno Idzan netted his 11th goal after the Stampede cut the deficit back to five goals on a power-play tally. Idzan sniped the puck top-right corner off a pass from Shlaine to make it 8-2. The Stampede scored the game's final goal 28 seconds later for the final tally of the game.

Lincoln holds the top record in the USHL and looks for another weekend sweep Saturday night at 6:05 as it faces Sioux Falls again at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. Fans can listen live to the action on Mixlr or watch live with a FloHockey subscription. Coverage on the Lincoln Stars Hockey Network begins at 5:40.

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United States Hockey League Stories from February 14, 2025


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