Tri-City Tops Lancers in Topsy-Turvy Tilt
September 20, 2013 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Omaha Lancers News Release
OMAHA, NE - In their final preseason action of the 2013-14 campaign, the Omaha Lancers fought back from down 3-0 to force overtime, but eventually succumb to the Tri-City Storm 5-4 Friday at Moylan Iceplex in Omaha. With the loss, the Lancers finished the 2013 preseason at 2-0-2, heading into Friday's regular-season opener vs. Fargo at Ralston Arena.
After a tight-checking start to the game, the Storm opened the scoring at 16:12 of the first, when Joel L'Esperance slipped the icebreaker past Omaha netminder Cole Bruns on feeds from Garrett Gamez and Robbie Payne for a 1-0 Tri-City lead. After a long lull to start a chippy second period that featured six total fights, the Storm broke things open with a pair of goals less than a minute apart, from Thomas Delaney at 12:52 and Troy Dello at 13:53 respectively, to grab hold of a commanding 3-0 advantage. The Lancers' response was quick in coming, however, as Jake Henderson put Omaha on the board at 14:30, thanks to seeing-eye feeds from Jake Randolph and Tucker Poolman.
In the third, it didn't take long for Omaha to get rolling, as Gage Hough drew the Lancers within a goal just 21 seconds into the period, courtesy of Brendan Smith and Ryan Tait and then, just shy of the five minute mark, Omaha tied the game on a slick transition tally from Jimmy Schuldt with the assists credited to Henderson and Drew Melanson.
After three unanswered Lancers goals, the Storm took a short-lived lead on a Dan Labosky goal at 13:17 before Hough punched right back, just over a minute later, for his second of the game, assisted by Jake Randolph at 14:34 to tie things at four apiece and ultimately send the game to overtime. After Bruns turned aside both an overtime penalty shot and an extra-session breakaway chance for Tri-City, the Storm netted the game winner with just 23 seconds to play, Gamez's second score of the game, to earn the 5-4 victory.
Next up for the Lancers, it's the 2013-14 USHL regular season home-opener, as the Lancers play host to the defending Western Conference playoff champion Fargo Force on Friday, September 27th at Ralston Arena with the opening faceoff set for 7:05 pm. For tickets, call the Lancers ticket office at 402-344-7825, extension 1, visit the Ralston Arena box office, or reserve your seats online at homepridetix.com. Come early for the 2013 Lancers Fan Fest at 5:00 pm, complete with food specials, an on-site beer garden, free mobile-gaming truck and great tunes from the Fuse Weekly crew all the way up until puck drop.
In 2013-14, the five-time Anderson Cup and seven-time Clark Cup Champion Omaha Lancers drop the puck on their 28th season in the USHL. Season ticket packages for the Lancers' second campaign at the state-of-the-art Ralston Arena are available now starting at just $12.50 per game! To reserve your seats, contact the Lancers' ticket office today at 402-344-7825, extension 1, or log on to www.lancers.com for more information. Be sure to follow the Lancers on Twitter @OmahaLancers and don't forget to 'Like' the official "Omaha Lancers" fan page on Facebook.
United States Hockey League Stories from September 20, 2013
- Gamez Scores Winner for Tri-City in OT - Tri-City Storm
- Fargo Tops Sioux City 3-2 in Season Opener - Sioux City Musketeers
- Inexperienced Phantoms Struggle in Season Opener vs. Team USA - Youngstown Phantoms
- Tri-City Tops Lancers in Topsy-Turvy Tilt - Omaha Lancers
- Ice Open Regular Season Saturday at Team USA - Indiana Ice
- Stampede Weekly Update: Herd Open Regular Season Tomorrow Night - Sioux Falls Stampede
- Pick Your Player, Choose Your Charity - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Affiliate Dylan Malmquist Commits to Notre Dame - Muskegon Lumberjacks
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