Weekend Series In Youngstown Awaits Lancers
Published on February 17, 2010 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Omaha Lancers News Release
The Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) took two of three games last week and in doing so, enter the upcoming weekend of USHL action atop the West Division. Omaha (30-12-3, 63 Pts.) currently sits two points up on 2nd-place Fargo and now just six standings points behind USHL-leading Green Bay. The Lancers earned a pair of lopsided victories last week starting with an 8-2 win in Des Moines over the Buccaneers on Thursday followed by a 6-1 victory over the Youngstown Phantoms on Sunday in the first ever meeting between the two franchises. Sandwiched in between those outings was a 5-2 setback at the hands of the Chicago Steel Saturday in the first annual "Hockey Night in Omaha" presented by First National Bank. The recent weekend at home was the last such weekend the Lancers will see for quite a while. Omaha's upcoming weekend series in Youngstown is the first of four consecutive weekends on the road for the Lancers and the beginning of eight straight road tilts for the first-place team in the West Division. After this weekend, Omaha travels to Lincoln and Sioux City next Friday and Saturday before embarking on weekend sets to Green Bay and Indiana the first two weeks of March. Omaha then closes the regular season with seven straight contests at home. The travel begins this weekend as the Lancers make their first-ever trip east to Youngstown to battle the Phantoms this Friday and Saturday. Youngstown (15-26-2, 32 Pts.) is currently tied for 6th place in the East Division with Team USA and is a full 14 standings points back of the fourth and final playoff spot in the division currently held by Waterloo. The Phantoms have dropped nine of their last 10 games entering the week and 15 of their last 17 overall.
Friday, February 19th @ Youngstown Phantoms, 7:15 PM EST (6:15 CST), Covelli Centre
Saturday, February 20th @ Youngstown Phantoms, 7:15 PM EST (6:15 CST), Covelli Centre
**Radio coverage for both games can be found on 1290 AM KKAR or www.1290kkar.com beginning with the Valpak pre-game show at 6:00 PM CST.**
NEWS & NOTES FOR THE WEEKEND
The Omaha Lancers are currently tied with the Fargo Force for most road victories (15) in the West Division. Only Green Bay (17) and Cedar Rapids (16) have more road wins in the USHL.
Omaha has tallied the most goals (183) of any team in the USHL while having allowed the second fewest goals-against (114) of any team in the league. The Lancers are also first and second respectively in goals-for per game (4.07) and goals-against per contest (2.53).
The Lancers own by far the best goals-for to goals-against differential in first period action this season at +40. Sioux Falls has the next best opening period goal differential at +22. This has been a large contributor to Omaha having tallied a league-leading 33 first goals this season. The Lancers are 25-7-1 when scoring first.
Facing the USHL's second stingiest defense doesn't appear to be a very favorable match-up for a Youngstown squad that has netted the league's 3rd fewest goals (125) this season. The Phantoms have particularly struggled of late notching just seven goals over the last six games.
Omaha is the only team in the USHL to currently boast a pair of 60-point producers in Matt White and Erik Haula. White is currently 2nd among all USHL skaters with 68 points while Haula is 3rd with 61 total points.
With five shutouts this season, the Lancers are tied with the Sioux Falls Stampede for most shutouts in the league. Omaha's Jeff Teglia currently ranks second among all USHL netminders with 3 shutouts this season.
United States Hockey League Stories from February 17, 2010
- Bitetto's Five Points Pace Indiana In Romp - Youngstown Phantoms
- Weekend Series In Youngstown Awaits Lancers - Omaha Lancers
- Curtis Carr Named Phantoms Interim Head Coach - Youngstown Phantoms
- National Team Development Program Weekly Update - U.S. National Team
- Overtime Extraordinaires - Waterloo Black Hawks
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