OMAHA, NE - The Omaha Lancers resumed their I-29 rivalry with the Sioux Falls Stampede at Liberty First Credit Union Arena Friday night, in what was their first of two meetings in back-to-back nights. This was just their third meeting with one another this season, in which the season series had been evenly matched, with Omaha holding a head-to-head record of 1-1-1-0 coming into tonight's contest with Sioux Falls. Meanwhile, Coach David Wilkie has held an impressive 13-6-4-1 record against the Stampede since being the head coach of Omaha in the fall of 2017. However, during that time span in which Coach Wilkie has faced off against Sioux Falls, Wilkie's teams had been narrowly outscored overall 72-71. So history would certainly tell you that Omaha's goaltending and team defense were the overall keys to victory against the Stampede in recent years.

The Lancers came out in the first period red hot; putting offensive pressure on Sioux Falls early.

The scoring would start with Lancer forward Libor Nemec who would net his first career USHL goal on a rebound with the initial shot coming from defenseman Nate Benoit to make it 1-0 Lancers.

The Lancers were not done as later on at the 10:07 mark, forward Aleksi Kivioja deflects one in the slot from a shot coming from the point compliments of defenseman Adam Cardona to stretch the Lancers' lead at 2-0.

There would be a delay however, as right after Kivioja's goal, Aleksi would appear to get a little over zealous, as he would celebrate by throwing his 6'5 205 lb. frame into the glass, and would damage the Plexiglas enough for it to be replaced.

In what seemed like an eternity for the replacement of the broken Plexiglas, one had to worry that the Lancers' momentum would falter. That would not be the case however, as the Lancers continued to cycle the puck relentlessly to sustain offensive zone pressure throughout the rest of the opening frame.

The Lancers were unable to score in the final 10:07 of the first and would hold the 2-0 lead going into the locker room.

The second period picked up where the first period had left off, as Omaha would continue to dictate play on both ends of the ice as well as puck possession.

Midway through the frame however, Sioux Falls would answer, as forward Samuel Harris would capitalize off a Lancer turnover from below the goal line to cut the deficit in half at 2-1.

The Lancers would respond with continuous offensive pressure, but Sioux Falls netminder Xavier Medina was up to the task stopping all 11 second period Lancer shots.

The Lancers would go into the second intermission still up 2-1.

The third period had a desperate Sioux Falls club look to tie it or perhaps even steal one in regulation.

However, Lancers' star goaltender Kevin Pasche would have none of it, as he continues to look as good as he has ever been, stopping all 12 third period Sioux Falls shots.

The Lancers would officially put it away with an empty netter coming from forward Drew Montgomery who would out hustle all 6 Sioux Falls players down the ice to bury it, giving Omaha the 3-1 victory.

The Lancers will be back in action tomorrow night against the very same Sioux Falls club at Liberty First Credit Union Arena in what should be yet another thrilling showdown. Puck drop is at 6:05 CST. You can catch the game on Mixlr or FloSports.