LINCOLN, NE. – The Lancers were on the prowl for a weekend split at the Ice Box after falling to the Lincoln Stars on home ice last night (4/7) in a hard-fought 6-4 loss.
Omaha was also looking to keep their special teams in check after going 2/3 on the man advantage, and a perfect 3/3 on the penalty kill. Power-play goals came from Adam Cardona and Matt Romer.
With six games left to play heading into tonight (4/8) the Lancers find themselves eight points out of a Clark Cup Playoff spot. Essentially meaning the Lancers need to be close to perfect in the final stretch of the regular season and hope the Sioux Falls Stampede and Des Moines Buccaneers drop a handful of games in the process.
Even though Lincoln has secured home ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs, they still find themselves with the goal of hopping the Waterloo Black Hawks for second place in the west to grab a first-round bye. And prior to game time tonight, the Stars are just one point back.
The Lancers wasted no time getting on the board as Haden Kruse netted a breakaway goal while shorthanded to score his second goal of the season and pull the Lancers ahead 1-0 just over three minutes into the game.
Tanner Ludtke scored on a one-timer to lock the game at one goal apiece at the halfway mark of the period. A score the teams would carry out to the intermission.
The Lancers found themselves shorthanded for 6:15 of the first period as Mateo Picozzi picked up both a cross-checking and tripping minor. Followed by Jamison Sluys getting booked for a double-minor high stick with 2:15 left to play in the period.
The second period was an entertaining one.
Kevin Pasche stopped all 21 shots he saw in the middle frame, holding Lincoln to just one goal on the night, while his offense netted two goals on five second period shots.
Ryan Kusler scored five-hole on Stars netminder, Lucas Massie for his fifth of the season, with Aleksi Kivioja and Tucker Shedd picking up the assists.
Just over nine minutes later the Lancers were handed their first powerplay of the evening, and capitalized.
Matt Romer tipped the puck to Nick Pierre who found Drew Montgomery in the right side faceoff circle. Montgomery then picked the top corner on Massie to find the twine for his second goal of the weekend, and ninth of the season, sending the Lancers into the second intermission, up 3-1.
Omaha also managed to win two fights in the middle frame as Aleksi Kivioja took down Jimmy Jurcev with less than six minutes left in the period. Followed by William Smith handing a beating to Patrick Raftery less than a minute later.
The third period sparked an offensive wave for the Stars as Antonio Fernandez netted two power-play goals within the first 1:20 of the period to tie the game up at three.
It wasn't until 12 minutes later when the game-winner was scored as Doug Grimes tipped in a shot off the stick of Cole Crusberg-Roseen to pull the Stars up 4-3. Grimes would also capture the empty netter from his own end with 1:35 remaining in regulation to snag the 5-3 victory for Lincoln.
The Stars out shot the Lancers 49-21 on the night as Omaha goaltender, Kevin Pasche stopped 44 of 48 shots faced, good for a 0.917 save percentage.
The Lancers will be back at it Friday, April 14th at home as they will take on the Waterloo Black Hawks. Puck drop is set for 7:05PM CST. That game can be caught on FloSports and Mixlr.
