Men's Ice Hockey 1/9/2026 11:06:00 PM Joel Norman

LANCERS BATTLE FOR SHOOTOUT WIN VS. CEDAR RAPIDS

The Omaha Lancers remained perfect in 2026 with a 2-1 shootout win over the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Friday night at Liberty First Credit Union Arena.

Jack Stanius and Tanner Morgan scored in the shootout to give Omaha (10-22-1-2) its second straight win beyond regulation after last Saturday's 2-1 overtime win at Sioux Falls. The Lancers improved to 2-2 in shootouts and picked up at least one point for the eighth time in their last 11 games. Just over 60-percent (14) of Omaha's 23 points this season have come since Nov. 29. The Lancers are 6-3-0-2 in their last 11 games.

Devin Shakar stopped 39-of-40 shots in overtime and regulation in his fifth straight start between the pipes. Connor Davis beat him to open the shootout but Stanius immediately responded and then Morgan ended the game, scoring as the final shooter.

After being unable to score on two power plays and a penalty shot in the first period, Cedar Rapids (17-9-1-4) got the game's first goal with Justin Graf netting his team-leading 16th goal of the season at the 5:09 mark of the second. It came early in a period in which they outshot the Lancers, 20-8. Omaha has surrendered the game's first goal in six straight games but its only three wins this season when scoring last have come in that span, joining their 4-3 overtime win vs. Lincoln Dec. 27 and last Saturday's aforementioned triumph at Sioux Falls.

Despite the discrepancy in shots on goal, Cam Caron evened the game up with a five-on-three power-play goal at the 13:42 mark of the second. Reese Lantz's initial shot was denied but Kole Hyles collected the rebound and sent it from the far-post side across ice to Caron, who buried the chance while all alone. Caron has now scored four of his five goals at Liberty First Credit Union Arena. That tally also gave the Lancers their sixth time in the last 10 games scoring a power-play goal. Omaha improved to 8-2-0-1 when scoring on the man advantage.

With Waterloo's 3-0 loss at home to Madison, Omaha moves one point back of the Black Hawks for seventh place in the Western Conference. More importantly, the Lancers are now four points behind Des Moines for sixth place and the final playoff spot in the West.

Omaha travels to Waterloo Saturday night for a 6:35 game at Young Arena. Fans can tune into the action by watching on FloHockey or listening on Mixlr.

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