Men's Ice Hockey 10/31/2026 10:28:00 PM Joel Norman

LANCERS SWEEP WEEKEND HOME-AND-HOME VS. STARS

The Omaha Lancers picked up their first weekend sweep of the season with a 6-4 win over the Lincoln Stars on Saturday night at Liberty First Credit Union Arena.

Matty Lynn and Caine Bickel both scored their first USHL goals in the first period and Omaha (5-6-1-0) once again had to stave off a Lincoln (4-5-1-0) comeback. Adam Israilov scored twice, including the game-winner in the second period. The Lancers held on and recorded their fourth straight win head-to-head vs. the Stars dating back to last season.

For a second straight night, the Lancers took a three-goal lead into the locker room after the opening 20 minutes. Omaha chased goaltender William Prowse from the game with three goals on six shots in the opening 4:13 and led 4-1 after one period. It was the first time that the Lancers scored four goals in a period since April 4 at Lincoln.

The Stars refused to go down quietly, scoring three goals 1:11 apart in the second period to cut the deficit from four goals to one. Lincoln also scored on the power play for a second straight night against Omaha. The Lancers have allowed only four power-play goals through 12 games this season, but half of them have come against the Stars.

Rylan Bydal needed less than a minute to score his fourth goal in the last four games to put the Lancers on the board first. Charlie Vig set Bydal up with a pass from behind the goal line, and Bydal one-timed the shot from the base of the far circle to score on the first shot of the night. It marked the third time in the last four games that Bydal has lit the lamp. His five goals are second-most among Lancers skaters.

Like Bydal, Tanner Morgan also scored for a second straight game when he made it 2-0 Lancers 2:08 into the game. Morgan lit the lamp for the third time in the last four games and also added two assists for his second consecutive multi-point game and third of the season.

Bickel chased Prowse with a power-play goal on the Lancers' first opportunity on the man advantage. Morgan tried to set up Carter Fogarty at the near post with a pass from the far corner, but it was blocked. However, the rebound came perfectly to Bickel and he potted his first USHL goal. That power-play tally was the Lancers' third in the last four games.

The Stars responded on the power play with a goal of their own as well. Jordan Johnson netted his second of the season to break up the three-goal Lancers rally.

Lynn added to the frenetic first period with the final tally of the frame at the 10:28 mark. Lynn led an odd-man rush out of the zone on the right-wing side. He passed the puck to Zach Spagnuolo in the high slot, but Spagnuolo quickly one-touched it back to Lynn, who cashed in for the first time as a Lancer.

The Lancers scored their first goal of the weekend outside of the first period when Israilov padded the lead at the 5:03 mark of the second. Artem Prima's wrist shot from the inside edge of the near circle was redirected by Israilov just in front of the net to make it 5-1 Omaha. Israilov has also recorded a point in all but one game so far, and four of the Lancers' five wins have come since he returned Oct. 10.

Lincoln found its groove late in the second, scoring three times over the final 5:07 to cut the deficit to one. Samuel Murin started the run at the 14:53 mark before Tommy Browne cashed in just eight seconds later off the center-ice faceoff win for his first USHL goal. Greg Najda made it a nail-biter, scoring off another faceoff win at the 16:04 mark for his first USHL goal.

Israilov iced the game with his second goal of the evening at the 8:46 mark of the third. He led the Lancer rush into the Stars' zone by dumping the puck in from the blue line. It ricocheted off the back of the net, and Yegor Kim hustled to the goal line to retrieve the puck and toss it back to Israilov in front to make it 6-4 Omaha.

Anthony Sciere stopped 23 shots to earn back-to-back wins for the first time this season and improve to 5-4-1-0. Saturday marked his sixth consecutive start and seventh straight game playing at least 47 minutes.

The Lancers are on the road for both games next weekend as they play at Tri-City next Friday and then Sioux City next Saturday. Tickets can be purchased at lancers.com.

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Players Mentioned

#35 Anthony Sciere: G; 6' 1"; Redshirt

#13 Caine Bickel: F; 5' 10"; Redshirt

#51 Carter Fogarty: F; 5' 8"; Redshirt

#14 Charlie Vig: F; 6' 3"; Redshirt

#2 Matty Lynn: F; 5' 10"; Redshirt

#9 Rylan Bydal: F; 5' 11"; Redshirt

#10 Yegor Kim: F; 5' 9"; Redshirt

#11 Tanner Morgan: F; 5' 9"; Redshirt

#17 Artem Prima: F; 6' 0"; Redshirt

#88 Adam Israilov: F; 6' 0"; Redshirt

#3 Zach Spagnuolo: D; Redshirt

Players Mentioned

#35 Anthony Sciere
: 6' 1"; Redshirt
: G

#13 Caine Bickel
: 5' 10"; Redshirt
: F

#51 Carter Fogarty
: 5' 8"; Redshirt
: F

#14 Charlie Vig
: 6' 3"; Redshirt
: F

#2 Matty Lynn
: 5' 10"; Redshirt
: F

#9 Rylan Bydal
: 5' 11"; Redshirt
: F

#10 Yegor Kim
: 5' 9"; Redshirt
: F

#11 Tanner Morgan
: 5' 9"; Redshirt
: F

#17 Artem Prima
: 6' 0"; Redshirt
: F

#88 Adam Israilov
: 6' 0"; Redshirt
: F

#3 Zach Spagnuolo
: Redshirt
: D