OMAHA @ TRI-CITY Friday, Nov. 6, 7:05 p.m. CDT Viaero Center
OMAHA @ SIOUX CITY Saturday, Nov. 7, 6:05 p.m. CDT Tyson Events Center
The Lancers (5-6-1-0): Coming off a weekend home-and-home series sweep of the Lincoln Stars… For the first time since March 5th and 6th of 2021, the Lancers swept their arch-rivals in that circumstance… Accounted for 7 first-period goals over the weekend against the Stars… Lancers had just 3 first-period goals entering last weekend… Lancers scored 9 total goals against the Stars in the home-and-home series last week… that's the most the Lancers have scored over a weekend against Lincoln since January 15th and 16th of 2021, when the Lancers netted 11 total tallies in that go-around… Have lost their last 13 meetings to the Sioux City Musketeers, with their last win coming on New Year's Eve of 2023… Have been outscored 11-4 through their first 3 meetings this season with the Tri-City Storm…
The Storm (10-3-0-0): Tied with Lincoln atop the league in fewest goals against in the second period of play with just 11… Has 11 empty-net goals so far this season, which is the most in the league… The second-most empty-net tallies come by way of Cedar Rapids with 5… Has given up just 1 goal to opposing d-men this season, which is best in the USHL… Has been outshot by Omaha in each of their first three meetings this season… Has faced 407 total shots on goal so far this season, which is the third most in the league…
The Musketeers (4-9-1-0): Have given up 25 third-period goals this season, which is the most in the USHL… Sioux City and the Lancers are the only two teams that have yet to score on an empty-net tally… Leads the league in 'Misconduct' penalties (16) and leads the league in 'Delay of Game' penalties (3) … Have sustained 9 'Holding' calls this season as well, which is the second most in the USHL, only to Youngstown… Had scored 7 power-play goals over the last 4 meetings against the Lancers a season ago… The Lancers have not scored multiple power-play goals in a game against the Muskies since December 11, 2021… The Musketeers have scored multiple power-play goals against Omaha in a single game 6 different times in that same time span…
First Period Woes Over?: The Lancers had started the season with just two first-period goals through their first 8 games of the season… Since then, the Lancers have scored 8 first-period markers in their last 4 matchups, and are 3-1-0-0 during that span… The lone game of those 4 matchups that the Lancers went empty-handed in the opening frame was their 3-0 shutout loss to the Tri-City Storm… The Lancers have had 6 different goal scorers in the first period of play this season…
Lancers To Watch: Rylan Bydal continues to improve as the Grand Forks, North Dakota native netted a goal in both games against the Stars last weekend… Bydal has 4 goals in his last 4 games… Tanner Morgan has also ramped up his offense lately… The third-year veteran forward also netted a goal in each game over the weekend against the Lincoln Stars… Morgan has 3 goals over the last 4 games…
Storm Players To Watch: Jackson Smith is the second-leading scorer for the Tri-City Storm with 15 points (3+12) … Smith has just one assist in three games against Omaha this season… Cooper Ernewein has 10 points (4+6) so far this season… However, Ernewein has been held off the scorers' sheet in each of his three games against the Lancers…
Musketeers To Watch: Former Lancer Dakotah Bailey has 5 points (3+2) through 13 games played this season… Bailey is currently riding a 5-game scoreless drought… Max Anderson was the league leader in penalty minutes a season ago (199) … The Miami of Ohio commit is already sitting on 32 penalty minutes this season…
This Date In Lancers History (Nov. 6, 1998): The Lancers extended their win streak to 8 games with a 1-0 win over the Lincoln Stars before a packed Ice Box... Despite the victory, Lancers head coach Mike Hastings was not thrilled after the final 30 minutes of play, and he expressed his frustrations with Lincoln head coach Steve Johnson during their post-game celebrations. "I think Mike said it best when he told me we kicked their butts for the last 30 minutes," Johnson told the Lincoln Journal Star. "Omaha is the best team in junior hockey right now, and I don't think there is any question about that. We may not be at their level yet, but it won't be long before we are."
This Date In Lancers History (Nov. 7, 1987): The Lancers came back from a 4-0 deficit to defeat the Dubuque Fighting Saints, 7-6, for their second-ever win in franchise history... "We started to click," Lancers head coach Shawn Jones told the Omaha World-Herald. "We played the way I know we can play, and it should not have been that close. We outshot them 2-1." Lancers had 51 shots on goal to Dubuque's 26... The Lancers' Rocky Maas was the lone multi-goal scorer for Omaha, netting two of their goals...
