Black and Blue: The Unofficial Lincoln Stars Blog

Congrats to Matt Friese!

2012-01-29T11:54:00.000-06:00

According to the Lincoln Stars official Twitter account, forward Matt Friese has accepted a scholarship to play hockey at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, starting the fall of 2012. Friese is a native of Wasilla, AK, so he'll be playing close to home next season. Click here to read the tweet.

Through 36 games for the Stars this season, Friese has scored 20 points (7g, 13a), and is +11. Matt got off to a bit of a slow start for the Stars this season, but has since turned it on and is racking up the points. Lately he's been playing on the same like with fellow Alaskan Jared Hanson, and those two have been clicking extremely well together. In my opinion, Friese the fastest skater on the team and uses his speed to his advantage.

Back in 2010, Friese originally committed to the University of Alaska-Anchorage but then later de-committed. Matt was originally drafted by the USHL Tri-City Storm, but was later traded to the Chicago Steel. After 10 games with the Steel last season, Friese went back to Alaska to play for the Alaska Avalanche of the NAHL. After a solid season with the Avalanche in 2010-11, the Lincoln Stars selected Friese in the fifth round of the 2011 USHL Entry Draft.

Congrats once again to Matt! Very well deserved.

Snapshots of the Game: Des Moines vs. Lincoln 1/27

2012-01-29T11:02:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Jeff White and Brandon Anderson for letting me post some of their photos from the Des Moines game on Friday night. Check out Jeff's "Depicted Image" Facebook page and Brandon's "BA Photos" Facebook page.

Click the "Read more" link underneath the photo below to see all of the pictures in this series.

Jonathan Grebosky scores on a breakaway in the second period to give Lincoln a 1-0 lead

Dominik Shine

Jared Hanson getting ready to shoot, and score his second goal of the game

Hanson celebrates with Matt Friese after Hanson's second goal of the game

Luke Johnson gets ready for a faceoff

Jared Hanson celebrates with his teammates after scoring his first goal of the game

Mike McKee (L) and Patrick Kirtland (R) hang out of the penalty box in the third period

Goal?

Matt Friese of the Stars battles for position in front of Bucs goaltender Jason Kasdorf

Another photo of Jonathan Grebosky's backhand shot going into the net

Mike McKee of the Stars jawing with Patrick Kirtland of the Bucs while each were in the penalty box

Dominik Shine reacts after assisting on Luke Johnson's third period goal

Dax Lauwers connects with a left hand to the face of Patrick Kirtland

Dax Lauwers puts Patrick Kirtland on his butt for the second time in one shift late in the game

B³ Postgame Recap 1/27: Des Moines 2, Lincoln 5

2012-01-27T22:46:00.005-06:00

With six players out of the lineup due to suspension or injury, a shorthanded Lincoln Stars team played a complete game tonight at the IceBox to beat the Des Moines Buccaneers by a score of 5-2. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the win and the two points, the Stars improved to 21-13-2 (44 points) and are now tied for first place in the USHL Western Conference with the Omaha Lancers who lost at home tonight to the Tri-City Storm by a score of 3-2. Click here to view the current USHL standings.

In the first period, both teams came out strong and put a number of good shots on goal but both goaltenders were up to the task. Des Moines would outshoot Lincoln 14-12 in the first twenty minutes, but the Bucs' Jason Kasdorf, and the Stars' Charles Williams stopped every shot they saw.

In the second period, the Stars would get on the scoreboard first when Jonathan Grebosky got behind the play and after getting a pass from Teemu Tiitinen, broke in alone on a Kasdorf and roofed a backhand shot into the net to give Lincoln a 1-0 lead. Grebosky's goal, which came just 57 seconds into the second period, was his second of the season.

A little over two minutes after Grebosky's goal, Jared Hanson scored on a deflection to give the Stars a 2-0 lead. A point shot by Ralfs Freibergs was tipped in by Hanson who was positioned in front of Kasdorf. Luke Johnson and Feibergs collected the assists on Hanson's 17th goal of the season.

Jared Hanson would strike once again at the 9:55 mark of the second when he fired the puck past Kasdorf, high and on the stick side, to give Lincoln a 3-0 lead. Matt Friese and Luke Johnson picked up the assists on Hanson's 18th goal. Hanson has already doubled his goal output from last season with 18 goals through 31 games played. Last season, Hanson scored 9 goals in 53 games played.

With 4:22 left in the second period, the Bucs finally got on the board when Chad McDonald collected his own rebound off a blocked shot and wristed the puck past Charles Williams to pull Des Moines to within one goal at 3-1. At this point in the game, I thought the Bucs were buzzing and playing much better, but a late Stars goal in the second period pretty much sealed the victory.

With only 40 seconds remaining in the third period, Stars forward Kevin Roy wristed the puck past Kasdorf to give Lincoln a 4-1 lead going into the second intermission. From my seat, it appeared the shot by Roy may have been deflected by a Des Moined player before it found the back of the net. Logan Smith earned the lone assist on Roy's league-leading 29th goal of the season.

In the third period, both teams would trade goals with Lincoln scoring early in the period and the Bucs scoring late. At the 3:11 mark, Luke Johnson collected a rebound to the left of Kasdof and buried the puck into an open net to increase the Lincoln lead to 5-1. Dominik Shine and Kevin Roy assisted on Johnson's tenth goal of the season. Very late in the period, with the Bucs on a powerplay, Duggie Lagrone of Des Moines shot the puck past a screened Charles Williams to score the last goal of the game. Lagrone's goal came with only 8 seconds remaining in the game.

Stars outshot the Bucs overall, 37-35. Lincoln goaltender Charles Williams was solid in net as he stopped 33 of 35 shots on net to record his ninth win of the season. Des Moines netminder Jason Kasdorf stopped 32 of 37 shots in the loss.

There were some fireworks late in this game when Dax Lauwers had two HUGE hits on the Bucs' Jason Kirtland. Earlier in the third period, Kirtland was whistled for a charging penalty that some of the Stars players took exception too. Shortly after Kirtland was released from the penalty box, Dax Lauwers dropped the mitts with Kirtland but for some reason the linesmen waiting until the players started to throw the first punches before they intervened and stopped the fight. The early stop to the fight had all of the fans in attendance scratching their heads.

So late in the third period, Dax caught Kirtland with a huge check near the Stars' bench which sent Kirtland head over skates into the bench. The crowd went nuts. Shortly after that, Lauwers caught Kirtland again withh an open ice check that sent Kirtland immediately to the ice. Lauwers was whistled for interference on the second hit, and as he was going to the penalty box, two Des Moines players (Connor Schmidt and Trent Samuels-Thomas) came off the Bucs bench to try to get at Lauwers. Schmidt and Samuels-Thomas were held back by the linesmen and were immediately sent to the locker room after receiving misconduct penalties.

Here's some video of two Lauwers hits, and the aftermath. The video quality from the IceBox isn't the greatest (worst in the league, in my opinion), and the camera person doesn't pick up the first Lauwers hit in which he sent Kirtland into the Stars bench.

Lincoln was only awarded one powerplay on the night and were not able to score on it. Des Moines went 1-for-6 on the powerplay. Referee Steve Thomson had a brutal game, in my opinion. During the pregame lineups, Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye said Thomson was "one of the best referees in the USHL." Uhh, I don't think so (unless Melbye was being sarcastic). Thomson missed a number of calls on both teams. Stars were awarded one powerplay in this game. One. You can't tell me that the Bucs were angels all night long. Brutal performance by Thomson and I hope he never shows his face at the IceBox again this season.

As I mentioned above, the Stars were missing the following six players due to injury or suspension: Jackson Teichroeb (suspension), Paul LaDue (suspension), Zach Frye (suspension), Brent Tate (suspension), Will Suter (suspension), and Markus McCrea (injury).

Gutsy effort by all of the Stars on the ice. With the shorthanded bench, I was worried that by the third period some or all of the players might get gassed and tire out. However, I didn't see that at all. There was energy all throughout the game from the Lincoln bench.

The Stars will have the rest of this weekend off and won't play again until next Friday when they host the very same Des Moines Buccaneers at the IceBox. Considering what happened late in the game, you have to figure the matchup next Friday will have a lot of "fireworks." Get your tickets now.

Go Stars.

B³ Pregame Report: Des Moines Buccaneers vs. Lincoln Stars 1/27

2012-01-27T09:28:00.004-06:00

The Lincoln Stars will only play one game this weekend, and it will be a Friday night home tilt at the IceBox against the Des Moines Buccaneeers. The puck will drop at 7:05pm CST tonight.

If you can't make it to the game tonight, you can follow the boxscore online via Pointstreak, listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye on KLMS 1480 AM, or watch the game on FASTHockey for a fee.

Lincoln enters this weekend with a record of 20-13-2 (42 points), and are in second place in the USHL Western Conference. Only three points separates Lincoln from the third place Fargo Force (39 points), and four points from the fourth place Waterloo Blackhawks (38 points). Click here to see the current USHL standings

The Bucs currently have a record of 13-15-3 (29 points), and are fifth place in the USHL Western Conference In their last 8 games leading up to the matchup tonight, the Bucs sport a record of 2-5-1 and have been outscored 35-26 in those eight contests.

These two teams have only faced each other one other time this season, and that was one of the craziest games I've ever seen. In Des Moines on Friday, December 30th, the Stars beat the Bucs in an overtime shootout by a score of 7-6. If you want to watch video highlights from that game, click here. Lincoln started that game on fire, and marched out to a commanding 6-1 lead early in the second period. After that, the roof caved in for the Stars as Des Moines roared back with five unanswered goals to knot it up at 6-6 and send it to OT. Luckily for the Stars, they were able to best the Bucs in the shootout.

The Stars will be looking to snap out of their current two-game losing streak tonight with a strong effort against the Bucs, but it won't be easy because of a number of Lincoln players out of the lineup due to league suspension. According to the Pointstreak transaction page, the following five players have been suspended for one game due to their involvement in the Stars-Lancers line brawl last weekend in Omaha: Jackson Teichroeb (G), Paul LaDue (D), Zach Frye (D), Brent Tate (F), and Will Suter (F). If you were curious, the league suspended four players from the Lancers for one game, according to this article. Lancers forward Mark Miller, who started the brawl with a sucker-punch on Will Suter, was not suspended. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

This might sound a little weird considering it's a late January game against a fifth place team, but I believe this is a must-win situation for the Stars. Lincoln only plays one game this weekend, so there is only one opportunity to earn two points. With Fargo and Waterloo both playing three games this week, those two teams have plenty of opportunities to earn some points and potentially jump the Stars in the standings. It's a little early to talk playoffs, but the top two teams in both the Eastern and Western conferences earn a first round playoff bye. So finishing in the top two at the end of the season is a big deal.

Like I stated above, it's not going to be easy with so many players out of the lineup tonight. Charles Williams will get the start, and I assume the Stars will bring in a backup goaltender from one of the local junior teams to sit on the bench. With two defensemen out due to suspension, and Colton Saucerman done for the season due to injury, the Stars will only dress four d-men tonight. Forward Logan Smith has been used as a defenseman in the past, so I expect to see that happen against the Bucs.

With only the one game to earn two points, and with so many players out of the lineup, the Stars will definitely need support from the home crowd tonight. Be loud!

Go Stars.

Congrats to Dominik Shine!

2012-01-25T16:55:00.000-06:00

According to the Lincoln Stars official Twitter page, forward Dominik Shine has committed to play collegiate hockey at Northern Michigan University, which is located in Marquette, MI.

Click here to read the tweet.

It is unknown to me if Shine will enroll at Northern Michigan in the fall of 2012, or 2013. Shine will fit in nicely as a member of the NMU Wildcats hockey team, as four former Stars are currently on the roster: Jared Coreau (G), Kyle Follmer (F), Austin Handley (D), and Kory Kaunisto (F).

Congrats to Dominik! Very well deserved. Dom is a heart and soul type of player, and I know the fans at Northern Michigan will appreciate his efforts on the ice. He's the type of player you hate to play against, but love to have on your team. Congrats once again to Dominik!

2012 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is tonight

2012-01-24T09:35:00.002-06:00

Just a reminder, the USHL will be holding its 2012 USHL/NHL Top Prospects game tonight in Muskegon, Michigan.

The puck will drop at 6:15pm CST. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore. The game will be broadcast for free by FASTHockey.com.

Click here to read more about how you can watch the broadcast tonight. Here's an excerpt from the article:

Viewers can watch the webcast live via multiple formats – the USHL’s Facebook page, through a previously established FASTHockey account, or Roku users can watch the game on the platform’s USHL channel.

To view the USHL free game broadcast, fans must first register and create a free account on FASTHockey http://ushl.fasthockey.com. Facebook users should “Like” the USHL Facebook page and log in to their FASTHockey account using the “USHL on FASTHockey App” to watch the game.

Players from the Lincoln Stars who will participate tonight are forwards Zach Aston-Reese, Luke Johnson, Kevin Roy, and defenseman Mike McKee. Stars head coach Chad Johnson will be head coach of Team West.

Click here to see the full rosters of Team East and Team West.

Tune in at 6:15pm CST tonight! Good luck to Zach, Luke, Kevin, Mike, and Chad. Go Stars, and go Team West!

B³ Postgame Recap 1/21: Lincoln 2, Omaha 3

2012-01-22T11:06:00.011-06:00

The Lincoln Stars dropped their fourth straight to the Omaha Lancers last night, losing 3-2 in a wild game at the Civic Auditorium. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the loss, the Stars dropped to 20-13-2 (42 points) and are now in second place in the USHL Western Conference. The Lancers improved to 21-11-2 (44 points) and are in sole possession of first place. The Fargo Force, winners of nine in a row after last night's 5-2 victory over the Sioux Falls Stampede, have 39 points and are only three points behind the second place Stars. Also, only four points separates Lincoln from the fourth place Waterloo Blackhawks. Click here to view the USHL Standings.

I did not go up to Omaha to watch this game, nor was I able to catch it on the radio or on FASTHockey, so this recap will be very short. I really hope to get some comments from blog readers who were at the game. Please leave a comment below and tell me what you thought.

After a scoreless first period, the Stars got on the scoreboard first when Kevin Roy scored a powerplay goal at the 1:03 mark of the second period to give Lincoln a 1-0 lead. Ralfs Freibergs and Paul LaDue collected the assists on Roy's league-leading 28th goal of the season. Unfortunately for Lincoln, that would be the only time the Stars would have a lead in this game.

The Lancers answered back with two goals of their own in the second period, both coming on the powerplay, to give Omaha a 2-1 lead. After that, all hell broke out on the ice. I wasn't there, so I don't know what set this off, but there was a line brawl and a goalie fight which took place at the 10:54 mark of the second period. Here's the Poinstreak boxscore of all the penalties called during the line brawl:

Lincoln - Paul LaDue - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 10:54
Lincoln - Paul LaDue - (Fighting (Stoppage) Game Misconduct), 10 min, 10:54
Lincoln - Will Suter - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 10:54
Lincoln - Will Suter - (Fighting (Stoppage) Game Misconduct), 10 min, 10:54
Lincoln - Brent Tate - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 10:54
Lincoln - Brent Tate - (Fighting (Stoppage) Game Misconduct), 10 min, 10:54
Lincoln - Zach Frye - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 10:54
Lincoln - Zach Frye - (Fighting (Stoppage) Game Misconduct), 10 min, 10:54
Lincoln - Jackson Teichroeb - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 10:54
Lincoln - Jackson Teichroeb - (Fighting (Stoppage) Game Misconduct), 10 min, 10:54
Lincoln - Brent Tate - (Roughing), 2 min, 10:54
Lincoln - Brent Tate - (Fighting (Instigator)), 2 min, 10:54
Omaha - Mark Miller - (Holding), 2 min, 10:54
Omaha - Victor Newell - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 10:54
Omaha - Anthony Hamburg - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 10:54
Omaha - Anthony Hamburg - (Fighting (Stoppage) Game Misconduct), 10 min, 10:54
Omaha - Kevin Schulze - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 10:54
Omaha - Kevin Schulze - (Fighting (Stoppage) Game Misconduct), 10 min, 10:54
Omaha - Max Vallis - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 10:54
Omaha - Max Vallis - (Fighting (Stoppage) Game Misconduct), 10 min, 10:54
Omaha - Alex Lyon - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 10:54
Omaha - Alex Lyon - (Fighting (Stoppage) Game Misconduct), 10 min, 10:54

Also, here's a video taken from the game of the line brawl and the goalie fight between Lincoln's Jackson Teichroeb and Omaha's Alex Lyon. There's a lot of screaming going on in the background so you may want to hit mute.

Regarding the video just posted above, go to the :10 mark and watch Omaha's Mark Miller cheap shot Will Suter with a gloved left hand punch to the face (not called), which started the whole mess.

After the line brawl and the multiple ejections, it seemed to calm down a bit according to the boxscore. Stars goaltender Jackson Teichroeb would be replaced by Charles Williams, and Omaha goaltender Alex Lyon was replaced by backup Thatcher Demko. The Lancers would score another goal late in the second period to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.

In the third, the Stars outshot the Lancers 20-4 in the period, but could only score one goal when the Stars pulled Charles Williams for the extra attacker at the 18:26 mark. Jared Hanson scored his 16th goal of the season with an assist to Teemu Tiitinen at the 18:26 mark, but it wasn't enough. Lancers hung on for the 3-2 victory despite getting outshot 37-17. So for the second straight game, the Stars outshoot their opponent by 20 shots, and lose the game. On Friday night, the Stars outshot Fargo 38-18, but lost 5-1. But like I have said previously, quality over quantity. I'll take 5 quality shots over 20 bad, off-angle shots any game.

There was quite the disparity in powerplays awarded, as the Lancers finished with two PP goals in eight opportunities, while the Stars only had three PP chances and scored on one of them. The two teams combined for a whopping 194 penalty minutes in the game.

I got a few texts last night from some friends who were at the game that the Stars had a number of undisciplined penalties in the second period which lead to the two Omaha powerplay goals. I believe the Stars have surrendered at least one powerplay goal in 14 of their last 18 games.

Here's an interesting (and at the same time confusing) quote from Stars head coach Chad Johnson after the game, taken from this article on the Lincoln Journal Star website:

"I couldn't say we were undisciplined," Johnson said. "I thought there were calls that weren't called, on the flip side, and there were calls on us that (the referee) said he made a mistake. We started to get undisciplined, and we just addressed it and it's something that's going to come to a halt. We've got to play on the edge, and at times we were over the edge tonight."

Huh? At the beginning he states the Stars weren't playing undisciplined, but then two sentences later he says they were playing undisciplined.

Anyway, that's about it for this article. Again, please leave a comment if you were at the game. Stars are now 1-4-0 against Omaha this season. Unlike some of our fans, I could give a crap if the Stars win a bunch of fights. I want the two points, and the win. Lincoln will get another crack at the Lancers in Omaha on Friday, February 10th. In the meantime, the Stars have only one game to prepare for this next weekend, a Friday night tilt against the Des Moines Bucs at the IceBox.

Go Stars.

B³ Postgame Recap 1/20: Fargo 5, Lincoln 1

2012-01-20T22:46:00.003-06:00

The Fargo Force invaded the IceBox in Lincoln tonight and won their 8th game in a row with an impressive 5-1 victory over the Stars. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the loss the Stars dropped to 20-12-2 (42 points), and are still tied for first place in the USHL Western Conference with the Omaha Lancers. Those same Lancers lost 3-2 at home tonight to the Sioux City Musketeers. That means the winner of the Stars-Lancers game tomorrow evening will be in sole possession of first place in the west.

It didn't take long for the Force to take the wind out of the Lincoln sails with a goal scored just a little over four minutes into the first period. Force forward Bryn Chyzk, who has scored a scored a goal in five straight games, netted his 19th goal of the season at the 4:15 mark of the period. It didn't get any better for the Stars as the Force scored five minutes later at the 9:28 mark of the first to increase their lead to 2-0. Austin Farley scored the second Fargo goal, which came on the powerplay. Stars outshot the Force 7-6 through the first twenty minutes.

In the second period, the Force capitalized with three breakaway goals to put the game out of reach for the Stars. Just 31 seconds into the game, Force defenseman Brian Cooper took advantage of a Stars turnover and skated in alone to score on Lincoln goaltender Charles Williams. The goal by Cooper came while the Stars were on the powerplay, so it counted as a shortie.

At the 6:11 mark of the second, Lincoln defenseman fired a shot past Fargo goaltender Zane Gothberg to bring the Stars to within two goals at 3-1. Unfortunately for the home team, that would be the only shot to get by Gothberg on the night. Fargo would close out the second period with two more breakaway goals to take a 5-1 lead into the second intermission. Stars outshot the Force 16-8 in the second period.

Give credit to Lincoln for not giving up and battling until the very end, but they just could not solve Gothberg in the third despite outshooting the Force 15-4 in the period. Stars goaltender Charles Williams was pulled at the second intermission and Jackson Teichroeb played the entire third period, stopping all four shots he saw. In the third, the Force seemed to go into a prevent defense, and consequently, Jackson Teichroeb really wasn't tested much at all in the third period.

Stars outshoot the Force 38-18 overall, but fall by a score of 5-1. Charles Williams stopped 9 of 14 shots int he loss. Jackson Teichroeb stopped four shots in twenty minutes of action in the third period. Fargo netminder Zane Gothberg stopped 37 of 38 shots on net to record his 8th straight win. Lincoln finished 0-for-3 on the powerplay, while the Force went 1-for-2 with the man advantage.

I felt sorry for Charles Williams tonight because his team really hung him out to dry with those three breakaway chances in the second period. I'm sure he'd like the first two Fargo goals back, but the Stars simply fell apart in the second period and allowed the Force way too many breakaway opportunities.

In the battle of Austin Farley vs. Kevin Roy, the top two point scorers in the USHL, it was all Farley this time. Roy finished with zero points and was -2. Farley finished with 3 points (2g, 1a), and was +2. Farley's first goal of the game proved to be the game winner.

Those who were not in attendance tonight might take a look at the boxscore, see the disparity in shots on goal, and be surprised that the Force won this game. I wasn't, and from the listening to Chad Johnson after the game on the radio, he wasn't either. Although the Stars put 38 shots on Gothberg, he really didn't have to work hard to save the majority of those shots. It seemed like Gothberg had a target painted on his chest/belly, and just about every Stars shot hit him in that location. Every shot was simply gobbled up by the Fargo goaltender. Very few rebounds were surrendered by Gothberg. Lincoln did not do a good job crashing the net and making it difficult for Gothberg to make those saves. The majority of the 38 Lincoln shots came from bad angles, allowing Gothberg to make the easy stop.

I guess the good news tonight is that the Omaha Lancers lost, so the game tomorrow night should be very intense. Omaha is going to be fired up after losing at home to the Muskies, and I hope the Stars will be angry as well after a disappointing loss at home in front of a sellout crowd. It should be a great atmosphere at the Civic Arena in downtown Omaha tomorrow night. I won't be in attendance, so I hope to get some first-hand game reports from some blog readers who attend the game. For those going to the game, travel safe.

Go Stars.

B³ Weekend Preview: Fargo and Omaha

2012-01-19T22:22:00.002-06:00

The Lincoln Stars will have their hands full this weekend when they face off against two of the hottest teams in the USHL right now. On Friday night at the IceBox, the Stars will host the Fargo Force. On Saturday evening at the Civic Center in Omaha, the Stars will take on the Lancers. Puck drops at 7:05pm on both nights.

If you can't make to the games this weekend in Lincoln, you can follow the boxscores online via Pointstreak, listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye on KLMS 1480 AM, or watch the games on FASTHockey for a fee.

Lincoln enters this weekend with a record of 20-11-2 (42 points), and are tied for first place in the USHL Western Conference with the Omaha Lancers. Click here to see the current USHL standings.

As I stated above, the Fargo Force (16-13-3, 35 points, fourth place in the USHL Western Conference) are one of the hottest teams in the league right now. The Force have won seven games in a row and have propelled themselves into playoff contention in the west. The last time the Force lost a game was way back on 12/28/11. That loss came at Scheels Arena in Fargo, ND at the hands of the Lincoln Stars by a score of 5-3.

This will be the sixth time the Stars and Force will meet. The Stars hold a 3-2-0 record against Fargo in their five previous head-to-head games. After their Friday night matchup, these two teams will not face each other again until the very last weekend of the regular season in mid-April.

Leading the way for the Force is forward Austin Farley, who is currently riding a seven-game point scoring streak. In fact, Farley has scored 14 points (4g, 10a) in those seven games and is second overall in points scored in the USHL with a total of 44 points (21g, 23a). Only Kevin Roy (52 points) has scored more points this season than Farley. The last time Farley was held without a point was that 5-3 loss to the Stars back on 12/28/11. Farley was -4 in that game as well.

On Saturday night, the Stars will look to get the monkey off their back and earn their first win in four attempts against the Omaha Lancers (20-10-2, 42 points, tied for first place in the USHL Western Conference). Omaha has won five games in a row and sport an impressive record of 11-2-0 in their last 13 games. The Lancers have won three in a row against the Stars this season and have outscored Lincoln 18-7 in those three games.

This will be the fifth time these two teams will play each other this season. Lincoln is 1-3-0 in those four previous games against the Lancers.

It's been strange to watch the Stars struggle against the Omaha Lancers in these past three games. Since the Omaha management fired former head coach Bliss Littler in late November, the Lancers have been playing unbelievable hockey. If not for Littler's firing, the Stars would probably be all alone at the top of the western conference standings. Unlike last season when the Lancers couldn't beat the Stars to save their lives, this season Omaha can't do wrong against Lincoln.

Sorry for the short weekend preview but I just ran out of time tonight to get this up. I wish I had more free time to devote to the blog. Too many story ideas, so little time. I hope to see another big crowd this Friday at the IceBox, and I hope there are a lot of Stars fans planning on making the trip up to Omaha on Saturday night. It certainly won't be easy against two red-hot teams in Fargo and Omaha. It should be a great test for the Stars in their quest to stay near the top of the standings and distance themselves from the Waterloo Blackhawks and the Fargo Force. Getting four points would be a huge moral boost, also.

Go Stars.

Fighting in the USHL article; USHL commish takes a jab at the Stars

2012-01-19T12:05:00.007-06:00

Skip Prince

I ran across an article this morning from my buddy Ryan S. Clark, reporter for "The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead." Ryan is also author of the "Slightly Chilled" USHL blog. Even though his primary coverage is the hometown Fargo Force, Ryan does a great job of covering the entire USHL and is a great resource for hockey nerds like myself..

Anyway, Ryan posted this article today in which he tackles the debate on fighting, and if it should be allowed at the USHL level. The intent of my blog article is not to argue either side. What I found interesting were a couple of quotes made by USHL commissioner Skip Prince.

First off, there is this gem from Skip (direct quote from the article linked above in blue):

So far, it appears the USHL is doing its best to accomplish the goal. Fighting is down in the USHL this season.

The Lincoln Stars, who led the league with 70 fights last season, have 24 fights this year and are on pace for 48 fights.

“Well, how did they do last year?” Prince asked of the Stars, who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. “I don’t think fighting wins you hockey games.”

Really? This is the commissioner of the USHL stating this? I thought the Stars lost to the Fargo Force in the playoffs last season because Fargo was simply the better team. Also add in the fact that both games were in Fargo's barn. But no, I guess the real reason the season ended for Lincoln the way it did was because they led the league in fighting majors.

In those two playoff games in Fargo in which the Stars lost, both teams combined for one fight. One. Zach Aston-Reese vs. Keaton Thompson. To be honest, that may have been Zach's first fight of the season.

Also, what about the Green Bay Gamblers teams of 2008-10? John Cooper, the head coach of the Gamblers at the time, was notorious for coaching a very physical, in your face style of hockey. They didn't shy away from dropping the mitts at all. In his two seasons in the USHL at the helm of the Gamblers, Cooper's teams combined for a record of 84-27-9. His 2009-10 team racked up 1394 penalty minutes (3rd most in the league), and his 2008-09 team racked up 1363 penalty minutes (3rd most in the league). His teams won back-to-back Anderson Cups (regular season champion), and in 2009-10, they also won the Clark Cup (playoff champion). Not too shabby, eh?

How many penalty minutes did the Stars have last season? 1323. Less than both seasons in Green Bay under Jon Cooper. Where is Cooper today? He's the head coach of the AHL Norfolk Admirals, and is rumored to be the next head coach of the NHL Tampa Bay Lightning. Playing that rough and tumble style obviously didn't work out for Cooper (sarcasm). Oh, but the USHL is quick to praise him with articles chronicling his meteoric rise up the coaching ranks.

Here's a quote from Skip Prince made back in April of 2010 in which he lauds Cooper after he was named USHL Head Coach and General Manager of the Year:

“The USHL gives out separate awards for the League’s top General Manager, and its top Head Coach for good reason – the demands of each position are separate, unique, and extraordinarily challenging,” said USHL Commissioner Skip Prince. “It’s a tribute to Jon’s extraordinary talents that he has managed to excel in both, managing the overall hockey operations of a superb Green Bay Gamblers organization while coaching a team that has now won two consecutive Anderson Cups and is preparing for the Clark Cup Finals. These are well-deserved awards for an impressive performance in all facets this year.”

Ask anyone who has any knowledge of Cooper's style and they'll tell you his teams were plain nasty to play against. They'd beat you up on the ice and on the scoreboard. That quote was from less than two years ago. Where was Prince when Cooper's teams were steamrolling opponents back then?

I don't want to ramble on, but Prince's statement is flat out ignorant and stupid in my opinion. If you want to argue that fighting doesn't belong at this level....fine. Make your point and move on. To throw the Stars under the bus and state that they lose games because they play a certain style of hockey is dumb. How is it working for the Stars this season? In first place for most of the season? Bueller? Yeah, I thought so.

Finally, here's another nugget of wisdom from the commissioner of the USHL:

For now, there are rules in place to cut down on fighting.

Players are no longer allowed to remove their helmets to start a fight, unlike last season. Prince said if a helmet was to fall off, referees will break up the fight immediately.

Uhh....what? When was the last time Skip watched a USHL game? Players remove their helmets all the time before a fight. And from what I've seen, they are not penalized for removing their helmets. The only additional penalties handed out other than the five-minute major have been misconducts when the players dance around and take too much time before throwing punches.

Also, his statement about referees breaking up fights immediately if a helmet falls off? Laughable. Not to argue semantics, but linesmen break up fights, not referees. Anyway, if this is what the rules are supposed to be, Prince may want to watch the occasional USHL game and see what really happens. An example from just last weekend:

Just about every fight I've seen so far this season, both players took their helmets off in front of the linesmen and referee before throwing punches. You don't see any linesmen interrupting the fight when the helmets come off.

Yes, the Stars play a rugged style of hockey. Some of the players aren't afraid to drop the gloves to defend a teammate, or fire their team up. However, there are no "enforcers" in the Lincoln lineup. You can easily look at any other USHL roster and find a player with zero points and a ton of penalty minutes. Players like Mike McKee, Brent Tate, Markus McCrea, and Dax Lauwers all contribute with points and quality minutes on the ice. I can point out other USHL players who are fourth-liners, who get maybe 5 shifts a game, and rack up fighting majors like it's going out of style.

Sorry for the rant, but the statements from Skip Prince really rubbed me the wrong way. I'd love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading.

B³ Postgame Recap 1/17: Tri-City 0, Lincoln 7

2012-01-17T22:30:00.002-06:00

Choo choo!

Any thoughts that Lincoln might overlook the Tri-City Storm tonight were soon dismissed as the Stars scored two early goals in the first period and cruised to a 7-0 shutout victory at the IceBox .

Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the win and the two points, the Stars improved to 20-11-2 (42 points) and are once again tied for first place in the USHL Western Conference with the Omaha Lancers. Click here to view the updated USHL standings.

Stars goaltender Charles Williams played his best game of the season as he stopped all 32 shots he faced to record his second shutout of the season. Williams' record improved to 8-1-1 on the season.

Scoring goals for the Stars tonight was Matt Friese (two goals), Will Suter, Brent Tate, Luke Johnson (PP), Ralfs Freibergs, and Bob Kinne. Top point scorers for the Stars tonight were Will Suter (2g, 1a) and Mike McKee (3a). Suter's first period goal at the 1:57 mark proved to be the game-winning goal.

Great atmosphere tonight at the IceBox considering it was a Tuesday night game. I don't know too many USHL teams other than Lincoln that can draw 3,210 for a mid-week game. For those of you who had tickets and didn't come to the game, you missed a good one!

I'll try to update this article a bit more sometime tomorrow when I have more time. Enjoy the win tonight, folks!

Go Stars.

Congrats to Ralfs Freibergs!

2012-01-17T11:15:00.001-06:00

Per the Lincoln Stars Twitter account, defenseman Ralfs Freibergs has committed to play hockey at Bowling Green State University next season. Click here to read more.

Through 32 games with the Stars this season, the native of Liga, Latvia has scored 18 points (6g, 12a) and is +6. 8 of his 18 points have come on the powerplay where Freibergs is an integral part of the PP unit. Ralfs is the very definition of a "powerplay quarterback," as he in charge of distributing the puck to the players on the ice whom he feels has the best opportunity to score. Freibergs is a big reason why the Stars have the third best PP percentage in the USHL.

Freibergs was also named "USHL Defensive Player of the Week" in late November of 2011 when he scored three goals over the course of three games.

Ralfs will join his current teammate Brent Tate at Bowling Green State University this fall. Tate committed to BGSU in July of 2011.

Congrats to Ralfs! Very well deserved. I know all of us in Lincoln will be following the progress of both Ralfs and Brent next season at Bowling Green.

Chad Johnson to coach the 2012 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game

2012-01-17T08:46:00.000-06:00

According to the article linked here, Lincoln Stars head coach Chad Johnson was one of two USHL head coaches selected to participate in the 2012 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game which will be held on Tuesday, January 24th in Muskegon, MI.

Here's an excerpt from the article I linked above:

Chicago, IL - The United States Hockey League today announced the coaches who will lead the 40 USHL players during the 2012 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game presented by CCM. The game is scheduled for Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at the L.C. Walker Arena in Muskegon, Michigan.

Legendary coaches Ron Mason and Dave Siciliano will serve as honorary coaches during the event while Derek Lalonde of the Green Bay Gamblers and Chad Johnson of the Lincoln Stars, whose teams were leading their respective conferences on January 1st, have been selected to lead the two teams.

Members of the Lincoln Stars who were selected to play in the top prospects game are forwards Zach Aston-Reese, Luke Johnson, Kevin Roy, and defenseman Mike McKee.

According to this link, FASTHockey.com is planning on broadcasting the USHL/NHL top prospects game for free.

Congrats to Chad! Always nice to see our players and coaches recognized for their hard work.

B³ Pregame Report: Tri-City Storm vs. Lincoln Stars 1/17

2012-01-16T20:12:00.001-06:00

The Lincoln Stars will host the Tri-City Storm this Tuesday evening in a rare mid-week game at the IceBox. The puck will drop at 7:05pm CST.

You can follow the boxscore online via Pointstreak, listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye on KLMS 1480 AM, or watch the game live on FASTHockey for a fee.

The Stars are all alone in second place in the USHL Western Conference with a record of 19-11-2 (40 points), two points behind the first place Omaha Lancers. Click here to view the updated USHL standings.

The Tri-City Storm enter this game with a record of 11-21-0 (22 points) and are in last place in the USHL Western Conference. Tri-City's 21 losses are tied for most overall with the Chicago Steel. The Storm are riding a four-game losing streak and were outscored 24-7 in those four games. Tri-City has a road record of 4-12-0, although one of those four road victories came this season at the IceBox against the Stars.

This will be the fourth time these two teams will play each other this season, with the Stars holding a 2-0-1 record over the Storm in the three previous games. Like I mentioned above, the only win the Storm have over the Stars this season came on 11/23/11 at the IceBox when Tri-City beat Lincoln by a score of 3-2 in an overtime shootout. In that particular game, newly acquired Storm goaltender Adam Wilcox stood on his head and single-handedly beat the Stars as he stopped 40 of 42 shots on the night.

The Storm have been languishing in the cellar of the western conference for most of the season, but this can be a dangerous team when they want to be. From the few times I've seen them play, it's hard for me to say with any certainty that they are a last place club. In my opinion, their main deficiency comes on the blueline. Unlike some of the teams in their conference, the Storm just don't have the "horses" on defense. Tri-City defensemen have scored a total of only three goals this season, while Lincoln defensemen have combined for 16 goals.

The Storm have a few guys up front that are very skilled and can put the puck in the net, like Nick Lappin and Kenny Brooks. After that, it's hard to find a player on their roster who can strike fear into the heart of an opponent. Lappin and Brooks have combined for 27 goals this season, which accounts for 32% of the 85 goals the Storm have scored through 31 games.

The Storm goaltending duo of Pheonix Copley and the aforementioned Adam Wilcox may not have a whole bunch of wins between them, but both have save percentages above .900 which is something neither goaltender for the Lincoln Stars can say right now.

The Stars are coming off a tough home loss a few days ago to Omaha that saw Lincoln battle back in the third period but were unable to stop the Lancers from answering with scoring of their own. Omaha made the most of their opportunities while the Stars ran into a hot goaltender in Alex Lyon. The effort was there for the most part, but the Stars just couldn't muzzle Omaha's third period scoring barrage.

For some reason, this game against the Storm worries me a bit. I don't think the Stars will necessarily overlook the Storm, but that could easily happen. Mid-week games are sketchy....you never know if a team is going to show up or not. They are out of their element, so to speak, with playing a mid-week game. The players aren't used to suiting up and getting out there on a Tuesday night to knock heads. In Lincoln's case, they are getting ready for two big games this weekend against arguably the two hottest teams in the USHL right now (Fargo Force on Friday, and the Omaha Lancers on Saturday). Lincoln cannot afford to look past this Tri-City club.

If the Stars can pull out a win and get the two points this Tuesday evening, they'll once again be tied for first place in the western conference with the Omaha Lancers.

Go Stars.

Snapshots of the Game: Sioux City and Omaha

2012-01-16T18:23:00.003-06:00

Much thanks go out to blog reader "Starstruck" for allowing me to share some of their photos from the two games this past weekend at the IceBox. It is much appreciated!

The first set of photos will be from the Sioux City game on 1/13. The second set of photos will be from the Omaha game on 1/14. Enjoy!

Click the "Read more" link underneath the photo below to see all of the pictures in this series.

Stars salute to the crowd after the win against Sioux City

Pregame huddle against Sioux City

Kevin Roy celebrates his first goal of the night by "Tebowing"

Paul LaDue (left), Markus McCrea (middle), and Charles Williams (right) watch for the puck in their own zone

Dax Lauwers

Jonathan Grebosky celebrates after scoring his first USHL goal

A third period shot from Matt Friese finds the back of the net as the crowd celebrates

Brandon Carlson

Great shot of a Paul LaDue shot getting past SC goaltender Matt Skoff and into the net

Pregame huddle against Omaha

Mike McKee during the starting lineups

Brent Tate and Tommy Schutt combine to sandwich an Omaha player

Jackson Teichroeb

Matt Friese getting ready to send a shot on net in the second period

Terrific shot of Kevin Roy's third period goal. You can see the puck going glove high on Alex Lyon.

Moments after Roy's third period goal

Stars celebrate after Markus McCrea's third period goal

Jared Hanson (on one knee behind the net) is congratulated by Kevin Roy after scoring his third period goal

USHL Winter Classic in 2013?

2012-01-16T10:13:00.011-06:00

Back in October of 2011, University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks head coach Dean Blais said during a fan-attended luncheon that UNO would host an outdoor game against the University of North Dakota in February of 2013. The venue for the outdoor game would be TD Ameritrade Park (pictured to the left), the new baseball stadium built just east of downtown Omaha. Total seating capacity is 24,000.

Here's an old message board thread from MavPuck.com that discusses the topic further: click here to read.

According to Blais, the Omaha Lancers would also use the outdoor rink to host the Lincoln Stars that same day, or weekend. I blogged about it here last October.

Well, I received some good information over the weekend that this event is a go. I've been told that organizers would like both games to be held on Saturday, February 9th, 2013. The Lancers would play the Stars in the afternoon, and then UNO would play UND later that evening.

We're still a year away so a lot could happen between now and then. Personally, I would rather have the two games held on different days. Maybe have the UND-UNO game on Saturday, and then the Stars-Lancers game on Sunday that weekend.

Weather could play havoc with the scheduling also, as a MavPuck member mentions in the thread I linked above. We've had an unseasonably warm (and dry) winter so far, but the weather changes so drastically here in just a short amount of time. I'm not sure I'd want to spend 4-6 hours outdoors watching back-to-back hockey games in -5F degree weather with the wind blowing out of the north at 30mph.

Regardless, I really hope this comes to fruition. I would definitely attend both games, as would a lot of hockey fans here in Lincoln.

What say you? Would you attend this event?

Edit: Stick tap to the Western College Hockey Blog for linking us here.

B³ Postgame Recap 1/14: Omaha 6, Lincoln 3

2012-01-15T11:56:00.006-06:00

The Lincoln Stars fell short against the Lancers last night at the IceBox, losing their third straight to Omaha, this time by a score of 6-3. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the loss the Stars dropped to 19-11-2 (40 points) and slipped to second place in the USHL Western Conference. Omaha improved to 20-10-2 (42 point) and now have sole possession of first place in the west. Click here to view the updates USHL standings. Third place Waterloo is now only four points behind the Stars with 36 points, and have three games in hand over Lincoln.

This was kind of a strange game. I thought Lincoln came out and played very well for the majority of the first two periods. They outshot Omaha 15-7 in the first, and 9-3 in the second. However, the Lancers got very lucky with their first two goals and took at 2-0 lead into the second intermission. Despite putting 24 shots on Omaha goaltender Alex Lyon through the first 40 minutes of the game, they could not find the back of the net.

From my seat, it appeared that the two first Omaha goals were deflections. In the first period. a shot Ken Babinski of Omaha hit a Lincoln skate in front of Stars goaltender Jackson Teichroeb and found the back of the net.

In the second period, with the Lancers on the powerplay, a point shot by Omaha's Nolan Zajac was deflected by Casey Bailey and behind Teichroeb. It's hard to fault Teichroeb with those two goals, in my opinion. When the puck changes direction just a few feet in front of you, it's nearly impossible to be quick enough to make the save.

So going into the third period, the Stars found themselves down 2-0. That would change quickly as both teams combined for seven goals in the third period .

Lincoln's Kevin Roy scored his league-leading 27th goal of the season just 32 seconds into the first period to bring the crowd to life and pull the Stars to within one goal at 2-1. After getting a pass from Brent Tate, Roy skated to the center of the Omaha zone, pulled the puck back to himself, and sent a wicked wrister glove-high past Alex Lyon.

In what would turn out to be a familiar theme in the third period, the Lancers seemed to get a little mad after each Stars goal and put the pressure on to score goal after goal. Less than two minutes after Roy's goal, Max Vallis of the Lancers scored to give his team a two-goal lead once again at the 2:04 mark. However, just 14 seconds after Vallis' goal, Lincoln's Markus McCrea scored (unassisted) to make it a one goal game again at 3-2 at the 2:18 mark.

Less than one minute after McCrea scored, the Lancers would score again. Omaha's Nolan Zajac had one of the prettiest goals I've seen at the IceBox this year when he scored at the 3:09 mark of the third to give his team a 4-2 lead. Zajac deked around one Stars defender before putting an amazing move on Teichroeb and depositing the puck into an open net. All of a sudden this game turned into a tennis match. The goal scoring went back and forth with Omaha answering every Lincoln goal with a goal of their own.

Jared Hanson would answer for Lincoln at the 6:47 mark when he sent a stray rebound from Alex Lyon into the Omaha net to pull the Stars to within one goal again at 4-3. Kevin Roy and Logan Smith earned the assists on Hanson's 15th goal of the season. Unfortunately for the Stars, this was a close as they would get to the Lancers for the rest of the game.

Omaha finished off the third period scoring with two goals, including an empty-net goal, to pull ahead of the Stars and win the game by a score of 6-3. Those two goals came late in the period, so the final score really isn't indicative of how close this game was. The Lancers played very strong in the third period, and outshot the Stars 13-10.

Give credit to Omaha because they certainly deserved to win this game. Unlike their last matchup on 1/7/12 in which the Lancers scored three powerplay goals, neither team really won the specials teams war last night. Omaha was 1-for-4 with the man advantage, while Lincoln went 1-for-5. The Stars outshot the Lancers overall last night, 34-23.

I thought the two areas that Omaha was much better than the Stars last night was team speed, and goaltending. I was really impressed with how fast the Lancers got up the ice from their own defensive zone and into the Stars zone. They have a number of smaller, speedster type players that created havoc all night long. At times, it seemed like the Stars defenseman had a hard time keeping some of the Omaha forwards from skating around them.

Omaha goaltender Alex Lyon made some really big saves throughout the game and was a big reason why his team left the IceBox with two points. During the first two periods when the Stars were swarming around him, Lyon played cool, calm, and collected.

On the other end of the ice, I know Jackson Teichroeb would like some of those third period goals back. The first two Omaha goals came off deflections, which are nearly impossible to save. In the end, Teichroeb stopped 17 of 22 shots on goal in the loss. Teichroeb is on a bit of a down stretch, having lost four of his last five games. He is also 0-3 against the Lancers this season and has surrendered 12 goals in those three losses.

Unlike last year where the Stars beat up on the Lancers each time they played them, Omaha seems to have Lincoln's number thus far thi season. After beating the Lancers in their first matchup this season, the Stars are 0-3 against Omaha and have been outscored 18-7 in those three games. Ugly numbers, for sure.

The Stars will look to bounce back this Tuesday night in a rare mid-week game at the IceBox against the Tri-City Storm. I'll preview that game later on Monday. Thanks for reading.

Go Stars.

B³ Postgame Recap 1/13: Sioux City 2, Lincoln 6

2012-01-13T22:31:00.000-06:00

Friday the 13th was a horror show for the visiting Sioux City Musketeers tonight as the Lincoln Stars dominated the Muskies by a score of 6-2. Click here to view the Poinstreak boxscore.

Scoring goals for Lincoln tonight was Kevin Roy (2 goals), Paul LaDue (2 goals), Jonathan Grebosky, and Matt Friese. Stars goaltender Charles Williams stopped 28 of 30 shots on goal to record his 7th win of the season.

Great overall effort tonight by the Stars. I thought the Muskies came out and outplayed the Stars for the first 5-9 minutes of the game, but after that, it was all Lincoln.

I'll update this article with a full recap tomorrow when I have more time. Enjoy the win tonight, folks! Big game tomorrow night. With Omaha winning this evening, the game tomorrow night will be for first place in the USHL Western Conference. It should be a crazy atmosphere at the IceBox. By far, this will be biggest game the Stars will play this season. I can't wait!

Go Stars!

B³ Weekend Preview: Sioux City and Omaha

2012-01-12T23:14:00.000-06:00

The Lincoln Stars will be looking for a little payback this weekend when they host back-to-back games at the IceBox against two teams that have had their number as of late. On Friday night, the Stars will take on the Sioux City Musketeers. On Saturday night, the Stars will battle the Omaha Lancers. Faceoff for both matches will take place at 7:05pm CST.

If you can't make to the games this weekend in Lincoln, you can follow the boxscores online via Pointstreak, listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye on KLMS 1480 AM, or watch the games on FASTHockey for a fee.

Lincoln enters this home weekend with a record of 18-10-2 (38 points), and are tied for first place in the USHL Western Conference with the Omaha Lancers who have an identical record of 18-10-2. Click here to see the current USHL standings.

First up this weekend for the Stars will be the visiting Sioux City Musketeers (12-18-0, 24 points, 6th place in the USHL Western Conference). This will be the fifth time the Stars and Muskies will face each other this season with each team holding an identical 2-2-0 record in those four previous games.

After winning their first two games against the Musketeers this season, the Stars have dropped their last two games which includes a disappointing 5-0 shutout loss on New Years Eve just a few weeks ago in Sioux City. The last time these two teams faced each other at the IceBox, the Muskies edged the Stars by a score of 4-3 on 12/3/11. Hopefully these recently losses, especially the 5-0 blowout a few weeks ago, are fresh on the mind of the Stars.

On Saturday evening at the IceBox, the Stars will play host to their main rival, the Omaha Lancers (18-10-2, 38 points, tied for first place in the USHL Western Conference). This will be the fourth time the Stars and Lancers will face each other this season.

After winning their first meeting on 11/12/11 at the IceBox by a score of 2-1, the Stars have lost two straight to the Lancers. In fact, Omaha has outscored Lincoln 12-4 in their last two meetings. The last time these two teams knocked heads at the IceBox, the Lancers embarrassed the hometown Stars by a score of 7-2 on 12/2/11.

I mentioned this last weekend, but the bad news out of the Stars camp is that defenseman Colton Saucerman tore the ACL in his left knee and is out for the season. He will return to Colorado to have surgery on his knee but will later return to Lincoln and root on his teammates. Tough loss for the Stars considering how important Saucerman was to the team, especially as one of the top PP quarterbacks in the lineup.

The good news is that forward Dominik Shine is close to returning to the lineup after missing the last 3 months due to knee surgery. Getting Shine back in the lineup will be huge, and will help an already potent Stars offense. From what I have heard, Shine was cleared to play but may sit some of the upcoming games out while he continues to strengthen his knee and build endurance.

Sorry for the short weekend preview. I ran out of time to get this article up along with the halfway point article. I'm not sure about you guys, but I'm ready for my Stars fix! A full weekend of hockey at the IceBox! 7:00pm Friday night can't come soon enough.

Go Stars.

Halfway Point: A Statistical Look Back At The First 30 Games

2012-01-12T21:32:00.005-06:00

With 30 games played so far, the Lincoln Stars are at the halfway point of the 2011-12 regular season. They say the the USHL regular season is a marathon and not a sprint, so there is still a lot of hockey yet to be played. Each USHL team participates in 60 regular season games, and then however many playoff games after that. A lot can change between now and mid-April, when the regular season concludes.

I'm kind of a stats geek (I love math!), so I thought I'd look at the first 30 games played by the Stars and post some numbers that might be interesting. There is a saying that "there is truth in the numbers." I'd like to think that is true in some cases. Having said that, here's what I came up with.

Stars overall record: 18-10-2 (38 points); tied for first place in the USHL Western Conference with the Omaha Lancers who have an identical record of 18-10-2 through 30 games played.

Lincoln has a home record of 8-4-1 (17 points) and a road record of 10-6-1 (22 points). Of the thirty games the Stars have played thus far, 13 have been played at the IceBox and 17 have been played on the road. So the majority of the 38 total points the Stars earned through the first thirty games came on the road.

These numbers are a good sign, in my opinion. When it comes time for the playoffs, if you can't win on the road you aren't going to last long. There are plenty of home games coming up in the next few months for the Stars to generate some home cookin' and earn even more points.

Shots and Goals:
In terms of generating shots on goal, there is no team in the USHL that does a better job than the Lincoln Stars. Through 30 games, the Stars have put a total of 1,038 shots on the opponents net. That averages out to 34.6 shots per game for Lincoln, which is tops in the league.

On the other end of the rink, the Stars have allowed a total of 825 shots on goal against the goaltending tandem of Charles Williams and Jackson Teichroeb. That averages out to 27.5 shots against per game which is the 5th lowest amount given up per game in the USHL.

The Stars have scored a total of 99 goals through 30 games, which averages out to 3.3 goals scored per game. The 99 goals scored is 3rd most in the USHL, and the 3.3 goals per game average is 4th best in the USHL. No surprise here. For the most part, scoring goals has not been a problem with this team.

On the defensive end, the Stars have given up a total of 90 goals through 30 games, which averages out to 3.0 goals surrendered per game. The 90 goals given up is 7th most in the USHL, and the average of 3.0 goals surrendered each game is 8th most. The numbers say that compared to the rest of the league, the Stars are middle-of-the-pack defensive team. Not great, but not bad either.

Special Teams:
Through thirty games this season, the Stars have scored 25 powerplay goals in 115 opportunities for a powerplay percentage of 21.74%, which is good for 3rd best overall in the USHL. The 25 PP goals Lincoln has scored is 4th most in the league.

On the other end of the rink, the numbers aren't so good. The Stars have surrendered a total of 30 powerplay goals against in 148 opportunities for a penalty kill percentage of 79.73%. That PK percentage of 79.73% is 3rd worst in the USHL. The 148 times the Stars have been shorthanded is the most of any team in the league.

The Stars have accumulated a total of 604 penalty minutes in thirty games, which averages out to 20.1 PIM's per game. Only the Muskegon Lumberjacks, who average 26.3 penalty minutes per game, rack up more penalty minutes per game than the Lincoln Stars.

According to the numbers, the Stars are very much "Jekyll and Hyde" in regards to special teams. With the amount of offensive talent on this team, the Stars have shown that they are more than capable of putting the biscuit in the basket when they have a man advantage.

However, the penalty kill has struggled at times, especially as of late. It's no secret that the Stars haven't been playing as disciplined as they would like. If the Stars can cut down on the amount of silly penalties, and shore up the PK unit, they should be able to win more special team wars.

Goaltending:
Surprisingly, these numbers weren't as good as I expected. As a team, the Stars have save percentage of .891%, which is tied for 13th overall out of 16 USHL teams. Neither Charles Williams or Jackson Teichroeb currently have a save percentage above .900, which again was surprising to me. Despite their less than stellar numbers, what Williams and Teichroeb have been able to do through thirty games is win games.

That's about it. I am running out of time tonight to get this article up, along with the weekend preview article. Hopefully this halfway point article was interesting and somewhat informative. Thanks for reading.

Go Stars.

B³ Postgame Recap 1/7: Lincoln 2, Omaha 5

2012-01-07T22:04:00.010-06:00

The Lincoln Stars dropped a 5-2 decision to the Omaha Lancers in an entertaining game at the Civic Auditorium in Omaha on Saturday night before 4,155 fans. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

The loss dropped Lincoln to 18-10-2 (38 points), while Omaha improved to 18-10-2 (38 points). Obviously, both are atop the Western Conference standings right now. Waterloo is six points behind with 32 after defeating Dubuque 4-2.

This game was dominated by special teams play, which Omaha fared better with in the end. Only two of the seven combined goals were scored even strength. Both teams came out with good energy to start the game, but Omaha lit the lamp first. Anthony Hamburg scored a powerplay goal 9:33 into the first period to put Omaha up 1-0.

After that, Lincoln turned on the jets. The Stars applied pressure and were rewarded at the 11:58 mark. Brent Tate slammed home a rebound from close range to tie the game 1-1. Kevin Roy and Brad Hawkinson earned the assists on Tate's seventh goal of the season. Lincoln dominated the rest of the period and had quite a few near misses, including a Teemu Tiitinen chance when he skated in alone, but Omaha goalie Alex Lyon made some really big saves throughout the game, including on that one. Lincoln outshot Omaha 10-8 in the first period.

In the second period, Omaha's Jimmy Murray scored a powerplay goal at 8:18 to break the deadlock. Then Ken Babinski tallied at 14:32 to make it 3-1. Despite being down two goals, Lincoln outshot Omaha 16-9 in the second for a two-period advantage of 26-17. Sadly though, the Lancers clicked on special teams. By the end of the second, Omaha was 2-for-4 on the power play, while Lincoln was 0-for-4. I thought Lincoln was the better team when it was 5-on-5, but the Stars couldn't muscle any pucks past Lyon.

In the third period, things got very chippy and interesting, and referee Christopher Pitoscia, who had called a decent game through two periods, got a little whistle happy. The Stars were called for three minors in the first nine minutes of the period, while Omaha somehow avoided any penalties during that very physical time of the game.

Early in the period, Omaha put a close shot on Lincoln goalie Jackson Teichroeb, and Teichroeb appeared to make a save and fall down as he was sitting halfway in the net. No one could see where the puck was, and the red light never came on, but Pitoscia decided to award Omaha a goal, despite Lincoln players' adament displeasure. Pitoscia went to review the controversial goal, and to his credit, waived it off.

But the penalties finally caught up with the Stars soon after. Ken Babinski finally made the Stars pay with a powerplay goal at 9:37 to make it 4-1. It was Babinski's second goal of the game. At one point in the second period I looked up and the shot total was Lincoln 26, Omaha 12. By about this time in the third period, it was Omaha 28, Lincoln 26. That goes to show how Omaha controlled the puck for a long period of time. Tough to apply pressure when you're constantly killing penalties.

But the Stars didn't give up. Lincoln earned a power play at 10:22 after Michael Ferrantino was (finally) called for diving. Ferrantino skated up to Ralfs Freibergs, and Freibergs gave him a little shove, and Ferrantino went sprawling. It was a rewarding call, but long overdue. Omaha's players may want to find a new skate sharpener, because a lot of them seemed to be skating on dull skates, which caused them to fall over a lot.

On a 5-on-3 powerplay because of an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Omaha coach Michael Zucker, Roy scored his league-leading 24th goal off of assists from Zach Aston-Reese and Tate at 10:47. Aston-Reese had gathered a misfired shot from the point, and centered it to Roy between the circles. Roy picked his spot and ripped it home and brought the Lincoln fans to their feet.

With momentum on its side, Lincoln once again owned the 5-on-5 play. The Stars appeared to cut Omaha's lead to 4-3 on a goal by Luke Johnson, but inexplicably, Pitoscia waived it off. Johnson skated down the right side, and roofed a shot from the baseline over Lyon's near-post shoulder. After the puck hit the net, a mass of players fell into Lyon. Pitoscia skated in from the other side of the ice and said no goal. The Lincoln players were in disbelief, and Chad Johnson was furious. I didn't get a chance to hear Melbye's comments, but I'm sure he was less than thrilled. I didn't see any high stick redirect the puck, so I don't know if that's what Pitoscia called. Anyone who listened to the broadcast may be able to clarify. From my vantage point at that end of the rink, I have no idea why it was waived off. Unlike Omaha's disallowed goal, this puck clearly hit the roof of the net before the goalie was interfered with, if that indeed was the call.

After that, the Lancers seized momentum and had plenty of chances to put more goals in, but Teichroeb made some pretty incredible last-ditch saves. Omaha added a late emptynet goal by Tanner Lane to take the 5-2 win.

Omaha finished 3-for-7 on the powerplay, while Lincoln was 1-for-6. Teichroeb stopped 34-of-38 shots, while Lyon saved 34-of-36. These teams are pretty even, so it seems whoever wins the special teams battle will take the win. I thought the Stars played well and deserved better than the final score indicated, but Omaha put their chances away while Lincoln didn't.

The Stars will now have four straight home games, starting with Sioux City next Friday and Omaha on Saturday. Lincoln will be seeking revenge against both teams who have beaten them recently. The Stars don't leave the state to play a game until Feb. 4 when they travel to Waterloo. Big chance for the Stars to string together some wins at home.

Snapshots of the Game: Sioux Falls vs. Lincoln 1/6

2012-01-07T14:51:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Brandon Anderson and Jeff White for letting me post some of their photos from the Sioux Falls game last night. Check out Brandon's "BA Photos" Facebook page and website, and also check out Jeff's "Depicted Image" Facebook page also. If you're on Facebook, make sure you "Like" both pages so you can see all of their Stars photos throughout the season.

Click the "Read more" link underneath the photo below to see all of the pictures in this series.

Kevin Roy (center) raises his hands in the air after scoring his second goal of the game

Tommy Schutt

Brent Tate (L) and Kevin Roy (R)

Jon Grebosky

Paul LaDue cranks a shot on goal

Brent Tate celebrates after Kevin Roy's first period goal

Zach Aston-Reese

Seconds after Kevin Roy's third period shot finds the back of the net

Bob Kinne (lying on the ice) moments after jamming the puck past Stampede goaltender Stephon Williams

Stars celebrate after Bob Kinne's third period, game-winning goal

Charles Williams (L) and Dax Lauwers (R)

Mike McKee

Brent Tate lowers the BOOM! on a Sioux Falls player

Brent Tate exchanges pleasantries with a Stampede player

Tommy Schutt takes a faceoff in the neutral zone

Stars celebrate after Bob Kinne's game-winning goal

B³ Postgame Recap 1/6: Sioux Falls 3, Lincoln 4

2012-01-06T22:15:00.003-06:00

Choo Choo! Ride that train!

The Lincoln Stars broke in 2012 with an exciting 4-3 victory over the Sioux Falls Stampede Friday night at the IceBox. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the win, the Stars improved to 18-9-2 (38 points) and are still all alone in first place in the USHL Western Conference. The Omaha Lancers, whom the Stars will play tomorrow night, are right behind Lincoln in second place with 36 points.

The Stars came out in the first period and really played inspired hockey. You could tell they wanted to put the pressure on the Stampede early, and it worked when Lincoln forward Luke Johnson scored at the 1:21 mark of the first period to give the Stars an early 1-0 lead. Stars forward Bob Kinne did a great job on the play by taking the puck hard to the net, and at the last minute passing it to a wide open Johnson who tapped it into the Sioux Falls net. Kinne and Logan Smith earned the assists on Johnson's 8th goal of the season.

Later in the first period the Stars would strike again when forward Kevin Roy batted the puck past Sioux Falls goaltender Stephon Williams to give Lincoln a 2-0 lead. Roy's goal, which came at the 16:45 mark of the first, was his 22nd of the season. Much like the first goal, the Stars simply crashed the net and Roy took advantage of a loose puck and knocked it by Williams. Paul LaDue and Brent Tate collected the assists on Roy's goal.

When it looked like the Stars might take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, Sioux Falls' Ian Mansfield scored with just under two minutes remaining to pull his team to within one goal. At the end of the first period the Stars had a 2-1 lead, and outshot the Stampede 16-9.

In the second period, only one goal was scored and that came on a Sioux Falls powerplay at the 7:41 mark. Stampede defenseman Ed McGovern slapped a shot from near the blue line that found its way past Stars goaltender Charles Williams and into the Lincoln net. It appeared from my seat that Williams was screened on the play. I thought the Stars seemed to ease off the gas pedal in the second period, which allowed Sioux Falls to get right back into the game. At the second intermission the score was tied up at 2-2. Stars outshot the Stampede 10-9 in the period.

In the third, Kevin Roy worked his magic once again with his league-leading 23rd goal of the season at the 6:21 mark of the period. I have to admit, I was on my way back from the bathroom when this goal was scored so I missed it completely. :) Matt Friese and Brandon Carlson collected the assists on Roy's second goal of the game. The Stars held a 3-2 lead late in the third period until the Stampede struck again.

Ian Mansfield scored his second goal of the game for Sioux Falls at the 17:51 mark to knot it up at 3-3. With only two minutes remaining in regulation, it appeared that Mansfield's goal would force overtime. However, the Stars line of Zach Aston-Reese, Bob Kinne, and Teemu Tiitinen had other ideas. Only 21 seconds after Mansfield's goal, Bob Kinne scored on a goal-mouth scramble to give Lincoln a 4-3 lead, and the eventual win. Aston-Reese collected the puck in the Stampede zone along the boards, and quickly passed the puck to the front of the net where Kinne jammed it past Stephon Williams and into the net. Teemu Tiitnen and Aston-Reese earned the assists on Kinne's game-winning goal.

Lincoln goaltender Charles Williams stopped 26 of 29 shots on goal to record his sixth win of the season for the Stars. Sioux Falls' Stephon Williams stopped 30 of 34 shots in the loss. Lincoln outshot Sioux Falls overall 34-29. The Stampede finished 1-for-2 on the powerplay while the Stars went 0-for-1 with the man advantage.

Another quality win by the Stars in front of a fired-up crowd of over 4,000 at the IceBox. I thought Lincoln did a very good job of crashing the net and scoring dirty goals against SF. The line of Aston-Reese-Kinne-Tiitinen was by far the best line of the game as they generated a ton of offensive chances. Great start to 2012, and I hope it continues tonight in Omaha against the Lancers.

Go Stars.

Edit: Some bad news unfortunately to go along with the good news from last night. Stars defenseman Colton Saucerman tore the ACL in his left knee in Lincoln's 7-6 OT win over the Des Moines Bucs last weekend, and is out for the remainder of this season. Saucerman will return home to Colorado to have the surgery on his knee, and then will return to Lincoln to heal up and support his teammates. Tough break for a good kid. The Stars are definitely going to miss his presence on the ice and in the locker room. I really hope this injury doesn't affect his scholarship offer to Northeastern University. Best wishes in his recovery.

Also, Stars affiliate player Alex Schoenborn recently signed with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Click here to read more. The WHL is considered major-junior, so Schoenborn will lose his eligibility to play collegiate hockey at the NCAA level. Schoenborn ('95) was a first round Futures Draft pick of the Stars in 2011. Tough to lose a kid like Schoenborn who I'm sure the Stars had high hopes for. I hope he doesn't regret his decision to go the major-junior route and not play college hockey. Major-juniors is considered the fast track to the NHL, so I suppose Schoenborn was advised to go that route instead of the USHL and college. Schoenborn was called up by the Stars earlier this season and played in three games.

B³ Weekend Preview: Sioux Falls and Omaha

2012-01-05T22:45:00.005-06:00

The Lincoln Stars will open play in 2012 with two games this weekend against USHL Western Conference division foes. On Friday night at the IceBox, the Stars will host the Sioux Falls Stampede. On Saturday evening in Omaha at the Civic Auditorium, the Stars will battle the Lancers. Faceoff for both games will occur at 7:05pm CST.

If you can't make to the games this weekend in Lincoln or Omaha, you can follow the boxscores online via Pointstreak, listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye on KLMS 1480 AM, or watch the games on FASTHockey for a fee.

Lincoln enters this weekend with a record of 17-9-2 (36 points), and are in sole possession of first place in the USHL Western Conference. Click here to see the current USHL standings.

For the first time in nearly a month, the Stars will play a home game at the IceBox this Friday evening. The opponent will be the Sioux Falls Stampede who sport a record of 10-14-1 (22 points), and are in last place in the USHL Western Conference. This will be the sixth time the Stars and Stampede will play each other this season. In their previous five tilts, the Stars have a record of 4-1-0 against the 'Pede.

Although they are in the western conference cellar, the Stampede are not a bad hockey club. They have two very good goaltenders in Stephon Williams and Charlie Lindgren, and as a team, they play very good defense. Through 25 games this season, Sioux Falls have only given up 75 goals, which is the least amount surrendered by any team in the USHL Western Conference.

The problem the Stampede have had all season is that they just can't put the puck in the net. Through 25 games, Sioux Falls have only managed to score 53 goals, which is by far the least amount scored by any USHL team. The Stampede don't have any players on their roster who have scored at least 15 points this season, while the Stars have six players who have scored at least 15 points. They don't score a lot of goals, and they don't give up a lot of goals. That's the Stampede in a nutshell.

On Saturday night, the Stars will go to war once again with their rival to the north, the Omaha Lancers (16-10-2, 34 points, second place in the USHL Western Conference). For the majority of the 2011-12 season, the Stars and the Lancers have at times both occupied first place in the west. This will be the third time this season the Stars and Lancers will play against each other. Starting with their game this Saturday, Lincoln will face Omaha three times in their next six games. For the next few weeks, these two teams will become very familiar with one another.

The Stars and the Lancers have split their two previous matchups this season. On 11/12/11, Lincoln beat Omaha by a score of 2-1 at the IceBox. The Lancers returned the favor in a big way on 12/2/11 with a 7-2 blowout win over the Stars, also at the IceBox. I'm sure that lopsided home loss is still fresh on the minds of the Lincoln players and coaches, so it will be interesting to see how they play in Omaha this Saturday. The Stars have yet to play the Lancers at the Civic Auditorium in Omaha this season, and it sounds like it will be another big crowd.

I'm running out of time tonight to get this article up on the blog, so I'm going to cut it short. I'm really looking forward to getting back to "church" (the IceBox) this Friday night for another hockey game. It seems like forever since I last saw the Stars play at home. I was starting to get live hockey withdrawals. :) Although I know a lot of Stars fans will be going to Omaha on Saturday night, I will not be in attendance. So I hope to later hear from those who made the trip. Thanks for reading! Let's get four points!

Go Stars.

Four Stars named to USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game

2012-01-05T15:02:00.001-06:00

Forwards Zach Aston-Reese, Luke Johnson, Kevin Roy, and defenseman Mike McKee were all named to the 2012 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game today.

Click here to read the official press release from the USHL.

Here's an excerpt from the USHL.com article:

The United States Hockey League today announced the 40 players selected to compete in the 2012 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game presented by CCM which is scheduled for Tuesday, January 24^th, 2012 at the L.C. Walker Arena in Muskegon, Michigan.

The game, which is the first of its kind for the USHL, will showcase many of the top USHL players eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

A total of 30 players selected are in their first year of eligibility for the NHL Entry Draft. Seven of the players are draft-eligible for the second time this year. In addition, the USHL will showcase three players who are eligible to be drafted by NHL teams in 2013.

The selection process for the players was completed in cooperation with USHL General Managers, NHL scouts and decision makers, and NHL Central Scouting.

Four players who are top prospects for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft were also selected to compete in the event, including Waterloo Black Hawks leading scorer Taylor Cammarata, the top pick in the 2011 USHL Futures Draft, and Black Hawks 16-year-old defenseman Ian McCoshen who is in his second USHL season. Lincoln Stars forward Luke Johnson, the team’s third-leading scorer, was also chosen for the event.

Congrats to Zach, Luke, Kevin, and Mike! Great to see our younger, up-and-coming players recognized by the USHL, and the NHL.

Lincoln Stars Alumni News

2012-01-04T21:22:00.001-06:00

Just a couple of recent stories that popped up this week in regards to former Lincoln Stars players. Thought I'd share with all of you.

The first bit of news is about former Stars forward Jimmy Hayes, who was recently called up by the NHL Chicago Blackhawks from the American Hockey League (AHL) Rockford IceHogs. In just his second NHL game, Hayes scored his first NHL goal. Click here to read more about it from the USHL.com website. I've posted the video of his goal below, so click play to check it out.

An excerpt from the USHL.com article I linked above:

"The native of Dorchester, Massachusetts played 21 games in the USHL during the 2007-08 season for the Lincoln Stars and put up 15 points (4g, 11a) and a plus-nine rating. Following his lone season in the USHL, he was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round (60th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft."

Hayes was later traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Chicago Blackhawks in July of 2010. Jimmy's little brother Kevin Hayes, is a first-round draft pick (2010) of the same Chicago Blackhawks. Nice to see another former Stars player make it to the big show! Congrats to Jimmy.

Also, Jimmy's teammate in Rockford was former Stars fan favorite Brandon Bollig. It would be nice to see the Blackhawks call up Brandon at some point in this season also.

Lastly, former Stars forward Carter Camper was named to the 2012 American Hockey League All-Star Game roster. Click here and here to read more about that. Camper, who was a free-agent signing of the NHL Boston Bruins in April of 2011, currently plays for the AHL Providence Bruins, which is the AHL affiliate team for the Boston Bruins.

An excerpt from the Providence Bruins article linked above:

"Camper is a four-year product of Miami University Ohio, where as co-captain in 2010-11 he set collegiate career-highs in assists (38) and points (57). His 38 assists ranked him third nationally among college hockey players. A Hobey Baker Award finalist in 2010-11, Camper was named CCHA Scholar-Athlete of the Year and helped guide Miami to a 23-10-6 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance."

"In 156 career collegiate games, Camper had 69+114=183 totals. The 5'9", 173-pound native of Rocky River, Ohio finished his career second on Miami's all-time points list and assists list. In his four years at Miami, the RedHawks made four NCAA Tournament appearances, two trips to the Frozen Four (2009 and 2010) and lost to Boston University in the 2009 National Championship. Before Miami, he played for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL."

Congrats to Carter! Another Stars alumni on his way to the NHL. I'm not sure about you guys, but it seems just like yesterday that I was watching both Hayes and Camper at the IceBox. It's always great to see our former Stars go on to bigger and better things. Congrats again to both.

B³ Postgame Recap 12/31: Lincoln 0, Sioux City 5

2012-01-01T12:37:00.001-06:00

2011 ended with a whimper for the Lincoln Stars as they were shutout by the Sioux City Musketeers at the Tyson Events Center by a score of 5-0. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the loss, the Stars dropped to 17-9-2 (36 points) but are still in sole possession of first place in the USHL Western Conference. The second place Omaha Lancers (32 points) were also shutout last night by a score of 3-0 at the hands of the Tri-City Storm. Click here to view the current USHL standings.

Unfortunately, I spent the money to watch this game last night on FASTHockey. With no goals scored by Lincoln, there isn't a lot for me to highlight. Lincoln came out in the first period and looked very lethargic. This was the third game in four days for the Stars, but to be fair, the Sioux City Musketeers were also playing their third game in four days. Having said that, two of Sioux City's games were at home, while all three Lincoln games were on the road.

Sioux City played with a sense or urgency last night that I didn't see from the Stars until the third period. At the second intermission, the Stars were down only one goal at 1-0. The game was still up for grabs. Yes, Lincoln gave up four goals in the third but they at least played with more "jam" and put 18 shots on goal. Through the first two periods, Lincoln only managed 12 shots on goal. This after Friday night's game in Des Moines when the Stars put a league-high 56 shots on goal against Des Moines.

What has me a bit concerned is the fact that Lincoln has surrendered 11 goals in their last two games. For the most part the Stars have been one of the better defensive teams in the league this season. I didn't see that same team from earlier in these past two games. Stars defenseman Colton Saucerman was injured in the Friday game, and last night on the radio he stated he heard his left knee pop, and he has not been able to put any weight on it since. That doesn't sound good at all. I hope it isn't a serious injury because Saucerman is a key part of the Stars' defensive unit.

Lincoln's penalty kill unit has really struggled as of late also. 6 of the 14 goals the Stars have given up in the past three games have come on the opposition's powerplay. Lincoln has surrendered a total of 26 powerplay goals to the opposition this season, which is tied for most overall with Team USA. Lincoln's penalty kill percentage of 81.29% ranks them 11th out of 16 USHL teams.

Stars head coach Chad Johnson missed his second straight game and did not travel with the team to Des Moines and Sioux City, according to radio announcer Mike Melbye. There hasn't been much said about the status of Johnson, other than he is ill. Johnson coached the game in Fargo last Wednesday, but nothing after that. Hopefully we get word about the status of Johnson soon.

The loss in Sioux City last night was the final game of a six-game road trip for the Lincoln Stars. The Stars finished with a record of 3-2-1 in those six road games and earned 7 points out of 12 possible points, which is pretty darn good. What's next? Well, the Stars will play 7 of the next 9 games at home, and those two road games in between the seven home games are going to be played in Omaha. So basically, the Stars won't have to travel more than one hour away from the IceBox for the next month. This is a great opportunity for the Stars to increase their point lead in the western conference and put some distance between themselves and the second and third place teams in the west.

The Stars will get some much needed rest now and will return to the IceBox this Friday night against the Sioux Falls Stampede. It seems like forever since we have had a home game at the IceBox. Looking forward to some home-cookin' this Friday. More on the upcoming games later in the week.

Go Stars.

Video highlights of the Stars 7-6 OT win over the Des Moines Bucs

2011-12-31T10:12:00.000-06:00

I ran across a YouTube video this morning of highlights from the wild and crazy game last night in Des Moines. The person recording it is a Bucs fan, but I thought the video was very well done. Click play below to watch. Enjoy.

B³ Postgame Recap 12/30: Lincoln 7, Des Moines 6 OT-Shootout

2011-12-30T23:25:00.004-06:00

Whew! What a game!

I'm not sure where to even start with this recap. Easily one of the craziest hockey games I have ever witnessed. The Lincoln Stars blew a 6-1 lead tonight, only to come back and win it by a score of 7-6 in an overtime shootout. Click here to view the mother of all Pointstreak boxscores.

There were so many goals scored tonight I'm not even going to try to remember each one and describe them. The video quality via FASTHockey from the Bucs rink was horrible to begin with, so it was nearly impossible for me to even see the numbers on jerseys.

In the first period, the Stars did a terrific job with crashing the net and scored a number of "dirty goals." They outskated, outworked, and outshot the Bucs for the entire first twenty minutes of the game. The score could have easily been 6-0 at the first intermission. However, whatever mojo and momentum the Stars had in the first period vanished completely in the second period.

This was basically two games in one. The Stars dominated the first period, and about 5-10 minutes of the second period. Lincoln had leads of 5-0 and 6-1 in this game. With about 5 minutes gone in the second period, Stars defenseman Dax Lauwers fought with Des Moines' Branislav Rapac with the score at 6-1 in favor of Lincoln. After that, it was all Des Moines. And when I say it was all Des Moines, it was really ALL Des Moines. Lincoln lost all composure, took stupid penalty after stupid penalty, and gave up five straight goals to the Bucs. The Stars scrambled just to take this game into overtime.

In the shootout, Stars forward Jared Hanson and Luke Johnson both scored for Lincoln, while goaltender Charles Williams stopped the two Des Moines shooters he faced to secure the victory. Incredible ending to an even more incredible game. Watching this game on FASTHockey probably advanced my death by at least a few weeks. My nerves were shot by the end of this one.

Jared "Mr. Clutch" Hanson scored three goals, one assist, and was +5 on the night (don't forget his shootout goal, also). His linemate, Matt Friese, scored 3 points (1g, 2a) and was +4. Luke Johnson scored 2 points (1g, 1a), had the shootout goal, and was +5. Surprisingly, with all of the goals scored tonight by Lincoln, USHL scoring leader Kevin Roy was held without a point. Roy also came up short in the shootout. Great example of how deep this team is on offense.

Crazy, crazy game. Like I said, one of the weirdest games I've ever seen. Lincoln looked all but done after giving up the sixth Des Moines goal two minutes into the third period. But give credit where credit is due. The Stars tightened up on defense for the remainder, and held the Bucs scoreless for the rest of the game. Win it in the shootout. "I love it when a plan comes together." It certainly wasn't a pretty victory, but two points is two points.

Stars are back in action tomorrow night in Sioux City against the Musketeers. Lincoln looking to finish out 2011 with another road win and two points!

Go Stars!

B³ Weekend Preview: Des Moines and Sioux City

2011-12-29T22:19:00.005-06:00

The Lincoln Stars will break in the new year on the road where they will take on the Des Moines Buccaneers on Friday, December 30th, and the Sioux City Musketeers on Saturday, December 31st. Faceoff for the Friday night game in Des Moines will take place at 7:05pm CST. Puck drops in Sioux City on New Year's Eve at 7:00pm CST.

If you are unable to attend any of the two weekend road games, you can follow the boxscores online via Pointstreak, listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye on KLMS 1480 AM, or watch the games on FASTHockey for a fee.

Lincoln enters this weekend with a record of 16-8-2 (34 points), and are all alone in first place in the USHL Western Conference. The Stars are 4-1-1 in their last six games, and have impressive road record of 9-4-1 on the season. Click here to see the current USHL standings.

Surprisingly, the Des Moines Buccaneers (11-11-1, 23 points, fourth place in the USHL Western Conference) are a team that the Lincoln Stars have not yet faced this season. Friday's nights game will be the first of six meetings between the Bucs and Stars in the 2011-12 regular season.

The Bucs have been and up-and-down team so far this year, and have yet to really find their identity. For the most part, they are a .500 club both at home and on the road. Through 23 games, they've scored 74 goals and have surrendered 71. The have the second-worst powerplay percentage in the league, and the fifth worst penalty kill percentage. But like Stars head coach Chad Johnson often says, there are no easy games in the USHL. The Bucs will be ready Friday night, and a rowdy Bucs home crowd will inevitably be fired up.

On Saturday night, the Stars will ring in the new year with a road tilt against the Sioux City Musketeers (11-15-0, 22 points, fifth place in the USHL Western Conference). This will be the fourth time these two teams will fave each other this season. Lincoln is 2-1-0 against the Muskies in those three previous games, although in their last matchup, Sioux City beat the Stars by a score of 4-3 at the IceBox on 12/3/11.

Like the Bucs, the Musketeers are a team that have been "Jekyll and Hyde" for most of the season. It's hard to guess which SC team will show up each night. Some games they play like world-beaters. Other nights, they play like a last place team. One of the areas the Muskies have had issues with this season has been keeping the puck out of their own net. Through 26 games, Sioux City has given up 96 goals, which is most in the USHL. They also haven't played well at home, as their 5-9-0 record at the Tyson Events Center indicates.

This should be another good test for the Stars this weekend against two teams looking to work their way up in the western conference standings. Other than Dominik Shine, the Stars are a 100% healthy team, which is a pleasant surprise. The Stars looked very good this past Wednesday night in Fargo, so lets hope the boys can keep it going this weekend and bring four more points back to Lincoln. After these two road games this weekend, the Stars come back to Lincoln where they will play seven of their next nine games at the IceBox.

I know a lot of Stars fans are making the trip up to Sioux City for the NYE game, so I hope to get some comments from them afterwards. I'm planning on watching the Des Moines game on FASTHockey tomorrow night, so check back here after the game to read my recap article. Thanks for reading.

Go Stars.

Edit: I forgot to mention a recent article written by Ryan S. Clark of the Fargo, ND Inforum newspaper in which Ryan talks to Kevin Roy about his recent dealings with the Quebec Major Junior League. Click here to read the article. Good stuff as always from Ryan. It's too bad we can't get him to report on the Stars since the local paper doesn't have a clue. It's pretty sad when a North Dakota newspaper gives us the scoop before the local rag.

B³ Postgame Recap 12/28: Lincoln 5, Fargo 3

2011-12-28T23:13:00.003-06:00

The Lincoln Stars began the post-holiday break with a quality road win tonight over the Fargo Force by a score of 5-3. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the win and the two points, the Stars improved to 16-8-2 (34 points) and are now in sole possession of first place in the USHL Western Conference. The second place Omaha Lancers have 32 points. Click here to view the USHL standings.

I was able to catch this game on FASTHockey, and I'm glad I did. The Stars played very physical, fast, and dominated play for much of the game. The only thing I will say is that at times the Stars played a bit too physical, and took some undisciplined penalties (which led to two Fargo powerplay goals).

The good guys got on the scoreboard first when defenseman Paul LaDue scored at the 6:19 mark of the first period to give the Stars an early 1-0 lead. With the puck in the Fargo zone, LaDue pinched on the play and after getting a pass from Kevin Roy, Paul skated to the front of the net and stuffed the puck past Force goaltender Zane Gothberg. Roy earned the lone assist on LaDue's third goal of the season.

The Force would answer later in the first period when Gabe Guertler scored a very odd goal to knot the game at 1-1. Guertler, who was behind the net, backhanded the puck off of Stars goaltender Jackson Teichroeb and into the open net. It appeared that the puck may have went off Teichroeb's mask.

At the end of the first period the score was tied up at 1-1. The Stars dominated the first twenty minutes, out-shooting the Force 15-5.

Despite only putting a total of 5 shots on goal in the second period, the Stars managed to score two goals to take a 3-1 lead. As a Fargo penalty was ending, Stars forward Brent Tate found himself with the puck along the boards in the Force end. Tate fired a pass across the ice to a wide-open Tommy Schutt who fired the puck glove-high past Gothberg to give Lincoln a 2-1 lead at the 11:33 mark of the second period. Tate and Colton Saucerman collected the assists on Schutt's fifth goal of the season.

Less than four minutes after Schutt's goal, Stars forward Kevin Roy intercepted a lazy Fargo pass and skated in alone on Fargo goaltender Zane Gothberg. Roy deked one way, went to the backhand, and roofed the puck into the open net to give Lincoln a 3-1 lead. Roy's 21st goal of the season, which leads the USHL, was unassisted. Stars took a 3-1 lead into the second intermission. Fargo outshot the Stars 7-5 in the second period.

Whatever momentum the Stars had coming into the final period disappeared quickly when Fargo scored on the powerplay a little over one minute into the third. Fargo's Taylor Richart fired a blueline wrister past a screened Teichroeb at the 1:11 mark to cut the Lincoln lead to 3-2. The penalty-kill woes continued for the Stars later in the period when Force forward Dave Gust scored at the 12:45 mark of the third period to tie the game up at 3-3. Just like that, the Force came back from a two-goal deficit in the third period and were smelling blood in the water.

However, the Stars would answer quickly when Tommy Schutt scored his second goal of the game just 26 seconds after Fargo's third goal to give Lincoln the lead again, this time at 4-3. This goal was a little hard to follow. Schutt won a faceoff in the Fargo end and quickly fired a shot that snuck by a surprised Gothberg. The Fargo crowd was stunned. Schutt's unassisted tally turned out to be the game-winning goal.

With Fargo netminder Zane Gothberg pulled for the extra-attacker, Stars forward Jared Hanson scored an empty-net goal to seal the Lincoln victory. Matt Friese earned the only assist on Hanson's goal. Stars won their second in a row in Fargo against the Force. Lincoln outshot the Force overall 27-19.

Lincoln goaltender Jackson Teichroeb stopped 16 of 19 shots on net to record his 12th win of the season. Fargo goaltender Zane Gothberg stopped 22 of 26 shots in the loss. Fargo finished 2-for-6 on the powerplay, while the Stars went 0-for-2 with the man advantage. Austin Farley, Fargo's leading scorer, was held scoreless and was -4 on the night.

Very impressed with the overall effort tonight. With the team coming off the holiday break, I was a bit worried that they might come out and play flat and uninspired. That was definitely not the case. The Stars bullied the Force on their home ice, and took advantage of the offensive opportunities given to them. Credit also goes to the team for limiting the Force to only 19 shots on goal in their own rink. All-around quality win over a team that had won four out of their last five games coming into this matchup.

Stars continue their road swing with two more games this weekend. On Friday night, Lincoln will travel to Des Moines, Iowa to battle the Buccaneers for the first time this season. On New Years Eve (Saturday), the Stars will take on the Musketeers in Sioux City. I'll highlight those two games late Thursday night.

Go Stars.

B³ Pregame Report: Lincoln Stars vs. Fargo Force 12/28

2011-12-27T21:13:00.002-06:00

The Lincoln Stars will return from the nine-day holiday break with a Wednesday evening matchup against the Fargo Force in Fargo. The game in Fargo is the first of three road games the Stars will play this week.

The Stars have a record of 15-8-2 (32 points) and are tied for first place in the USHL Western Conference. Click here to view the USHL standings.

You can follow the boxscore online via Pointstreak, listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye on KLMS 1480 AM, or watch the games live on FASTHockey for a fee.

The Force sport a record of 9-12-3 (21 points) and are currently tied for fifth place in the USHL Western Conference. The Force have been a familiar foe for the Stars so far this season, as this will be the fifth time they have met already. Each team has a record of 2-2-0 in those four previous games, with each team going 1-1-0 on their home ice. The least time these two teams faced each other, the Stars blanked the Force in Fargo on 11/19/11 by a score of 2-0.

Despite their subpar record, the Force have been playing very well as of late. They have won four of their last five, including four straight wins at home. It's no secret that the Stars have had a hard time winning games against the Force in Fargo, so this should be a very good test for Lincoln, especially considering the players are returning from the holiday break. Hopefully the Stars still aren't on holiday break mentally.

Sorry for the abbreviated pregame article. I ran out of time tonight (I'm still mentally on holiday break) but I wanted to get something up. I'm planning on watching this game on FASTHockey, so I hope to have a postgame recap article up on the blog sometime tomorrow night. I'll have a preview article for the other two road games this weekend later this week.

Go Stars.

B³ Prospect Watch: Future Stars

2011-12-22T13:33:00.009-06:00

Throughout this season, I'm going to be highlighting a group of younger players the Stars have previously drafted and are protected on their affiliate list. This is the first update of many that I will post during the next 6 months or so, leading up to the next tryout camp in June of 2012.

Although some of these names might not be familiar to most fans, the players listed here will most likely be playing for Lincoln sometime in the next season or two. So get familiar with them, because you will see them soon at the IceBox. In fact, some of the players below have already worn a Stars uniform.

If you have additional information about any of the players listed below that you would like me to add to the article, or if I have posted inaccurate info, please send me an email at lincolnstarshockey@gmail.com.

This is kind of a long article, so make sure you click the "Read more" link below to check it out.

Max Coatta - Forward - '94 - 5'10", 175 pounds - 2010 USHL Futures Draft Pick
2011-12 season stats: Max is a junior on the Minnetonka (MN) Skippers high school hockey team. Coatta is the second leading scorer for the Skippers with 16 points (8g, 8a) through 8 games. Click here to view his stats from the 2010-11 season. Current Stars forward Tommy Schutt was a teammate of Coatta's last year at Minnetonka HS. Stars affiliate player Vinni Lettieri is a junior forward on the Minnetonka team as well. Coatta participated in the Stars' tryout camp this past June in Minneapolis and was named to one of the two camp all-star games. Max's older brother Sam Coatta played two seasons for the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede from 2009-11.

Trevor Cope - Forward - '94 - 5'11", 185 pounds - 2011 USHL Entry Draft Pick
2011-12 season stats: Trevor is playing for Victory Honda U-18 (MM) of the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League for the second straight season. The native of Commerce, Michigan has scored 30 points (12g, 18a) along with 73 PIM's through 21 games played for Victory Honda. Cope participated in the Stars' tryout camp this past June where he was selected to one of the two camp all-star games.

Max Humitz - Forward - '95 - 5'9", 150 pounds - 2011 USHL Futures Draft Pick
2011-12 season stats: Max is in his first season with the U-16 Honeybaked Hockey Club where he has scored 8 points (4g, 4a) through 13 games. The native of Livonia, Michigan played last season for the Stevenson high school hockey team. Humitz participated in the Stars' tryout camp in Minneapolis this past June where he was selected to one of the two camp all-star games.

Vinni Lettieri - Forward - '95 - 5'9", 165 pounds - 2011 USHL Futures Draft Pick
2011-12 season stats: Vinni is a junior on the Minnetonka Skippers high school hockey team where he is his team's lead scorer with 23 points (10g, 13a) in only 8 games played. Click here to view his 2010-11 stats with Minnetonka. Lettieri played two games for the Lincoln Stars earlier this season before his high school season started. In those two games, Lettieri scored 2 assists, and was +2. Lettieri has already committed to play hockey for the University of Minnesota. Most scouts consider Lettieri to be one of the top forwards in the state of Minnesota. Vinni is a very quick, shifty, talented forward who has the skills to play in the USHL right now. Don't be surprised if the Stars try to bring him up again later in the USHL regular season after his high school season has ended. Vinni participated in the Stars' tryout camp this past June where he was selected to one of the two camp all-star games.

Sean Malone - Forward - '95 - 6'0", 175 pounds - 2011 USHL Futures Draft Pick
2011-12 season stats: Sean is a junior forward on the Nichols Prep School (Buffalo, NY) hockey team where he is his team's leading scorer with 16 points (7g, 9a) in 6 games played. From what I have been told, Sean has already received hockey offers from two different Ivy League universities. Malone is also an all-state soccer player for Nichols Prep School. Malone participated in the Stars' tryout camp this past June in Minneapolis where he was selected to one of the two camp all-star games.

Vinny Muto - Defenseman - '93 - 6'2", 195 pounds - 2011 USHL Entry Draft Pick
2011-12 season stats: Muto is a first-year defenseman on the Cowichan Capitals (BCHL) hockey club where he has scored 13 points (4g, 9a) to go along with 22 PIM's in 31 games played. Last season, Muto played for the Trinity-Pawling Prep School hockey team in Pawling, NY. Click here to read an article about Muto after he was drafted by the Stars earlier this year. Vinny participated in the Stars' tryout camp this past June where he was selected to one of the two camp all-star games.

Derek O'Flynn - Defenseman - '94 - 6'2", 195 pounds - 2011 USHL Entry Draft Pick
2011-12 stats: Derek, who is a native of Canton, Michigan, is a first-year defenseman on the Michigan Warriors (NAHL) hockey team. In 27 games for the Warriors this season, O'Flynn has scored 10 points (all assists) along with 8 PIM's. Derek participated in the Stars' tryout camp this past June where he was selected to one of the two camp all-star games.

David Parrottino - Forward - '94 - 5'10", 170 pounds - 2011 USHL Entry Draft Pick
2011-12 stats: David, who is originally from Rochester, Michigan, is in his first season with the U-18 Honeybaked Hockey Club. Through 11 games for Honeybaked, Parrottino has scored 6 points (4g, 2a) along with 14 penalty minutes. Click here to view his stats from 2010-11. Parrottino was the first player born in '94 that the Stars selected in the 2011 entry draft. David participated in the Stars' tryout camp this past June where he was selected to one of the two camp all-star games.

Sean Pomeroy - Defenseman - '95 - 6'2", 185 pounds - 2011 USHL Futures Draft Pick
2011-12 stats: Pomeroy is in his first season playing for the Culver Academy hockey team where he has accumulated 1 point (goal) in three games played. The native of Glenview, Il played last season for the Chicago Young Americans U-16 team where he racked up 6 points and 27 penalty minutes in 33 games played. Click here to see his 2010-11 stats. Pomeroy did not participate in the Stars' tryout camp this past June.

Parker Reno - Defenseman - '95 - 6'1", 195 pounds - 2011 USHL Futures Draft Pick
2011-12 stats: Parker is a junior on the Edina (MN) Hornets high school hockey team where he has scored 3 points (all assists) to go with 14 PIM's in 8 games played. Like Vinni Lettieri, Reno is a player that a lot of scouts are looking at and he is considered one of the top defenseman in the state as a junior. Reno spent most of his sophomore season out of the lineup due to a knee injury, be he has since fully recovered. David participated in the Stars' tryout camp this past June where he was selected to one of the two camp all-star games.

Alex Schoenborn - Forward - '95 - 6'2", 195 pounds - 2011 USHL Futures Draft Pick
2011-12 stats: Schoenborn is a first-year forward on the U-16 Omaha (NE) AAA hockey club where he is his team's second leading scorer with 11 points (6g, a) in 9 games played. Alex has also racked up a total of 43 PIM's in those nine games. Last season, as a freshman on the Minot (ND) Magicians high school team, Alex scored 45 points in 27 games played and was his team's leading scorer. Schoenborn has been called up by the Stars twice this season, and has played a total of three games for Lincoln (two games in November and one game in December). Much like Lettieri and Reno, Schoenborn is a kid that has generated the interest of a lot of college hockey programs. He has size and skill, which is a dangerous combination. I would not be surprised if the Stars call Alex up more frequently as the season goes along, especially since he is playing just up the road in Omaha. Schoenborn participated in the Stars' tryout camp this past June where he was selected to both camp all-star games. Edit: Schoenborn has recently committed to play major junior hockey for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Click here to read more. With his signing with Portland, he will not be coming back to Lincoln to play for the Stars any time soon. Big loss for the Stars.

Justin Woods - Defenseman - '94 - 6'2", 210 pounds - 2011 USHL Entry Draft Pick
2011-12 stats: Woods, who is originally from Fairbanks, Alaska, is currently a first-year defenseman for the Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL) team. Through 27 games this season for the Ice Dogs, Woods has scored 3 points (all assists) to go along with 22 PIM's. Before playing for Fairbanks in the NAHL, Woods played for U-18 California Titans hockey club where he scored 17 points (8g, 9a) and added 47 PIM's. Click here to view a short YouTube video of Woods produced by the USHL before he was drafted by the Stars. Justin participated in the Stars' tryout camp this past June where he was selected to one of the two camp all-star games.

Well, that's about it. More than you probably ever wanted to know about the players on the Stars' affiliate list. All of the players above were protected by the Stars this past July, so there is a good chance you'll see them soon (if you haven't already) in a Lincoln Stars uniform. I'll keep checking back on the progress of these players and will post more "prospect watch" articles here on the B³.

Kevin Roy courted by the QMJHL - Updated

2011-12-20T23:22:00.010-06:00

I ran across a tweet tonight regarding Stars forward Kevin Roy that I thought was very interesting. According to the tweet (pictured below), Kevin Roy was approached by the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

Patrick Roy, the former NHL all-star goaltender, is the co-owner, general manager, and head coach for the Remparts. Patrick Roy is no relation to Kevin Roy.

I also ran across this article (which is in French), that states that Roy had a meeting with the Remparts recently, but appears to be coming back to Nebraska and the Lincoln Stars after the holiday break. Here's a rough translation (according to Google) of the above linked article:

The scoring of the best known American junior circuit, the USHL, could it be a wall a few weeks? We can now ask the question.

Kevin Roy of Lac-Beauport near Quebec, aligned with the Lincoln Stars. He has not closed the door to 100% to my colleague from VAT Sports in Quebec Stéphane Turcot. An appointment was scheduled between the clan and the Remparts Roy this week. He returned to Nebraska next week.

Roy has passed through the ranks of the Académie Saint-Louis in Quebec before taking the path of USHL. It will probably be drafted by an NHL team in June.

According to the plan A, it will evolve at Brown University next year.

Before you ask the question: no there is no relationship to Patrick Roy.

I really doubt Roy would give up his college scholarship and eligibility to play major juniors at this point in his hockey career, so I think these reports are nothing to be concerned about. It appears for the time being that Roy is intent on returning to the Stars, and playing at Brown University next season.

Edit: Here's a follow-up to this story, courtesy of Ryan S. Clark of the "Slightly Chilled" blog:

http://slightlychilled.areavoices.com/?p=1339

Here's an excerpt from the article linked above:

Lincoln Stars coach Chad Johnson said this afternoon forward Kevin Roy will not join the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this season.

Johnson said Roy, who leads the USHL in scoring with 38 points this season, was recently approached by a Quebec City television station about doing an interview when he returned home for the Christmas Break. Roy is from Lac-Beauport, which is 15 miles or 25 kilometers from the province’s capital city.

“Both myself and (Stars assistant Jimmy) McGroarty spoke with the family. Jimmy spoke with his father and I spoke with Kevin at length and it started out as a TV station that wanted to do an interview and turned into a local player the Remparts are interested in,” Johnson said by phone. “Now he’s supposedly going to meet with the organization and Patrick Roy with him being the owner. We were told the family is not interested. They are interested in the college route. (The interview) was not blown out of proportion, but it was twisted around into him wanting to play in the QMJHL.”

“They put a kid in a tough spot,” Johnson said. “One thing about Kevin, he’s a loyal player. At 18 years old, that can be overwhelming. But he’s thinking about where he could be at 39 or 40. Academics are important to him and his family. Bottom line is if Kevin keeps progressing, he is going to play in the NHL regardless of where he’s playing.”

Johnson said when he spoke with Roy he asked him what would he rather have on his resume: An education from an Ivy League university or the fact he played Major Junior hockey in Canada.

Here's a link to a video from TVA Sports in Quebec, Canada about Kevin Roy. Kevin is interviewed in the video, but unless you're fluent in French, you won't get much out of the video. Click here to view it.

B³ Postgame Recap 12/17: Lincoln 2, Green Bay 3 OT

2011-12-18T12:02:00.005-06:00

Jared Hanson scored a game-tying goal with only 1.3 seconds remaining in the third period to force overtime, but it was the hometown Green Bay Gamblers that won it in the extra period over the Lincoln Stars by a score of 3-2. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the overtime loss (and the one point), the Stars will head into the USHL holiday break with a record of 15-8-2 (32 points), and are now tied for first place in the USHL Western Conference with the Omaha Lancers. The Lancers have played one more game than the Stars, and have one more loss. Lincoln has a .640 winning percentage, while Omaha has a .615 winning percentage. Click here to view the USHL standings.

I decided to watch this game on FASTHockey, and I'm glad I did. This was a very good matchup between two of the top teams in the USHL right now.

In what has become an unfortunate hallmark for this Lincoln squad, the Stars came out a bit sluggish in the first twenty minutes and fell behind early to the Gamblers. I'm not sure what it is about this team, but it seems that more often than not, they play uninspired hockey in the first period. They are certainly not a team that starts strong, but thankfully, they do seem to turn it on and play better as the game progresses.

Green Bay got out to a 2-0 lead in the first period thanks to two different defensive turnovers made by the Stars in their own end. On GB's first goal, Nick Schmaltz stripped the puck from a Stars defenseman behind the net and then centered it to a wide open Sam Kerr who snapped the puck past Stars goaltender Charles Williams.

The second GB goal came when Nicholas Schilkey picked the pocket of another Stars defenseman just inside the blueline, and then drove hard to the net before passing it over to Alex Kile who one-timed the puck past Williams to increase the lead to 2-0. Hard to blame Williams on either of those two goals. His defensemen left him out to dry for sure.

Lincoln outshot Green Bay 13-11 in the first period, but many of those 13 shots were from bad angles, so Gamblers goaltender Michael Rotolo really didn't have to work too hard to make those 13 saves.

In the second period, both teams would go scoreless although I thought Lincoln played with more urgency and tested Rotolo with higher quality shots on goal. Both teams would put up 15 shots on net in the second period.

The Stars would finally get on the board at the 5:55 mark of the third period when Paul LaDue's shot from the point was tipped in by Markus McCrea. The powerplay goal pulled Lincoln to within one goal at 2-1. Jared Hanson and Paul LaDue earned the assists on McCrea's fourth goal of the season. Just like the second period, I thought Lincoln outplayed Green Bay for the most part in the third period, but as the minutes ticked away, it started to appear that Lincoln would not be able to tie the game.

However, Jared "Mr. Clutch" Hanson had other plans. With only 1.3 seconds remaining in the game, and with Stars goaltender Charles Williams pulled for the extra attacker, Jared Hanson drove hard to the net and knocked the puck past Rotolo on a goal-mouth scramble to knot the game up at 2-2. At this point of the game, you could say Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye was a happy guy. Brent Tate earned the only assist on Hanson's tenth goal of the season. Just when it looked like the Stars would lose their second game of the weekend by one goal in regulation, Hanson came up huge, which seems to be his calling card. We would go to overtime.

However, just one minute and sixteen seconds into the 4-on-4 five minute overtime period, Gamblers defenseman Jordan Schmaltz ripped a shot past Charles Williams to win the game. Schmaltz, who was left all alone by the Stars at the blueline, skated a few strides in and snapped the puck glove high past Williams to give his team the 3-2 victory.

Stars outshot Green Bay overall, 39 to 34. Lincoln goaltender Charles Williams stopped 31 of 34 shots on net in the loss. Green Bay goaltender Michael Rotolo stopped 37 of 39 shots on goal in the win. I thought both goaltender played very, very well. Stars finished 1-for-2 on the powerplay, while the Gamblers went 0-for-3 with the man advantage. Stars did a great job killing a near two minute 5-on-3 Green Bay powerplay in the second period.

Tough loss, but I thought Lincoln deserved at least a point tonight and they got it thanks to Hanson's heroics. Hopefully the team can figure out a way to avoid these lazy starts, because if they can, they will continue to win a lot of games. Lincoln now has the following 10 days off for the holiday break. The next game for the Stars will be on December 28th in Fargo, against the Force.

I hope everyone out there has a happy and safe holiday season, and thank you for patronizing this blog. I have plans for some articles this week and next to keep content fresh, so stay tuned for those. For one of those articles I'm going to highlight some of the younger, up-and-coming players the Stars have drafted recently, and update everyone on where they are playing right now.

Go Stars.

B³ Postgame Recap 12/16: Lincoln 4, Dubuque 5

2011-12-17T10:52:00.000-06:00

A third period comeback by Lincoln came up just short last night in Dubuque, as the hometown Fighting Saints hung on to a 5-4 victory over the Stars. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the loss, Lincoln dropped to 15-8-1 (31 points) but the Stars are still in sole possession of first place in the USHL Western Conference. The second place Omaha Lancers, who lost 7-1 to the Fargo Force last night, are right behind the Stars with 30 points. Click here to view the USHL standings.

I only listened to the radio broadcast of this game, so this recap will be short. If you watched the game on FASTHockey and you'd like to leave a comment, please do so below.

For the most part, this game was lost by the Stars in the first period. Before they could blink, the Stars found themselves down 2-0 in the first five minutes of the game. In total, Lincoln surrendered four goals to Dubuque in the first twenty minutes and found themselves down 4-2 at the first intermission. Dubuque would add a fifth goal in the second period, so the Stars had a three goal deficit (5-2) going into the third period.

In the third, goals from Kevin Roy and Brent Tate pulled the Stars to within one goal at 5-4, but that would be as close as Lincoln would get to tying the game. Stars have their five-game road win streak snapped by the Saints, who extended their home winning streak to seven games.

Stars outshot the Fighting Saints overall, 26 to 24. Lincoln finished the game 1-for-3 on the powerplay, while the Saints went 0-for-5 with the man advantage. Dubuque did score one shorthanded goal in this game, which was the first SH goal the Stars have surrendered this season. Jackson Teichroeb stopped 19 of 24 shots in the loss.

Kevin Roy and Brent Tate each scored two goals for the Stars to lead the scoring charge for Lincoln. Roy, who now has scored 37 points (20g, 17a) in 24 games, continues to hold the top spot in scoring in the USHL.

The Stars will travel to Green Bay, Wisconsin tonight to take on the Gamblers, who are considered by many to be the top team in the USHL right now. However, the Gamblers lost a rare game last night at home to the Youngstown Phantoms by a score of 5-3. Before the loss last night to the Phantoms, the Gamblers had not lost in regulation in 13 straight games. In fact, they had a record of 12-0-1 in those thirteen games. The Stars will certainly have their work cut out for them if they want to earn two points tonight, and finish strong before the holiday break.

Go Stars.

B³ Live Chat: Lincoln Stars vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints 12/16

2011-12-16T14:59:00.000-06:00

Join us tonight when we will be chatting live during the Lincoln Stars vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints game. Puck drops at 7:05pm CST. If you aren't familiar with the CoverItLive chat software, it's very simple to use. Around 6:45pm tonight, I will start the blog window below, allowing fans to chat with one another during the game. You don't need to register to chat. Just type in your screen name and post a comment. See you at 6:45pm!

Click here to listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye call the game on AM 1480 KLMS (online feed). Click here to watch the game via FASTHockey, for a fee.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=d9555668d4" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Lincoln Stars vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

B³ Weekend Preview: Dubuque and Green Bay

2011-12-15T23:06:00.004-06:00

With only two games remaining until the x-mas holiday break, the Lincoln Stars will go on the road and hopefully extend their current three-game winning streak with contests against two of the top USHL Eastern Conference teams. On Friday, the Stars will take on the Dubuque Fighting Saints. On Saturday, Lincoln will battle against the Green Bay Gamblers. Faceoff for both games will take place at 7:05pm CST.

If you'd like to follow the action this weekend, you can check out the boxscores online via Pointstreak, listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye on KLMS 1480 AM, or watch the games on FASTHockey for a fee.

The Stars enter this weekend with a record of 15-7-1 (31 points) and are all alone in first place in the USHL Western Conference standings. The Stars have a one point lead over the Omaha Lancers who have 30 points and are in second place. Lincoln has one game in hand over Omaha. Click here to view the USHL standings.

First up for the Stars on Friday night will be a tilt against the defending Clark Cup champion Dubuque Fighting Saints (14-7-1, 29 points, second place in the USHL Eastern Conference). Since the Saints joined the USHL at the beginning of the 2010-11 season as an expansion team, the Stars are winless (0-1-1) against Dubuque. This will be first of two games the Saints and Stars will play against each other this season. The Saints will come to the IceBox to take on the Stars later on in the regular season on 3/23/2012 for the last matchup.

The Saints are one of the better defensive teams in the USHL, surrendering on average only 23 shots and 2.5 goals per game. Dubuque goaltender Matt Morris, who was a big reason why the Saints won the Clark Cup last season (playoff MVP), was recently activated from the injured reserve list and should be starting against the Stars on Friday night. Morris is also a big reason why Stars goaltender Jackson Teichroeb is playing for Lincoln right now. Teichroeb, who played alongside Morris for the Fighting Saints last season, requested a trade during the offseason. With Morris returning to the Saints for another season, Teichroeb saw the writing on the wall and requested a trade to a team where he would get more playing time.

The Lincoln coaches thought Teichroeb would be a good addition to the team, so they traded a first round pick in the 2012 USHL Entry Draft for the rights to Teichroeb. So far, the decision to bring in Teichroeb has paid off for the Stars. I would assume the Stars will start Teichroeb in net against his former team on Friday night, so it will be interesting to see how he performs. Dubuque goaltender Matt Morris, has not played in a game since 10/22/11, so let's hope he's rusty and allows some easy goals.

On Saturday night, the Stars will take on arguably the best team in the USHL right now, the Green Bay Gamblers (19-3-1, 39 points, first place in the USHL Eastern Conference). Unlike Dubuque, this will be the only time this season that the Stars and Gamblers will play against each other. Green Bay enters this weekend on a seven-game winning streak.

To put it simply, the Gamblers are scary good. Scary. They are deep at every position, and have one of the top goaltenders in the USHL in Ryan McKay. But, like every other team in the USHL, the Gamblers put on their skates the same way as the Stars, so it's not like GB is unbeatable. They can be beat, and oddly enough, they play much better on the road compared to at home, which is good news for Lincoln. The Gamblers have an astonishing 13-1-0 road record, and a 6-2-1 record at home.

To say these weekend games will be the biggest test the Stars have faced so far this season is an understatement. Lincoln currently has the second-best record in the entire USHL, so it will interesting to see how they stack up against the top two eastern conference teams. If you are thinking about watching any games on FASTHockey this season, I would recommend purchasing both contests. The hockey on display should be top notch. Considering the competition, I think getting at least two points this weekend would be great. Anything more than that would be really great. :)

We will have a live chat running on both nights this weekend, so check us out. Those chats will start around 6:45pm each night. Hope to see you there.

Go Stars.

Jared Hanson named USHL Offensive Player of the Week

2011-12-12T16:18:00.000-06:00

More good news for the Lincoln Stars!

Lincoln Stars forward Jared Hanson was named "CCM Offensive Player of the Week" by the USHL today due to his efforts this past weekend. Click here to view the official press release from the league.

Here's an excerpt from the article linked above:

Hanson scored five points (3g, 2a) and earned a plus-five rating as the Stars won three games in three nights. He dished out two assists in the 5-2 win vs. Sioux Falls on Friday. The 18-year-old from Palmer, Alaska then scored three goals, including the winner in overtime, during the 4-3 victory over Waterloo on Saturday. It was the first hat trick of his USHL career as he fired a game high seven shots on goal. Hanson is playing in his second USHL season and has collected 16 points (9g, 7a) through 18 games, already equaling his goal total from 53 games last season.

Congrats to Jared! Very well deserved. Hanson is one of those players who has a motor that doesn't quit, and is the type of teammate who would sacrifice just about anything to win a game. What he lacks in size he makes up with the size of his heart. Nice to see Jared get the recognition he deserves. Well done!

"Lincoln Stars Success" video from Channel 10/11 KOLN-KGIN

2011-12-12T12:46:00.001-06:00

Thanks to the blog reader who brought this to my attention.

KOLN/KGIN 10/11 did a recent story on the success of the Lincoln Stars franchise over the years. That video is below. Very interesting piece, I thought. Stars President Jim Pflug is interviewed, along with former Stars fan favorite Derek Reynolds and current Stars defenseman Dax Lauwers. Here's the link to the story on the 10/11 website if you cannot play the video below.

B³ Postgame Recap 12/11: Lincoln 2, Waterloo 1 OT Shootout

2011-12-11T21:07:00.003-06:00

It's a clean sweep for the Lincoln Stars! 3-for-3!

Tonight in Waterloo, Iowa, the Lincoln Stars did something that hadn't been done since April of 2007. The Stars won a game at Waterloo Young Arena against the Blackhawks. Stars win tonight, 2-1 in an overtime shootout over the Waterloo B'hawks.

Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the win this evening, the Stars earned six out of a possible six points available to them this weekend. Lincoln has won three in a row, and swept the Blackhawks in their home-and-home series. Lincoln improved their record to 15-7-1 (31 points), and are now all alone in first place in the USHL Western Conference. The Omaha Lancers, who currently have 30 points, were bumped out of the top spot. Click here to view the USHL standings.

I didn't get a chance to listen to the broadcast tonight, so this "recap" will be brief. If anyone out there had an opportunity to watch the game on FASTHockey, and you'd like to give us your take, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you.

In the first period, Waterloo scored their only goal of the game at the 15:40 mark when Mike Huntebrinker scored at even-strength to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead. Waterloo would take that 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Waterloo outshot the Stars 16-5 through the first twenty minutes.

The Stars would score their only regulation goal in the second period when forward Kevin Roy potted his league-leading 18th goal of the season at the 13:54 mark. Dax Lauwers and Matt Friese earned assists on Roy's even-strength goal. Stars outshot the B'hawks 12-9 in the second period.

After a scoreless third period, this game would go to a five minute 4-on-4 overtime period. Stars outshot the Blackhawks 12-8 in the third period. In the five minute overtime period, the Stars outshot the Blackhawks 4-1, but neither team would score.

In the shootout, the Stars would score three times, while Waterloo would only score twice. I'm going to copy the shootout results from Pointstreak below. As you can see, Stars defenseman Colton Saucerman scored what would turn out to be the game-winning shootout goal.

Stars goaltender Charles Williams stood on his head tonight and stopped 33 of 34 shots to record his fourth win of the season. The Waterloo organization decided to give all of the three stars to their own players (lame), but the true number one star of this game was Charles.

Huge win tonight to get the six points in three games, and earn their first win Waterloo since 2007 to get the monkey off their backs. The next five games the Stars will play are all on the road, so this weekend should be a big confidence booster for the team as the get back on the bus. Lincoln will face the top two teams in the USHL Eastern Conference next weekend when they take on the Dubuque Fighting Saints (29 points) on Friday, and the Green Bay Gamblers (39 points) on Saturday. Big test for the team. The two road games next weekend will be the final two games before the Stars go on x-mas break.

Go Stars.

Snapshots of the Game: Waterloo vs. Lincoln 12/10

2011-12-11T10:47:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Carl Kacvinsky and Jeff White for allowing me to share some of their photos from the Waterloo game last night. Click here and here to view Carl's Facebook page and website. Also, check out Jeff's "Depicted Image" Facebook page. If you're on Facebook, make sure you "Like" both pages so you can see all of their Stars photos throughout the season.

Click the "Read more" link underneath the photo below to see all of the pictures in this series.

Jared Hanson goes down to one knee to celebrate his game-winning OT goal

Matt Friese (L) and Kevin Roy after Jared Hanson's first period goal

Brad Hawkinson

Zach Frye after a big hit on a Waterloo player

Brandon Carlson

Shot just goes wide of the Waterloo net

Brent Tate scraps with a Blackhawks player

Moments before Colton Saucerman scored his second period goal

Waterloo goaltender Jay Williams

Cracked pane of glass after a hit along the boards

Jared Hanson celebrates after tipping the puck past Jay Williams for his second goal of the game

Jared Hanson once again....this time in OT shooting the puck into the net for the game-winning goal

It's in the net!!

And the crowd goes wild!

Game over! Stars win!

Zach Frye and the rest of his teammates during warmups

Mike McKee

Kevin Roy

Zach Frye crashes the Waterloo net

Mike McKee

Jared Hanson celebrates after his game-winning OT goal

B³ Postgame Recap 12/10: Waterloo 3, Lincoln 4 OT

2011-12-10T23:01:00.006-06:00

Courtesy of CK Photography

Wow! What an amazing atmosphere tonight at the IceBox!

In front of 4,123 rabid fans tonight at the IceBox, Jared Hanson scored his third goal of the game in overtime to give the Stars a thrilling 4-3 victory over the Waterloo Blackhawks.

Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the win, their second in a row, the Stars improved to 14-7-1 (29 points) and are in second place, one point behind first place Omaha, in the USHL Western Conference standings. Lincoln has two games in hand over the Lancers. Click here to view the USHL standings.

The Stars got on the scoreboard halfway through the first period when forward Jared Hanson scored his first of three goals on the night, at the 10:06 mark to give Lincoln a 1-0 lead. Kevin Roy and Matt Friese earned the assists on Jared's even-strength goal. Roy set up the play with a pretty pass to a breaking Hanson who one-timed the puck into the net. The 1-0 lead wouldn't last long for the Stars as Waterloo's Tyler Zepeda scored at the 13:54 mark to knot the score at 1-1. Stars Jackson Teichroeb misplayed the puck behind his own net, and the puck squirted out to a wide open Zepeda who tapped it into the open net. Probably the easiest USHL goal Zepeda will ever score. Stars outshot the Blackhawks 6-3 in the opening period.

In the second stanza, Waterloo would strike first when Mark Naclerio scored at the 13:20 mark to give the Blackhawks their first lead of the game at 2-1. Less than three minutes later, the Stars would score on the powerplay to even the score at 2-2. Lincoln defenseman Colton Saucerman found himself with the puck close in on Waterloo goaltender Jay Williams. Saucerman skated in front of the netminder, held onto the puck and waited for Williams to commit, then roofed a backhand shot to score. Zach Aston-Reese picked up the lone assist on Saucerman's third goal of the season. Saucerman has now scored in back-to-back games, and all three of his regular season goals have come on the powerplay. Stars outshot the Blackhawks 15-8 in the second period.

Just like in the first two periods, the Stars and Blackhawks would both score once in the third period. Waterloo didn't waste any time when Tony Cameranesi scored a powerplay goal just 14 seconds into the third to give the B'hawks their second lead of the game, this time at 3-2. Both teams exchanged scoring chances throughout the third, but it was the Stars who found the back of the net at the 11:12 mark. Jared Hanson scored his second goal of the game, this time when he tipped a Brandon Carlson shot past goaltender Jay Williams to even the score at 3-3. Carlson and Zach Aston-Reese earned the assists on Hanson's even-strength goal. At the end of regulation, the score remained 3-3. Stars outshot the Blackhawks 13-8 in the third period.

In overtime, the hero was Jared Hanson, who has a knack for scoring dramatic game-winning goals at the IceBox. Last season, on 3/8/11, Hanson scored with only 33 seconds remaining in the third period to propel the Lincoln Stars past the Omaha Lancers by a score of 4-3. This time, Jared scored 2 minutes and 19 seconds into the overtime period to give Lincoln the two points. Colton Saucerman started the play with an outlet pass up to Luke Johnson, who brought it into the Waterloo zone. Johnson then passed it over to a breaking Hanson, who drove hard to the net and chipped the puck past goaltender Jay Williams, into the open net. The IceBox went nuts. I hope you like my hat, Jared!

Stars outshot the Blackhawks 35-21 overall. Jackson Teichroeb stopped 18 of 21 shots to record his 11th win of the season. Jay Williams, who in my opinion was Waterloo's best player of the game, stopped 31 of 35 in the loss. Stars went 1-for-7 on the powerplay, while the Blackhawks went 1-for-4 with the man advantage.

Gutsy win by the Stars. I thought Lincoln did a fantastic job with playing the body all night long and wearing the Blackhawks down physically. Waterloo has a very fast team, but they don't have a lot of size, especially up front with the forwards. I'm not sure if this was the game plan, but I thought the Stars took advantage of the size advantage they had, and wore down the Blackhawks with hit after hit. He doesn't show up on the scoresheet with any points, but I thought Zach Frye, who was playing forward last night, had a very good game. Frye hit anything that moved, and caused a lot of havoc.

Lincoln goes for the weekend sweep tonight against the Blackhawks in Waterloo, Iowa. The rink in Waterloo is olympic size, which is bigger than your typical NHL sized rink, so that means more ice and a quicker pace. The Blackhawks, with their smaller, quicker forwards, take advantage of that extra space that the olympic ice surface offers. Should be a tough one again tonight for the Stars. Faceoff for that game is at 5:05pm. Can the Stars earn 6 out of 6 points available this weekend? We'll find out soon enough.

Go Stars.

B³ Postgame Recap 12/9: Lincoln 5, Sioux Falls 2

2011-12-09T22:07:00.006-06:00

The Lincoln Stars started their three-games in three-nights weekend with an impressive 5-2 road victory over the Sioux Falls Stampede tonight. The win snapped the Stars' two-game losing streak.

Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the win, the Stars improved to 13-7-1 (27 points) and are in second place in the USHL Western Conference. Lincoln is only one point behind the Omaha Lancers (28 points), who are in first place. The Stars have two games in hand over the Lancers, however.

Scoring for the Stars tonight was Kevin Roy, Markus McCrea (2), Colton Saucerman (PP), and Ralfs Freibergs. Kevin Roy finished the game as the leading scorer with 3 points (1g, 2a).

Stars goaltender Charles Williams stopped 19 of 21 shots to record the win, his third of the season and his second against the Sioux Falls Stampede. Stars handily outshot the Stampede, 40-21 overall. Lincoln went 1-for-2 on the powerplay, while Sioux Falls finished 1-for-1 with the man advantage.

Stars are back at the IceBox tomorrow (Saturday) night to face the Waterloo Blackhawks. Be there, and be loud!

Go Stars.

B³ Live Chat: Lincoln Stars vs. Sioux Falls Stampede 12/9

2011-12-09T14:22:00.000-06:00

Join us tonight when we will be chatting live during the Lincoln Stars vs. Sioux Falls Stampede game. Puck drops at 7:05pm CST. If you aren't familiar with the CoverItLive chat software, it's very simple to use. Around 6:45pm tonight, I will start the blog window below, allowing fans to chat with one another during the game. You don't need to register to chat. Just type in your screen name and post a comment. See you at 6:45pm!

Click here to listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye call the game on AM 1480 KLMS (online feed). Click here to watch the game via FASTHockey, for a fee.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=eee6913775" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Lincoln Stars vs. Sioux Falls Stampede&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

B³ Weekend Preview: Sioux Falls and Waterloo²

2011-12-08T19:54:00.005-06:00

The Lincoln Stars will look to rebound after a disappointing homestand last weekend with three games in three nights this weekend against western conference foes. On Friday, the Stars will travel to Sioux Falls, SD to take on the Stampede. On Saturday, the Stars will return to the IceBox to battle the Waterloo Blackhawks. On Sunday evening, the Stars will get back on the bus and take on the Waterloo Blackhawks once again, but this time in their rink. Faceoff for both Friday and Saturday night games will take place at 7:05pm. Faceoff for the Sunday game in Waterloo will take place at 5:05pm.

If you are unable to attend any of the three weekend games, you can follow the boxscores online via Pointstreak, listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye on KLMS 1480 AM, or watch the games on FASTHockey for a fee.

Lincoln enters this weekend with a record of 12-7-1 (25 points), and are in second place in the USHL Western Conference. The Omaha Lancers, who are riding a three-game winning streak after firing their head coach, are in first place with 26 points, although they have played two more games than the Stars at the time of this article. Click here to see the USHL standings.

First up for the black and blue will be the Sioux Falls Stampede (8-8-1, 17 points, sixth place in the USHL Western Conference), a team that the Stars are very familiar with. Lincoln has played twenty games this season, and four of those twenty games have been against the Stampede, more than any other USHL team. The Stars are 3-1-0 against the Stampede in those four games, although each game has been tightly contested. Three of the four games have been decided by one goal, and the other game was decided by two goals. In their previous four tilts, neither team has scored more than three goals.

A big reason why each of the four previous meetings have been low scoring, and tightly contested, is the fact that both squads have some of the better goaltending in the USHL. The big dog in Sioux Falls is goaltender Stephon Williams. Although Williams is 1-3-0 against Lincoln this season, his individual numbers are very, very respectable. Williams has a 2.03 goals against average, and a .947 save percentage in those four games. On the other side of the coin, Stars goaltender Jackson Teichroeb is 2-1-0 against Sioux Falls with a 1.67 goals against average and a .936 save percentage. Stars goaltender Charles Williams is 1-0-0 against Sioux Falls after stopping all 25 shots he saw on opening night in Lincoln's 2-0 shutout victory over the Stampede on 9/30/11.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Stars will get very familiar with the Waterloo Blackhawks (10-7-2, 22 points, third place in the USHL Western Conference) when they play a home-and-home series. This will be the second and third times these two teams will face each other this season. In their only previous matchup, the Blackhawks earned a quality 4-3 win over the Stars at the IceBox on 10/7/11. In that game, Waterloo broke a 3-3 tie late in the third period with powerplay goal to win it.

Waterloo is a very young, fast, talented team that is right behind the Stars in the USHL Western Conference standings. Leading the way for the B'hawks is the youngster Taylor Cammarata, who just happens to be the youngest player on the team (DOB 5/13/95). Cammarata was picked #1 overall by Waterloo in the 2011 Futures Draft after he scored 139 points (71g, 68a) in only 54 games last season for the Shattuck-St. Mary's U-16 prep hockey team. Through 19 games for Waterloo this season, Cammarata has 24 points (12g, 12a) and is third overall in USHL scoring. It's hard to believe that a 16-year old is racking up points like Cammarata has, and is near the top of the USHL scoring chart.

The two games against Waterloo will be a huge test for the Stars, considering the B'hawks are right behind the Stars in the standings. Waterloo is traditionally a team that the Stars haven't not had a lot of luck against in the past five years or so. Going back to the start of the 2007-08 season, the Stars and Waterloo Blackhawks have played a total of 13 times in the regular season. The Stars have a record of 3-6-4 in those thirteen games. Only three wins in 13 games against Waterloo. Overtime hasn't been kind to the Stars against the B'hawks over the years either.

The game against Waterloo at the IceBox this Saturday will be the last home game in the month of December for the Stars, so make sure you attend and get your live hockey fix because you won't see it for almost a month. The next home game after the Waterloo game is on Friday, January 6th. Eight of the next ten games the Stars will play are on the road, so in order to stay near the top of the standings, Lincoln will have to win a number of games away from the comfy confines of the IceBox.

Go Stars.

Snapshots of the Game: Sioux City vs. Lincoln 12/3

2011-12-04T11:20:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Brandon Anderson and Jeff White for letting me post some of their photos from the Sioux City game last night. Check out Brandon's "BA Photos" Facebook page and website, and also check out Jeff's "Depicted Image" Facebook page also. If you're on Facebook, make sure you "Like" both pages so you can see all of their Stars photos throughout the season.

Click the "Read more" link underneath the photo below to see all of the pictures in this series.

Pregame starting lineup

Jared Hanson

Zach Aston-Reese

Stars work the puck in the north end of the IceBox

Matt Friese (laying on the ice) moments after scoring his third period goal

Stars celebrate after Friese's goal

Teemu Tiitinen forechecks in the SC zone

Markus McCrea lowering the BOOM!

Ralfs Freibergs (on knees) moments after scoring his second period goal

Lasers!

Markus McCrea

Big hit in front of the players bench

Markus McCrea lowering the BOOM again

Celebration after Ralfs Freibergs' second period goal

Mike McKee ragdolls Geoff Ferguson during their second period fight

Brandon Carlson exchanges punches with Dane Cooper during their second period tilt

SC goaltender Matt Skoff making gestures to Jackson Teichroeb. Skoff's gloves are apparently sewed on. All talk.

Brent Tate

Goal light is on after Ralfs Freibergs' (far right) second period goal

Teemu Tiitinen "resting" on the ice

Brent Tate fires a shot towards the SC goal

B³ Postgame Recap 12/3: Sioux City 4, Lincoln 3

2011-12-04T09:45:00.001-06:00

Courtesy of Depicted Image - Jeff White

The Sioux City Musketeers came into the IceBox on Saturday night and extended the Stars' home losing streak to three games with a gritty 4-3 victory. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the loss, the Stars dropped to 12-7-1 (25 points) and despite their current two-game losing losing streak, the Stars are still all alone in first place in the USHL Western Conference. Click here to see the current USHL standings.

The Muskies got on the scoreboard early in the first period when Nikita Sirotkin scored at the 4:45 to give SC the 1-0 lead they would take into the first intermission. The Stars would outshoot the Muskies 8-5 in the first period, but they were not able to get any shots past SC goaltender Matt Skoff.

In the second period, both teams really amped up the scoring chances as the two teams combined for 33 shots on goal. It was Lincoln who scored first in the period when Kevin Roy scored his league-leading 16th goal of the season (on the powerplay) to even the score at 1-1. Brent Tate and Colton Saucerman earned the assists on Roy's PP wrap-around goal, which came at the 7:05 mark of the period.

Sioux City would answer at the 10:29 mark when David Henry scored for the Muskies. The Stars kept fighting and scored another PP goal late in the period to knot the game up at 2-2. Ralfs Freibergs muscled the puck past Skoff in a goal-mouth scramble at the 16:47 mark of the period. Brent Tate and Zach Aston-Reese collected the assists on Freibergs' 5th goal of the season. Sioux City outshot Lincoln 17-16 in the second period.

The Stars struck early in the third period when Matt Friese scored a very impressive individual effort goal at the 4:49 mark to give the home team its first lead of the game at 3-2. Jared Hanson and Zach Aston-Reese earned the assists on Friese's even-strength goal. That 3-2 Lincoln lead only about a minute, as David Goodwin of the Muskies scored at the 5:55 mark of the third period to tie the game at 3-3.

Sioux City would score the game-winning goal late in the third period thanks to a Brad Robbins' PP tally with less than four minutes remaining in the game. Robbins brought the puck in from the blueline and ripped a glove-high shot past Stars goaltender Jackson Teichroeb. The Stars would have their own late powerplay opportunity late in the game, when SC's Jose Delgadillo was whistled for tripping at the 17:27, but the Stars were unable to convert.

Lincoln finished 2-for-5 on the powerplay, while the Muskies went 1-for-4 with the man advantage. Sioux City outshot Lincoln overall, 32-29. Jackson Teichroeb stopped 28 of 32 shots in the loss.

Stars obviously played better on Saturday night against Sioux City than they did Friday night against Omaha, but I felt that they let the Muskies control the play for large portions of the game. I really expected the Stars to come out in that first period and really play inspired hockey, but I just didn't see that sense of urgency. The momentum swings in this game were constant, but it seemed like whenever Lincoln had "mo" on its side, the Muskies would quickly score a goal or do something to take the crowd out of the game and deflate the Stars.

Losing three in a row at the IceBox is rare for this team, so maybe it's good that they go on the road for seven of their next eight games. The Stars have five games before the x-mas break, four of those on the road, and each will be against some of the better teams in the USHL. Two games against Waterloo, one game against Sioux Falls, one game against Green Bay, and one game against Dubuque. Not one of those four teams has a losing record as of today. With Omaha and Waterloo sneaking up behind them in the western conference ratings, the Stars are going to have to win some key games on the road in the next month to keep that top spot in the standings.

Lincoln will return to action next weekend with three games in three days. Friday night they will go on the road to face the Sioux Falls Stampede. On Saturday night, the Stars will be back at the IceBox to knock heads with the Waterloo Blackhawks. On Sunday afternoon, the Stars will take on the Blackhawks again, but this time in Waterloo, Iowa. Great opportunity for the Stars to get back on track and earn 6 points next weekend. We'll talk about those three games later in the week.

Go Stars.

Snapshots of the Game: Omaha vs. Lincoln 12/2

2011-12-03T11:08:00.002-06:00

Thanks to Brandon Anderson and Jeff White for letting me post some of their photos from the Omaha Lancers game last night. Check out Brandon's "BA Photos" Facebook page and website, and also check out Jeff's "Depicted Image" Facebook page also. If you're on Facebook, make sure you "Like" both pages so you can see all of their Stars photos throughout the season.

Click the "Read more" link underneath the photo below to see all of the pictures in this series.

Stars celebrate Kevin Roy's second period goal....and the teddy bears begin to fly

Jared Hanson attempts to stuff the puck past Omaha goaltender Alex Lyon

Will Suter

Luke Johnson

Ralfs Freibergs

Markus McCrea

Charles Williams makes a save

Teemu Tiitinen

Zach Aston-Reese

Kevin Roy skates past an Omaha defender

Matt Friese (L) celebrates with Brent Tate after Tate's third period goal

Mike McKee

Luke Johnson and Kevin Roy after Roy's first period goal

Here comes the stuffed animals!

Brent Tate

Faceoff

Scrum in front of the Omaha net

B³ Postgame Recap 12/2: Omaha 7, Lincoln 2

2011-12-03T11:07:00.002-06:00

Courtesy of Brandon Anderson Photography

The Omaha Lancers stunned a near sellout IceBox crowd Friday night with a 7-2 thumping of the Lincoln Stars. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore. The win for Omaha was their first against the Lincoln Stars in seven straight games dating back to last season. The Stars were 6-0 against the Lancers going into their matchup last night, which didn't end well for the good guys.

I don't have a lot of time to devote to this recap, so this will be short. I'm going to post some photos from the game courtesy of Brandon Anderson and Jeff White right after this.

Omaha came out in the first period and simply outworked and outskated the Stars for the first twenty minutes of the game. They were rewarded with a 3-0 lead going into the first intermission. Lincoln could not keep up with Omaha's speed, and they looked tired and a little lost. Unfortunately for the Stars, the damage had already been done by the three Omaha goals.

As we've seen more than a few times this season after a slow start, Lincoln came back and played much better in the second period. They limited the amount of Omaha chances, and was able to get one goal past Lancers goaltender Alex Lyon. Stars forward Kevin Roy scored his USHL leading 15th goal of the season at the 8:06 mark of the period. Brandon Carlson collected the only assist on Roy's even-strength goal. Omaha took a 3-1 lead going into the second intermission.

The Stars battled for the first part of the third period, and kept the game within two goals, but the Lancers scored two late empty-net goals to seal the victory. Scoring for the Stars in the third period was Brent Tate, with the only assist going to Kevin Roy. Omaha outscored Lincoln 4-1 in the third period.

I thought the Stars played a little better than the final score indicates. It certainly was an ugly loss, but it's not like the Lancers dominated play for the full 60 minutes. However, this game was lost in the first twenty minutes when the Lancers ran out to the 3-0 lead and the Stars could not recover.

Stars outshot the Lancers 31-28 overall. Lincoln went 0-for-2 on the powerplay, while the Lancers went 1-for-4 with the man advantage. Stars goaltender Jackson Teichroeb stopped 7 of 10 shots before he was pulled after the third Omaha goal late in the first period. Charles Williams, who came into the game in relief of Teichroeb, stopped 14 of 16 shots on net.

What's nice about having another game at the IceBox tonight is that the Stars will get a quick chance at redemption, and hopefully will bounce back in a big way against the Sioux City Musketeers, a team that Lincoln is 2-0 against so far this season. It will be interesting to see how the Stars players react tonight against SC after the loss last night. I expect them to come out in that first period and play very inspired hockey.

Be safe driving to and from the IceBox tonight. The snow is really coming down out there. Give yourself plenty of time, and drive safe.

Go Stars.

B³ Weekend Preview: Omaha and Sioux City

2011-12-01T19:57:00.001-06:00

The IceBox in Lincoln, NE will be the place to be this weekend as the Lincoln Stars return home for two games against western conference divisional foes. On Friday (12/2), the Stars will take on their rival to the north, the Omaha Lancers. On Saturday (12/3), the Stars will battle the Sioux City Musketeers. Faceoff for both games this weekend will be at 7:05pm CST.

If you are unable to attend any of the two weekend games this weekend, you can follow the boxscores online via Pointstreak, listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye on KLMS 1480 AM, or watch the game on FASTHockey for a fee.

Lincoln enters this weekend with a record of 12-5-1 (25 points), and are all alone in first place in the USHL Western Conference. The Stars are on a two-game winning streak, and went 2-0-1 in three games last week. In their last 10 games, the Stars have a record of 8-1-1. Lincoln has outscored their opponents 37-23 in those ten games. Click here to see the USHL standings.

First up for the Stars this weekend will be the Omaha Lancers, who have a record of 9-8-2 (20 points) and are in third place in the USHL Western Conference. This will be the second time this season that the Stars and Lancers have faced one another. Back on 11/12, the Stars beat the Lancers by a score of 2-1 at the IceBox in a tightly contested, playoff-like game. The Lancers are on a bit of a slide as of late, having lost three in a row and four of their last five.

The big news out of Omaha this week was the firing of Lancers head coach Bliss Littler. Click here to read more about that. Basically, the president of the Lancers told Littler that he had no confidence in him anymore, and sent him packing. The move surprised many USHL fans and pundits, although Littler's departure was considered a positive move in the right direction by many Omaha fans. Littler's style of hockey (low scoring, non-aggressive, trap) wasn't received well by Lancer fans, and his teams generally were looked upon as underachieving. A 5-9 postseason record didn't help either.

Current Omaha assistant coach Mike Aikens will assume the interim head coaching position until the end of this season. Assistant coach Michael Zucker will assume the "associate head coach" role. Aikens' first task as assistant turned head coach? Beat the Stars at the IceBox this Friday night. It should be interesting to see how the Omaha players respond to this drama-filled week. Will they come out with their hair on fire and play hard to win a game for their assistant coaches? Or will they be distracted and play with no inspiration? We'll find out Friday night.

On Saturday night, the Stars will play host to the Sioux City Musketeers who currently have a record of 7-11-0 (14 points) and are in sixth place in the USHL Western Conference. This will be the third time these two teams will face each other this season with the Stars going 2-0 in their two earlier head-to-head battles. In both of those games, all in Sioux City, the Stars dominated play winning 4-1 on 10/15, and 6-2 on 11/8. In those two games against the Muskies, Stars forward Kevin Roy has scored six points (5g, 1a) and scored the game-winning goal in both games.

The Stars have certainly had Sioux City's number this season, but they have yet to face the Muskies in Lincoln. The Musketeers have been playing better on the road this season, but the Stars are 6-2-1 playing in front of the home fans at the IceBox. After going a dismal 2-7-0 in the month of October, the Muskies have turned it around and are playing much better as of late, as their 5-4-0 record in November indicates. The hot hand for the Muskies has been forward Brad Robbins, who is on an eight-game point scoring streak, and an four-game goal scoring streak.

As for the Stars, they will be coming home after playing 5 of their previous 6 games on the road. Lincoln went 4-1-0 in those five road games. After these two home games this weekend, the Stars go back on the road with 7 of their next 8 games away from the IceBox. Every game is important, but the Stars really need to take care of business this weekend, take advantage of the home crowd, and earn four points before they have to spend the rest of December on the road.

Don't forget that the Friday evening Omaha Lancers game is "Teddy Bear Toss" night at the IceBox. Bring your new stuff animal(s) to the game and throw then onto the ice after the Stars score the first goal of the game. All of the stuffed animals collected by the Stars that night will be donated to the 104.1 FM The Blaze's Kampout for Kids campaign. This event is always a favorite of the fans, and should make for some great photos.

Hope to see you all at the IceBox this weekend!

Go Stars.

Bliss Littler Fired After Three Seasons at Omaha

2011-11-30T23:46:00.018-06:00

Bliss Littler won't be behind the bench when the Omaha Lancers play the Lincoln Stars at the Ice Box Friday night.

That's because Littler was fired on Wednesday just a couple months into his fourth season in Omaha. The former Tri-City coach was 9-8-2 with the Lancers this season. Omaha is in third place in the Western Conference, just five points behind Lincoln.

Littler had a 117-60-22 record with Omaha, the best of any Western Conference team since he arrived. Owner and president Ben Robert basically told the Omaha World-Herald that he "lost confidence in Littler."

I wonder if this decision was more of a personal thing or something...call me shocked. It's rare enough to see USHL coaches lose their jobs in the middle of the year, but for a team that was just a few points out of the standings lead? Crazy. Omaha assistant Mike Aikens will fill in for the rest of the year as interim head coach.

Edit: Click here to read an article about Littler's dismissal from the Omaha World Herald. Interesting quote from Littler that BT mentioned above: ""They just told me I was relieved of my duties," Littler said. "He (Robert) said 'I've lost confidence in you, you're relieved of your duties immediately.' It was short, sweet, he said what he had to say, got up and left."

Matt Bartkowski NHL.com video

2011-11-28T21:29:00.001-06:00

Thanks to the blog reader who brought this to my attention! Here's a video from PensTV on NHL.com about former Lincoln Stars, and current Boston Bruins defenseman, Matt Bartkowski. Bart is a native of Pittsburgh, PA, so that's why he was featured on PensTV (Pittsburgh Penguins).

Matt starts talking about his time in Lincoln at the 1:30 mark. Great quote from Bart about the IceBox at the 2:05 mark of the video. "To describe Lincoln's hockey rink....it's like a bar with hockey rink in it. It's an unbelievable atmosphere."

Ralfs Freibergs named USHL Defensive Player of the Week

2011-11-28T17:23:00.002-06:00

More awards for the Lincoln Stars!

Stars defenseman Ralfs Freibergs was named CCM Defensive Player of the Week by the USHL today. Freibergs shared the weekly award with Green Bay Gamblers defensemen Andrew Welinski.

Click here to read the official press release from the USHL.

Here's an excerpt from the above mentioned article:

Freibergs scored three of the eight goals for the Stars over a three-game span and helped the team kill off 13-of-14 power plays by the opposition. He scored both goals in the 3-2 overtime loss to Tri-City on Wednesday and then scored the first goal of the game in the 2-1 victory against Sioux Falls on Friday. He posted a game high plus-two rating in Saturday’s 4-2 win over Tri-City. The 20-year-old from Riga, Latvia is third among USHL defensemen in scoring with 12 points (4g, 8a) in 18 games while also being second on the Stars with a plus-nine rating.

The native of Riga, Latvia has really turned it on in these past few weeks for the Lincoln Stars. Much like Matt Prapavessis was last season for the Stars, Ralfs is the very definition of a powerplay quarterback. He does a great job at running the powerplay and distributing the puck in the offensive zone. As we saw this past week, he's also good at putting the biscuit in the basket as well.

Congrats to Ralfs! Very well deserved.

Snapshots of the Game: Lincoln vs. Tri-City 11/26

2011-11-27T11:10:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Brandon Anderson for allowing me to share some of his pictures from the Tri-City game last night. Click here and here to view BA's website and Facebook page.

Click the "Read more" link underneath the photo below to see all of the pictures in this series.

Jackson Teichroeb

Jared Hanson celebrates his first period goal

Kevin Roy and Luke Johnson lead the charge on offense

Jackson Teichroeb makes a point blank save

Dalton Spicer of the Storm chirps with Brent Tate

Colton Saucerman

Jackson Teichroeb with another save

Ralfs Freibergs

Kevin Roy

Matt Friese

Brent Tate

Stars bench

Jonathan Grebosky rips a shot from just inside the blue line

Jared Hanson reacts after scoring his third period empty net goal

Stars celebrate Hanson's third period goal

Scoreboard!

B³ Postgame Recap 11/26: Lincoln 4, Tri-City 2

2011-11-26T22:04:00.001-06:00

It was a gutsy, workmanlike effort by the Lincoln Stars tonight as they beat the Tri-City Storm in Kearney by a score of 4-2. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the win, the Stars improved to 12-5-1 (25 points) and are still in first place in the USHL Western Conference. With Cedar Rapids' 3-2 win over the Waterloo Blackhawks tonight, the Stars opened up a four point lead for first place in the west over the Blackhawks.

Due to a number of injuries, Lincoln only dressed 15 skaters tonight (10 forwards, 5 defensemen) against the Storm. Despite that, the remaining Stars in the lineup took on a rested Tri-City Storm team in their own rink and battled through fatigue and road-weary legs to earn the victory. Very, very proud of their effort tonight.

Stars forwards Jared Hanson and Luke Johnson scored two goals a piece to lead the team on offense. The hero of the game without a doubt was goaltender Jackson Teichroeb, who stopped 39 of 41 shots on goal to record his USHL league leading 10th win of the season.

Stars are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. So out of a possible 20 points available in the last 10 games, the Stars have earned 17. Impressive, especially considering the amount of injuries this team has dealt with.

I'll update this blog article with a full recap tomorrow morning when I have more time. I know there were a lot of Stars fans who were at this game tonight in Kearney, so I hope they will all leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you, so don't be shy! I hope to have photos from Brandon Anderson as well tomorrow.

Enjoy the win! Go Stars!

B³ Live Chat - Lincoln Stars vs. Tri-City Storm 11/26

2011-11-26T14:21:00.000-06:00

Join us as we chat live tonight when the Lincoln Stars take on the Tri-City Storm in Kearney. Puck drops at 7:05pm CST. If you aren't familiar with the CoverItLive chat software, it's very simple to use. Around 6:45pm tonight, I will start the blog window below, allowing fans to chat with one another during the game. You don't need to register to chat. Just type in your screen name and post a comment. See you at 6:45pm! Go Stars!

Click here to listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye call the game on AM 1480 KLMS (online feed). Click here to watch the game via FASTHockey, for a fee.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=4f806e51f4" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Lincoln Stars vs. Tri-City Storm&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

B³ Postgame Recap 11/25: Lincoln 2, Sioux Falls 1

2011-11-25T22:13:00.005-06:00

It was another close game between the Lincoln Stars and the Sioux Falls Stampede tonight, but for the first time this season it was the road team that got the win as the Stars proved victorious by a score of 2-1. Click here to view the Pointstreak boxscore.

With the win, the Stars improved to 11-5-1 (23 points) and are now all alone in first place in the USHL Western Conference. The Waterloo Blackhawks, who did not play tonight, have 21 points on the season and are in second place in the west. Click here to see the current USHL standings.

I only listened to bits and pieces of the radio broadcast tonight, so this recap will be brief. If you watched the game tonight, or if you were lucky enough to be in attendance, I'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below!

After a scoreless first period which saw Lincoln outshoot Sioux Falls 10-3, it was the good guys who got on the scoreboard first in the second period. With the Stars on the powerplay, defenseman Ralfs Freibergs scored his fourth goal of the season, his third in the last two games, to give Lincoln a 1-0 lead at the 3:57 mark of the second period. Defenseman Zach Frye earned the lone assist on Freiberg's powerplay goal. After two periods, the Stars clung to the 1-0 lead. Lincoln outshot the 'Pede 14-6 in the second stanza.

The Stars would get the insurance goal at the 6:38 mark of the third period when Zach Aston-Reese scored his third goal of the season to give Lincoln a 2-0 lead. Aston-Reese's goal, which also came on the powerplay, would turn out to be the game-winning goal. Defenseman Mike McKee collected the only assist on Aston-Reese's third period goal. The Sioux Falls Stampede would snap Jackson Teichroeb's shutout attempt late in the third period with an even-strength goal with less than five minutes remaining in the game.

Stars outshot the Stampede in the third period 14-9, and overall 38-18. Lincoln went 2-for-7 on the powerplay, while Sioux Falls was skunked going 0-for-7 with the man advantage. Great job by the Stars penalty kill unit and goaltender Jackson Teichroeb tonight, keeping the 'Pede from finding the back of the net on the PP. Speaking of Teichroeb, he stopped 17 of 18 shots on goal to record his ninth goal of the season, which is tied for first overall in the USHL. Sioux Falls goaltender Stephon Williams stopped 36 of 38 shots in the loss.

Very, very impressive team effort tonight considering the amount of injured players who missed this game. For the second straight game, the Stars only dressed five defensemen. Out of the lineup due to injuries was Brandon Carlson, Paul LaDue, Tommy Schutt, Will Suter, Dominik Shine, and Brad Hawkinson. The fact that this team has been able to put together wins with some big names out of the lineup this season is very encouraging. Hopefully we'll get some of the above players back in the lineup soon. It's scary what this team could do when they get healthy.

What more can you say about the defensive effort tonight. In Sioux Falls, down to five defensemen, the Stars limited the Stampede to 9 shots through the first two periods, and only 18 shots overall on the night. Playing shorthanded, the Stars put a blanket on the Stampede tonight and allowed very few pucks to get through to Jackson Teichroeb.

The Stars will be back in action tomorrow night in Kearney, NE where they will battle the Tri-City Storm. I know quite a few Stars fans will be at that game, so I hope to get some good game reports back from them. We'll be doing a live chat for that game here on the blog, so make sure you check us out tomorrow evening. Enjoy the win tonight, folks.

Go Stars.

Congrats to Paul LaDue!

2011-11-25T13:49:00.002-06:00

According to Brad Elliott Schlossman, reporter for the Grand Forks (ND) Herald, Lincoln Stars defenseman Paul LaDue has committed to play collegiate hockey for the University of North Dakota. Click here to read more.

Click here to see the twitter announcement from Schlossman. The University of North Dakota is located in Grand Forks, ND which also happens to be the hometown of Ladue.

In 15 games for the Stars this season, LaDue has scored 10 points (2g, 8a), is +10 (leads the team), and has two game winning goals on the season. In my opinion, LaDue has been one of the big reasons why the Stars have played so well this season. He's a very steady, composed defenseman who is more than capable offensively.

Congrats to Paul! What an honor to be able to play your college hockey in front of your hometown. UND is one of the best hockey programs in the country as well. I have been told that LaDue is planning on attending UND starting the fall of 2013, which means he'd be back in Lincoln next season as well, but that could change depending on player personnel at UND in the next year or two.

B³ Weekend Preview: Sioux Falls and Tri-City

2011-11-25T12:51:00.003-06:00

The Lincoln Stars will get back on the bus and hit the road this weekend for two games away from the comfy confines of the IceBox. On Friday 11/25, the Stars will take on the Stampede in Sioux Falls, SD. Faceoff for the Friday night game will be at 7:05pm CST. On Saturday 11/26, the Stars will trek west to Kearney, NE to battle the Tri-City Storm. Faceoff for the game in Kearney will also be at 7:05pm.

Lincoln enters this weekend with a record of 10-5-1 (21 points), and are tied for first place in the USHL Western Conference with the Waterloo Blackhawks. The B'hawks, who are riding a five-game winning streak, also have an identical record of 10-5-1. Click here to see the USHL standings.

If you are unable to attend any of the two games this weekend, you can follow the boxscores online via Pointstreak, listen to Stars radio announcer Mike Melbye on KLMS 1480 AM, or watch the game on FASTHockey for a fee.

First up for the Stars will be the Sioux Falls Stampede (7-5-1, 15 points, fourth place in the USHL Western Conference). This will be the fourth time this season these two teams will play each other. In their previous three head-to-head battles, the Stars are 2-1-0, with the only loss occurring in Sioux Falls on 10/21/11. Exactly two weeks ago on 11/11/11 at the IceBox, the Stars beat the Stampede by a score of 3-2.

When these two teams face each other, the games are close and low scoring. I don't expect that to change on Friday night in Sioux Falls. Both teams have two of the better goaltenders in the western conference in Stephon Williams (SF), and Jackson Teichroeb. The Stampede come into the game against Lincoln on a bit of a hot streak, having won three in a row. In fact, the Stampede have not lost a game since falling to the Stars in Lincoln on 11/11/11.

On Saturday, the Stars will take on a familiar foe in the Tri-City Storm (5-11-0, 10 points, tied for last place in the USHL Western Conference). This will be the third time the Storm and Stars have faced each other this season. The Stars are 1-0-1 in the two games they've played against the Storm this season. These two teams just met earlier this week on Wednesday, November 23rd when the Storm beat the Stars in an overtime shootout by a score of 3-2.

Despite the Storm's dismal record, they are on a two-game winning streak entering the weekend games, and have played the Stars very tough this season. Lincoln had to mount a furious comeback on 11/13/11 to beat the Storm in Kearney by a score of 6-5. In that particular game, the Stars scored three unanswered goals very late in the period to earn the miraculous come from behind win.

Running out of time today to get this weekend preview up, so I apologize for the briefness. We will not be doing a live chat for the Stars-Stampede game tonight, but we should have a live chat going for the Stars-Storm game on Saturday night.

Go Stars.

Snapshots of the Game: Tri-City vs. Lincoln 11/23

2011-11-24T10:49:00.001-06:00

Stars celebrate Ralfs Freibergs' third period goal

Jared Hanson

Tri-City goaltender Adam Wilcox

Jackson Teichroeb

Jonathan Grebosky

Storm threatening

Colton Saucerman and his epic fu manchu mustache

Dax Lauwers dive to pokecheck the puck from a Storm player

Stars celebrate Ralfs Freibergs' second period goal

Scrum in front of the Tri-City goal

Matt Friese

Zach Aston-Reese

Brent Tate