KEARNEY, Neb. – The Omaha Lancers (16-8-4) were able to hold off a late charge and defeat the Tri-City Storm (14-10-5) 2-1 in front of a crowd of 4,041 at the Viaero Event Center on Saturday night.
Storm defenseman Mattias Goransson scored the lone tally of the contest for Tri-City, while netminder Alec Dillon made 16 saves to keep his team in the game the whole way.
Omaha has now won nine consecutive games and four of their five meetings with Tri-City this season.
The Storm had lots of chances and pressure in the Lancers’ end, outshooting Omaha 31-18 on the night, but goaltender Kris Oldham let only one puck past him, and earned his fourth victory of the season over Tri-City.
All three goals came in the middle period, with the two squads holding each other off the scoreboard in both the first and third frames.
Lancers’ defenseman Jimmy Schuldt made it 1-0 Omaha with a power play strike at 5:24 of the second for his eighth goal of the season. Assists on the goal went to forwads Anthony Angello and Josh French.
Goransson earned the equalizer during a 2-on-1 with forward Chris Wilkie. Forward Dan Labosky got the second assist on the play, pushing the puck to Wilkie as he took a hit in the neutral zone.
Wilkie then moved in to the Omaha end and out-waited the lone Lancer defenseman, sliding the puck to Goransson and drawing Oldham to his side. The Swedish native hit the back of the net for his fifth goal of the year and his fourth point of the weekend.
However it only took 1:09 for the Lancers to re-take the lead, as forward Louie Rowe hit Nick Rivera in front for a one-timer that beat Dillon.
Tri-City attempted 25 shots in the final period, but just nine made their way through to Oldham.
The Lancers now have 36 total points and sit in second place in the USHL’s Western Conference, while Tri-City has 33 points which is good for third place.
The Storm will host Waterloo for a weekend series on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s game starts at 7:30, while Saturday’s contest gets underway at7:05.
Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Garrett Gamez and Kyle Eastman along with defenseman Cameron Spicer…
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
(no scoring)
2nd Period
Omaha – Jimmy Schuldt (power play) (Anthony Angello, Josh French) 5:24
Tri-City – Mattias Goransson (Chris Wilkie, Dan Labosky) 14:08
Omaha – Nick Rivera (Louie Rowe, Brian Williams) 15:17
3rd Period
(no scoring)
PENALTIES
1st Period
Tri-City – Kevin Kerr – (Tripping), 2 min, 2:32
Tri-City – Daniel Labosky – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 13:52
Omaha – Louie Rowe – (Roughing), 2 min, 13:52
Omaha – Michael Wilson – (Hooking), 2 min, 18:20
2nd Period
Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Interference), 2 min, 4:27
Tri-City – Dan Labosky – (Tripping), 2 min, 5:54
Omaha – Nash Worden – (Holding), 2 min, 11:19
Omaha – Nash Worden – (Roughing), 2 min, 19:22
3rd Period
Omaha – Steven Spinner – (Slashing), 2 min, 5:46
Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Holding), 2 min, 9:18
Omaha – Jimmy Schuldt – (Slashing), 2 min, 11:35
Power Play
Omaha – 1/4
Tri-City – 0/5
Shots
Omaha: 3, 10, 5 = Total: 18
Tri-City: 11, 11, 9 = Total: 31
Saves
Omaha – Kris Oldham – 30/31
Tri-City – Alec Dillon – 16/18