Stars Wrap up Preseason with Win
September 17, 2022 – United States Hockey League (USHL) – Lincoln Stars News Release
The Lincoln Stars, powered by three power play goals and a pair of three-goal periods, defeated the Omaha Lancers, 6-3, on Saturday afternoon at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena Community Rink.
After suffering a pair of consecutive overtime losses on the previous two nights the Stars bounced back with a preseason-closing victory. Lincoln ends the preseason 2-0-2-0 and scored first in all four games.
Michael Mesic and D.J. Hart led all players with three points apiece. Mesic scored a pair of power-play goals while recording one assist. Hart scored and added two assists.
Lucas Massie turned aside 16-of-17 shots in net during the first two periods. Nick Von Kaufman stopped 13-of-15 in the final frame.
Michael Mesic opened up the scoring at the 6:11 mark of the first off a broken play on the man advantage. After Doug Grimes nearly stuffed in the puck near post Michael Mesic picked it up after it bounced off the side of the cage, brought it into the slot and roofed a backhander to give the Stars their first first-period goal of the preseason.
Mesic set up the next goal by scooping up the puck on the far boards and feeding D.J. Hart at the blue line. Hart settled the puck, drifted forward and fired a writer past Omaha netminder Kevin Pasche at the 7:42 mark of the first.
Late on another power play Ludke scored on a breakaway after he was sprung on a great pass by Hart. Ludke snuck behind the defense and scored on a breakaway for his first of the preseason at the 9:49 mark of the first.
The Stars got their first goal of the second period after a battle to the side of the net for the puck. Mason Marcellus came up with it and looked across ice to Jimmy Jurcev, who received it and wristed home his first of the preseason.
Mesic scored for a second time on the man advantage at 13:02 of the second while the Stars were in the midst of a line change. As the Lancers cleared the puck out to the boards Hart picked it up and found Marcellus just off the bench and entering the attacking zone on a two-on-one rush. He slipped a pass to his right to Mesic, who made no mistake for his second of the night.
The Stars scored their sixth goal of the game in the middle of a penalty kill. Wyatt Olson got a shorthanded breakaway opportunity but was interfered with on the way. Olson was awarded a penalty shot and scored on a shot that hit off the glove of Pasch but popped up and landed in the back of the net at 17:04 of the second.
Omaha scored late in the first period to cut the deficit to two, but that was the closest that the game would get. They struck twice in the third but Lincoln led by at least three for the rest of the game following Jurcev’s goal.
The regular season begins on Thursday with the Dicks Sporting Goods Fall Classic at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, Pa. The Stars will face the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders at 2:30 p.m. EST and then the Green Bay Gamblers on Friday at 12 p.m. EST.
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