PAPILLION, NEBRASKA – In the last week, things have begun to come into fruition. Omaha lost just its third game of the season and has decimated the entire league from the get go. The Lancers may be peaking to early and many are starting to think about the 2001 Musketeers who ran through the regular season only to run out of gas in the final weeks. Then subsequently be eliminated promptly from the playoffs. Lincoln in the mean time has continued to settle and now finds themselves in last place, one point behind Des Moines. West Division Standings: Omaha, 34 pts (17-3-0) Sioux Falls, 25 pts (10-2-5) Fargo, 22 pts (11-7-0) Sioux City, 19 pts (9-8-1) Tri-City, 18 pts (7-8-4) Des Moines, 17 pts (8-11-1) Lincoln, 16 pts (8-12-0) November 22, 2009 Fargo 5, Team USA 3 Ann Arbor, Michigan – Johnnie Seafross, Alex Lippincott, and Gavin Hartzog each contributed two points to the Force’ effort. Fargo entered the third period down 2-1 before scoring five times on 18 shots in their ninth winning effort of the season. November 25, 2009 Sioux City 5, Tri-City 4 Kearney, Nebraska – The Musketeers would fight for a late tie to send the game into overtime where they would steal the win outlasting the Storm. Sioux City would amass 35 shots on goal scoring three times in the final period. Indiana 3, Lincoln 2 Lincoln, Nebraska – The Stars received 26 penalty minutes in comparison to the Ice’ 14 minutes, to assist Indiana to the win. Bryon Paulazzo and Kevin Goumas would score twice for the Ice in the winning effort. W aterloo 5, Omaha 2 Omaha, Nebraska – The Lancers third loss of the season would also be the third USHL loss in the state of Nebraska for a Nebraska team in the evening. Waterloo would be led by J.T. Brown’s two points and C.J. Motte’s 33 saves on their way to the Black Hawks sixth win of the season. November 26, 2009 Sioux City 3, Sioux Falls 2 (OT) Sioux Falls, South Dakota – Lino Chimienti and Matt Skoff waged a goaltenders duel in the Siouxland battle as the Musketeers would prevail in overtime. Sioux City would win the shoot out 3-1 to give McKee’s Rock, Pennsylvania native Matt Skoff his fourth win of the season. Omaha 5, Des Moines 4 Des Moines, Iowa – The league leading Lancers used three second period goals to sink the host Buccaneers. Matt White would lead Omaha with four points and Erik Haula would add three points of his own. The win gives the Omaha Lancers 32 points on 16 wins and the best record in the USHL. November 27, 2009 Fargo 5, Tri-City 4 Fargo, North Dakota – It would take Nate Condon and the Fargo Force one shot in overtime to sink visiting Tri-City. Cole Gunner would lead the way for the Force scoring twice in the second period in less than a minute. The win gives the Force 22 points this season placing them in third in the West Division. Lincoln 5, Youngstown 4 Youngstown, Ohio – The host Phantoms appeared overmatched through most of the game being outshot 33-20. But Youngstown would make the most of their chances to keep the game close throughout. In the end though, the Stars would prevail being led by Brodie Reid’s three points. November 28, 2009 Lincoln 3, Youngstown 2 Youngstown, Ohio – The Lincoln Stars took two games from the Phantoms this weekend with two one-goal victories. John McCarron and Jon Puskar would each log two points in the win for the Stars. Matt Green would stop 22 out of 24 shots in his third win of the season for Lincoln. Des Moines 7, Team USA 4 Des Moines, Iowa – The Buccaneers took care of business scoring a flurry of goals late as they would wear down and dominate four win Team USA in the third period. T.J. Tynan would star for the host Bucs with four assists. Fargo 5, Tri-City 0 Fargo, North Dakota – In his USHL debut, Ryan Massa would make 22 saves for his first win of the season and his first shutout. Nate Schmidt would lead the Force in the offensive zone scoring once and assisting twice for three points. Omaha 5, Cedar Rapids 3 Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Matt White assisted Erik Haula twice in the opening period to help the soaring Lancers cruise to their league obliterating 17th win of the season. The Lancers now have 34 points placing them in first place in the West Division and nine points ahead of Green Bay in the Andersen Cup race (best team record in regular season). Upcoming Weeks Schedule: December 3, 2009 Indiana at Sioux Falls December 4, 2009 Indiana at Des Moines Sioux City at Fargo Tri-City at Lincoln Team USA at Omaha Sioux Falls at Cedar Rapids December 5, 2009 Cedar Rapids at Des Moines Sioux City at Fargo Indiana at Omaha Team USA at Tri-City USHL Weekly Honors (from the League) Offensive Player of the Week: Brock Montpetit, Waterloo Defensive Player of the Week: Dan Sova, Waterloo Goalie of the Week: C.J. Motte, Waterloo You may contact the author at: john.strathman@prohockeynews.com
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