Speculation in Lancers situation not helping things, uncertainty is the only certain

 This is normally the time of week this blog features a preview of this weekend’s games.

Apologies to those who were hoping for that, but I haven’t looked at the schedule.

The USHL community continues to be in shock over the turmoil around the Omaha Lancers, and the actions that caused the players to walkout. The league went to Omaha to investigate today, but as of 6 pm Central, there’s no further news to report.

Which means more days of media speculation and cryptic tweets from national/international hockey media members, such as Ryan Kennedy’s tweet that stated “If you can believe it, this Omaha story may get even stranger in the coming days...”

Talk about covering your bases. It may. It may get stranger. The coming days.

Ryan, if you know something and are prepared to go to press with it, that’s fine. But cryptic messages - especially from The Hockey News, a publication that has long covered major junior far more in-depth than the USHL (some around these parts would say they have a bias, I won’t comment either way) - just fan the fire.

Of course, the league, USA Hockey, whoever is in charge here, could have extinguished the fire with some kind of announcement today. Even if the announcement was they met with the players, they met with the owners, they had lunch at the Valentino’s Buffett and dinner at Runza - just give us something to work on other than media rumors.

But the shock here isn’t just this was happening in the USHL. This is the Omaha Lancers. THE Omaha Lancers. The team that invented the modern USHL. The franchise that, when owned by Ted Baer, reportedly could not get a lease at Aksarben Coliseum, since the facility was slated for demolition. The story goes, he went to Aksarben and said, give me six games. If I fail to sell out even one, then I go away. If I sell out all six, I have the lease. 

He sold out those six. And then a few more. In total, 241 consecutive sellouts at 6,124 fans in Aksarben Coliseum. Truth be told, there were many nights they could have sold twice as many seats if they had them. Along the way, they won an incredible five Clark Cups in the 1990s. 

The Lancers put the USHL on the map. People then started to notice, Des Moines is sold out every night, a smaller arena, but always 3,000. Sioux City and Waterloo drew well. This was not the early days of the 80s, when most of the league played to smallish crowds in Minnesota. The USHL was on the map.

Lincoln came along in 1996-97, selling out every game for more than five years, first at 4,231, then at 5,010. A Clark Cup in year one was icing on the cake. It seemed every new franchise was a success. Sioux Falls and Cedar Rapids. Tri-City. The late 90s and early 2000s was a boom time for the league, and it was all based on the Lancers’ lead.

It had often been said you don’t own a junior hockey team to make money, you own it because you love owning it. Suddenly, both were possible. Elsewhere in the junior hockey world, Washington-based WHL teams Tri-City, Seattle, and Spokane started to boom about the same time. Junior hockey had long avoided NHL markets in either country, but suddenly teams were doing well in suburban Detroit, Vancouver, Calgary, and Ottawa.

The Lancers were at the forefront of not just the change in the USHL, but the change in junior hockey.

Everything that followed in terms of successful teams led the quality of play to go up. The late 90s produced NHL players such as Ruslan Fedotenko, Duvie Westcott, Tyler Arnason, Ryan Malone, Rostislav Klesla, David Hale, among others. There was even a future NHL coach in Sioux City’s Dave Hakstol. 

The on-ice and off-ice success prompted the idea of a “Tier I” league, since it was obvious the USHL had moved ahead of the other top USA Hockey-sanctioned junior leagues, the NAHL and the AWHL. As a league, the USHL became the country’s sole Tier I league, a status they maintain to this day.

And it really started with Ted Baer and the Omaha Lancers.

That’s why this is so shocking. The Lancers have long been the gold standard, and they will be again one day. Today isn’t that day, but it will happen. There’s too much tradition, history, and continued potential. 

It’s just unfortunate we don’t have any clear cut answers after day one of the USHL investigation. Maybe it’s far too early to expect resolution, but an update to end the speculation would be welcome by all.

USHL week 8 preview - Chicago, Dubuque meet in clash of East titans

• The game of the night Friday should be the rematch between defending champion Chicago (10-2-3-0) and upstart Dubuque (7-1-2-2). These teams produced a wild third period last Saturday in Geneva, with the Steel coming out with a 4-3 win. The regulation loss was the first of the season for the Fighting Saints. This time, the scene shifts to Dubuque, where the Saints are 3-0-0-1 this season. That’s right - despite their record, Dubuque has played just four of their first 12 games at home. 
• Looking at the schedule a couple of weeks ago, it looked like the home-and-home with Lincoln (8-3-1-0) and a Des Moines (6-4-1-0) would be the games of the weekend. But while the Stars have won three in a row, things aren’t as good in the Iowa capital, where they’ve posted a 1-4-1-0 record after a 5-0 start. It would be a good time for Des Moines to turn things around, as they have fallen to sixth in the tight Western Conference.
• Meanwhile, it’s really starting to appear the Lincoln Stars are for real, and legitimate contenders. The local media in Lincoln might not have noticed in between news of Scott Frost and the Husker football team’s ability to invent heartbreaking ways to lose football games, but the Stars are 4-1-0-0 at the Ice Box and 4-2-1-0 on the road. They sit just one point behind first place Tri-City (albeit with one more game played), and a good showing this weekend could put them in the driver’s seat in the West.
• The series that quietly got interesting is a pair of games between Waterloo and Tri-City. Waterloo (7-5-0-1) has moved up to fourth in the West - their 13 games are the most in the division, however - while the first-place Storm have a 9-2-0-0 record. 
• Fargo tries to turn around their slow start (3-5-2-1) when the seventh place Force visit fourth place Sioux City for a pair this weekend. The Muskies are in a mini-slump of their own, not having picked up a win in four games - but they have picked up an overtime or shootout point in three of those games. Modern hockey math - does that mean they’ve lost 4 in a row, or are basically playing .500 hockey the last two weekends? Either way, one of these teams should break out this weekend.
• If you’re a fan of old time hockey, you might want to check out Cedar Rapids. Putting the rough in Rough Riders, they lead the league with 28.73 penalty minutes per game, 8 majors,, and 15 10-minute misconducts. The only category they don’t lead in is minor penalties, where they have 63 compared to 66 for Omaha (who has played one more game). And it’s not just the Riders taking the penalties - the 271 opponent penalty minutes also leads the league. In other words, a lot of the PIM are coming as coincidentals, either in scrums, scraps, or otherwise. As far as record, they’re a respectable 5-6-0-0, considering they sat out last season after their arena was nearly destroyed by a derecho. 
• USHL attendance is sneaking up, and a lot of it is simply the numbers getting entered and updated. The league average is 1,312, and the only team that hasn’t reported yet is Dubuque. Sioux Falls leads the way with an impressive 6,347 total, while Fargo is next at 2,662. Cedar Rapids is third at 1,762, despite the presence of an expansion ECHL team 25 miles from their arena.
• It was national signing day earlier this week in terms of college commitments, so a lot of those college announcements are now official. Congratulations to all the players who have signed! The USHL is second to none in producing college hockey players, and with more schools adding Division I hockey, the opportunities keep getting greater. And it’s great to see so many one-time USHL names leading the way in the NCAA this season, as usual. 
• Some interesting stats: Arsenii Sergeev of Tri-City has a 1.14 goal against and a .954 save percentage in 7 starts. Somehow, the Storm lost one of those games - but a 6-1-0-0 record is very impressive! Sergeev now challenges the old-time shootout board in front of the net where you need to put the puck from center ice through an opening slightly larger than the puck for the best save percentage in league history.
• The best power play belongs to Dubuque at 29.3 percent, while the best penalty killing squad is Omaha at 91.5 percent. On the other extreme, Sioux Falls is just 7.8 percent with the man advantage, while Muskegon is just 65.5 percent killing penalties. 
• Madison (9-2-1-0) continues to dominate, even if few have noticed. They are first in goals for per game at 4.5 and second in goals against per game at 2.67. They also lead in shots per game at 36.42, more than 3 shots per game more than second place Muskegon. The Capitols are fifth in shots against at 28.08. They’re a perfect 5-0-0-0 when leading after two, but still 2-2-0-0 when trailing after two periods (2-0-1-0 when tied after two frames). 
• Enjoy the games, and remember - it looks and feels like winter in much of USHL country, so leave a little extra time for travel!

USHL Week 7 preview - Dubuque at Chicago, Tri-City at Sioux City stand out as marquee matchups

 

• Can the West Division get any tighter? Sure, the number of games aren’t the same, but listen to these standings. Lincoln has 15 points. Tri-City and Sioux City have 14. Waterloo has 13. Des Moines has 11. Omaha has 10. Sioux Falls and Fargo have 8. The worst winning percentage is .444, which belongs to Sioux Falls and Fargo (nothing that winning percentage counts OTL/SOL as a tie…which they basically are…but that’s a whole other column).
• Compared to that, the East doesn’t seem so close…yet it is. Right now, it’s a bit divided. At the top, three teams with a .731 or better winning percentage, one team in the middle at .556, and four below .500. In terms of points, Chicago leads Madison by two points - 19 to 17 - for the overall league lead, but Madison has two games in hand. Dubuque is their tails at 16, and has played one less game even than Madison. The Fighting Saints have no regulation losses, yet have only won 6 of their 10 games this year. Can we please go to a three point for a win system - like the NCHC, the CCHA, and every European league or IIHF event - so this all makes sense?
• It’s a bit quieter weekend, with six games Friday and seven Saturday. Just about everything is some kind of showdown these days, but the one that stands out is Dubuque at Chicago, Saturday night in the Fox Valley. Not only is it Top Gun night as the Steel salute one of the greatest movies ever made, but this is a battle between two East Division heavyweights.
• The other showdown also comes Saturday night, as Tri-City visits Sioux City. Two weeks ago, the Musketeers gave the Storm their first loss of the season, now Tri-City comes calling for the second time at the Tyson Events Center. The first matchup was one of the games of the year so far in the USHL, so this is one you want to catch if you can. 
• Friday night, a couple of games are intriguing. Sioux Falls sits at 4-5-0-0, but has won 3 in a row. They visit Lincoln, who lead the division with a 7-3-1-0 record (albeit with more games played than the two teams one point behind), and most impressive, have done it with only four of the first 11 games at the Ice Box. It’s a traditional Lincoln schedule - road heavy early, when Husker football and volleyball tends to dominate the local sports scene. But they’re idle Saturday night, so if they want to stay in the top three, a win Friday is advisable. 
• The other game that’s intriguing - in fact, they play both nights - is Omaha at Fargo. The Lancers swept a pair at home in Ralston Arena recently, which did a shakeup on the back half of the standings. Another Lancer sweep, and they’re right there with the leaders. A Fargo sweep, and everything gets congested. There may be a bit of bad blood as well, as the last game in Omaha ended with some pleasantries being exchanged.
• League attendance is improving as more numbers get reported. Lincoln is now officially averaging 1,717 fans - instead of 0 - and are in third place officially, attendance-wise. Sioux Falls has averaged 5,711 over three home games, while Fargo has averaged 2,669 over six home games. Muskegon and Dubuque still are yet to report, so the league average of 1,143 is certainly incorrect. In addition, a USHL typo reported on game in Sioux City has having 2 in attendance….which I’m pretty sure is wrong, since I’ve talked to at least five people who were at that game!
• Cameron Whitehead of Lincoln continues to have the highest save percentage in the league at an amazing .947 after 6 games. The Stars are 4-0-1 when is he is the goalie of record. Meanwhile,  Trii-City’s Arsenii Sergeev has the best goals against at 1.40 in five games, posting a 4-1-0 record.
• Jackson Blake of Chicago leads with 18 points (6-12–18) in 13 games, but for the first time in a while, the next two spots belong to different teams. Stephen Halliday of Dubuque has 14 points, tied with Sioux City’s Charlie Schoen (it’s pronounced SHANE, not like the actor), Chicago’s Adam Fantilli, Des Moines’ Scout Truman, and Dubuque’s Ryan Beck. 
• Overall, Madison leads with 4.64 goals per game, while Omaha comes in last at 2.20 goals per game. Tri-City leads with 1,78 goals against per game, but the same Omaha team comes in second defensively at 2.7 goals against. The end result - Omaha plays low scoring games. 
• Home teams are 47-26-5-3, while road teams are 34-33-9-5. How can they both be over .500? Again, a three point system would solve this…..
• If you’re looking for some old time hockey, check out the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders. They lead the league with 29.22 penalty minutes per game, exactly 8 more per game than second place Sioux Falls. The Rough Riders also lead with 7 major penalties (nobody else has more than 4), 13 10-minute misconducts (nobody else has more than 7), but like every team in the league, are credited with 0 game misconducts - which seems like an error. The league’s lone match penalty went to Fargo. Lincoln continues to lead with minor penalties at 67, while Omaha and Madison are tied for second at 56. 
• Blake Dangos of Madison is a +15 plus-minus, while no other player in the league is higher than +10. 
• Enjoy the games this weekend!