Anders Lee registered his first career USHL hat trick and the Green Bay Gamblers won their league-leading 13th consecutive game Friday evening dropping the Omaha Lancers 5-4 in front of 3,948 fans at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. With the loss, the Lancers fell to 27-9-2 on the year but remain atop the West Division standings with 56 points. Omaha now trails Green Bay in the overall USHL standings by three points.
Green Bay grabbed the game’s opening marker when Scott Czarnowczan’s snap shot from the left point snuck under the cross bar of Jeff Teglia and into the back of the Lancers cage. Ludwig Karlsson and Robert Francis grabbed the two assists on Czarnowczan’s first career USHL goal netted 7:30 into the opening period. The Gamblers doubled the lead less than three minutes later when William Kessel’s right wing wrist shot slipped over the glove of Teglia giving Green Bay a 2-0 lead. Chris Crane earned the only assist on Kessel’s 6th marker of the year scored 10:14 into period one. Omaha didn’t close the period quietly though and made its first trip to the scoreboard in the final minute of the frame when, while a man down, the long reach of Seth Ambroz set up Dakota Eveland’s 11th goal of the season. The goal netted with just 43 seconds left in the period was Eveland’s first shorthanded goal of the season and Omaha’s 9th shorthanded marker as a team this season.
Green Bay got that goal right back though as Lee scored the first of his three goals in the game just 51 seconds into the middle frame. Reed Seckel set up the even strength marker, which was Lee’s 19th goal of the season. Omaha got the game back to within a single goals less than three later, however, as Troy Power fired home his 12th goal of the season following two perfect set-ups from Ambroz and Mike Chiasson 3:14 into the period. After nearly 16 minutes of scoreless hockey, the Gamblers struck late in the middle stanza when Lee got in behind the Lancers defense and waited out Teglia before backhanding in his 2nd goal of the game and 20th of the year. Seckel and Matt Stewart assisted on the goal tallied with just 64 seconds left in the period.
Needing two to even the game in the third period, Omaha once again cut the deficit to a single just prior to the midway point of the period when, while on the power play, Eveland and Ryan Daugherty set up Power’s 2nd goal of the game and 13th of the season. With the deficit at just one and half the third period remaining, the Lancers seemed alive and well once again until Lee completed his hat trick just 41 seconds after Power’s marker springing the Gamblers to a 5-3 advantage. With the net empty late in regulation, Omaha got back to within a single marker when Erik Haula’s wrist shot from the slot found daylight past Gamblers goaltender Steve Summerhays but that’s as close as the Lancers would get.
Summerhays earned his league-leading 21st victory of the year in goal after 24 saves on 28 Omaha shots. Green Bay’s netminder has now won 15 consecutive decisions in goal. Teglia suffered the loss after just 22 saves on 27 shots.
The Lancers are back in action tomorrow evening as they conclude their regular season series with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.
Scoring Summary
Period 1
Green Bay – Scott Czarnowczan (Ludwig Karlsson, Robert Francis) 7:30
Green Bay – William Kessel (Chris Crane) 10:14
Omaha – Dakota Eveland (SH) (Seth Ambroz) 19:17
Period 2
Green Bay – Anders Lee (Reed Seckel) :51
Omaha – Troy Power (Seth Ambroz, Mike Chiasson) 3:14
Green Bay – Anders Lee (Reed Seckel, Matt Stewart) 18:56
Period 3
Omaha – Troy Power (PP) (Ryan Daugherty, Dakota Eveland) 9:59
Green Bay – Anders Lee (Chris Crane, Aaron Harstad) 10:40
Omaha – Erik Haula (extra attacker) (Matt White) 18:46
Shots
Green Bay – 11, 9, 7 – Total 27
Omaha – 12, 9, 7 – Total 28
Saves
Green Bay – Steve Summerhays 24 (28 shots)
Omaha – Jeff Teglia 22 (27 shots)
Power Play
Green Bay 0/3
Omaha 1/5
