Lincoln Stars
Lincoln Stars | |
---|---|
City | Lincoln, Nebraska |
League | USHL |
Conference | West |
Founded | 1996 |
Home arena | Ice Box |
Colors |
Blue, Black, White |
Owner(s) | Ryan Schiff |
General manager | Jon Hull |
Head coach | Chris Hartsburg |
Franchise history | |
1996–present | Lincoln Stars |
Championships = 2 (1996, 2003)
The Lincoln Stars are a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team playing in the West Division of the United States Hockey League (USHL).
The Stars' home ice is the Ice Box, on the Nebraska State Fair grounds and adjacent to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
With prompting of Lincoln Realtor Mark Claydon, who spear-headed an effort to build the city's first and only indoor ice arena, The Stars came to Lincoln in the fall of 1996 and became an overnight sensation in Nebraska's capital city. Led by fiery Derek Reynolds and future Ottawa Senator and San Jose Shark Josh Langfeld, the Stars posted a 40-13-1 regular season record, the best expansion season in USHL history. The Stars continued their domination through the playoffs, losing just two playoff games en route to winning the Clark Cup. More impressive, however, was the teams' performance off the ice. Every game was sold out at the 4,231-seat Ice Box, and it was common for people to camp out overnight for tickets.
The success continued through the following seasons; the Stars sold out every home game until early 2002. In 1998, the Ice Box was expanded to 5,010 seats in preparation for the USA Hockey National Championships (Junior A). The capacity was later reduced to 4,610, as some bleacher seats were converted to club seating.
The Stars have made the playoffs nine of their first ten seasons, and won their second Clark Cup in 2003. Led by players such as Danny Irmen, the Stars capped off a magical season by defeating the rival Omaha Lancers in the Clark Cup finals.
Notable Stars alumni includes Brandon Bochenski (Tampa Bay Lightning), Andy Schneider (Pittsburgh Penguins organization), David Backes (St. Louis Blues), Josh Langfeld (San Jose Sharks), Jared Boll (Columbus Blue Jackets), Evan Rankin (Syracuse Crunch), Erik Condra (Ottawa Senators) and Brandon Bollig (Chicago Blackhawks - NHL Stanley Cup Champions).
Lincoln players have also made names for themselves in the NCAA Championship Game. Three former Stars have scored championship-winning overtime goals: Josh Langfeld (University of Michigan—1998 vs. Boston College), Grant Potulny (University of Minnesota—2002 vs. University of Maine) and Colby Cohen (Boston University—2009 vs. Miami University).
Lincoln enjoys some of the best junior hockey support in the United States, as the team plays to greater than 90% capacity at the Ice Box.
Roster
As of April 10, 2016.[1]
# | S/P/C | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | College commitment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | Peters, CollinCollin Peters | F | 6' 0" | 172 lb | 1997-02-05 | Sheboygan, Wisconsin | Sioux Falls (USHL) | Northern Michigan | |
4 | Woolf, DylanDylan Woolf (A) | D | 6' 2" | 204 lb | 1996-05-03 | Victoria, Minnesota | Holy Family Catholic High School (USHS–MN) | St. Lawrence | |
5 | Green, AlexAlex Green | D | 6' 1" | 175 lb | 1998-06-18 | Chicago, Illinois | Muskegon (USHL) | Cornell | |
6 | Jaycox, LukeLuke Jaycox | D | 6' 2" | 200 lb | 1997-08-19 | Warroad, Minnesota | Warroad High School (USHS–MN) | Northern Michigan | |
7 | Rasseikin, MaximMaxim Rasseikin | F | 6' 1" | 174 lb | 1998-04-26 | Yekaterinburg, Russia | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (KHL) | None | |
8 | Wyse, AnthonyAnthony Wyse | D | 6' 4" | 225 lb | 1996-03-29 | Newton, Massachusetts | Boston Advantage U18 (Midget AAA) | New Hampshire | |
9 | D'Orsi, WillWill D'Orsi | F | 5' 11" | 180 lb | 1997-02-05 | Sudbury, Massachusetts | Saint Sebastian's School (USHS–MA) | Yale | |
10 | Laczynski, TannerTanner Laczynski | F | 6' 1" | 197 lb | 1997-06-01 | Shorewood, Illinois | Chicago (USHL) | Ohio State | |
11 | Weberg, JoachimJoachim Weberg | F | 5' 9" | 162 lb | 1996-06-21 | Oslo, Norway | Shattuck-Saint Mary's (USHS–MN) | Denver | |
12 | Bowlby, HenryHenry Bowlby | F | 6' 2" | 190 lb | 1997-02-26 | Edina, Minnesota | Edina High School (USHS–MN) | St. Lawrence | |
14 | Hamilton, TrevorTrevor Hamilton | D | 6' 0" | 187 lb | 1995-03-17 | Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan | Chicago (USHL) | Penn State | |
15 | Evers, ChristianChristian Evers | D | 6' 2" | 210 lb | 1997-05-25 | Waukee, Iowa | USNTDP (USHL) | North Dakota | |
16 | Kauppila, SamSam Kauppila | F | 6' 1" | 180 lb | 1996-05-12 | Gurnee, Illinois | Green Bay (USHL) | St. Lawrence | |
17 | Hoff, LudvigLudvig Hoff (A) | F | 5' 11" | 188 lb | 1996-10-16 | Oslo, Norway | Vålerenga Ishockey U20 (Norway U20) | North Dakota | |
18 | Gillespie, MikeMike Gillespie | F | 5' 9" | 165 lb | 1996-04-23 | New City, New York | Ohio State (B1G) | None | |
20 | Ausmus, TyeTye Ausmus | D | 5' 9" | 170 lb | 1997-07-11 | East Grand Forks, Minnesota | East Grand Forks Senior High School (USHS–MN) | None | |
21 | Badini, JackJack Badini | F | 6' 1" | 197 lb | 1998-01-19 | Old Greenwich, Connecticut | North Jersey Avalanche 18U (Midget AAA) | Harvard | |
22 | Jones, RyanRyan Jones | D | 6' 3" | 187 lb | 1996-05-26 | Crown Point, Indiana | Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL) | Nebraska–Omaha | |
24 | Poehling, RyanRyan Poehling | F | 6' 2" | 174 lb | 1999-01-03 | Lakeville, Minnesota | Lakeville North High School (USHS–MN) | St. Cloud State | |
25 | Jozefek, GrantGrant Jozefek | F | 5' 10" | 185 lb | 1997-10-25 | Chester, New Jersey | Muskegon (USHL) | Northeastern | |
26 | Lerario, BiagioBiagio Lerario (C) | F | 5' 10" | 173 lb | 1995-09-22 | Addison, Illinois | Chicago (USHL) | Northeastern | |
28 | Mersch, DominickDominick Mersch | F | 6' 0" | 185 lb | 1998-12-16 | Park Ridge, Illinois | Chicago Mission U16 (Midget AAA) | Wisconsin | |
33 | Jones, PeytonPeyton Jones | G | 6' 4" | 210 lb | 1996-02-14 | Langhorne, Pennsylvania | Philadelphia Junior Flyers U18 (Midget AAA) | Penn State | |
35 | Virtanen, PatrikPatrik Virtanen | G | 6' 3" | 184 lb | 1995-05-29 | Vantaa, Finland | HIFK U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga) | None | |
39 | Frank, EthenEthen Frank | F | 5' 10" | 175 lb | 1998-02-05 | Omaha, Nebraska | Omaha AAA 16U (Midget AAA) | Western Michigan |
References
- ↑ "Team Roster". Lincoln Stars. Retrieved April 10, 2016.