They say you don't want to fall behind by three goals when you're the visitor at the Ice Box. "Three-to-nothing in this building and you might as well be climbing Mount Everest nude — it's not going to work," Omaha
BRENT C. WAGNER / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 6:00 pm
They say you don’t want to fall behind by three goals when you’re the visitor at the Ice Box.
“Three-to-nothing in this building and you might as well be climbing Mount Everest nude — it’s not going to work,” Omaha coach Mike Hastings said.
But the Omaha Lancers never let themselves get behind by three goals and kept working their way back from a two-goal deficit to push the game to overtime. That gave Omaha a chance, and two minutes into overtime Barry Almeida scored the game-winning goal in the Lancers’ 3-2 victory Tuesday night against the Lincoln Stars.
They don’t call Almeida one of the better players in the United States Hockey League for nothing. He buried a shot on an odd-man rush for his 18th goal of the season.
“We hit a pipe and couldn’t get anything, and then they come down and win it with one shot,” Stars coach Jimmy McGroarty said. “Big time players score big-time goals.”
Lincoln started the overtime period with a one-man advantage and got off a flurry of shots, but couldn’t get anything across. Even Hastings was surprised by that.
“That was about 99.999 percent of putting it behind the goal line and it doesn’t go in,” he said. “That contributes to the odd-man rush coming back up the ice and Barry made a good shot.”
Omaha was the aggressor in the first 10 minutes of the game, but Lincoln found itself leading by two goals only 27 minutes into the game.
Lyon Messier scored first for the Stars on a play set up by Rick Carden’s hard work and Jason Gregoire’s nifty pass. Then six minutes into the second period, Gregoire added a pretty goal of his own.
Gregoire worked his way around the back of the net before and flipped the shot in with a backhand. It was his team-leading 22nd goal of the season.
But Omaha kept after it. Only 16-years-old, Dakota Eveland scored a mighty big goal on a rebound shot at the end of a power play with four minutes left in the second period to give the Lancers life.
Then with four minutes remaining in regulation, Ben Arnt took a pass from behind the goal and beat Lincoln goaltender David Reekie to tie the game.
With the win, the Lancers took a 3-2 lead in the season series, and gave the road team a win for the first time in the season series. It also ended Lincoln’s 11-game home winning streak.
“That was two good hockey teams,” Hastings said. “It seems like every time we play Lincoln it’s a one-goal game, and tonight was no different.”
Despite the loss, McGroarty wasn’t too disappointed.
“Our guys played awesome,” he said. “We just got out there at the end of the shift in overtime and they beat our guys up the ice and that gave them a 2-on-1.”
Reach Brent C. Wagner at 473-7435 or bwagner@journalstar.com.