David Reekie noticed something when he arrived in Lincoln.

“It’s tough to move up the standings when you win one, lose one,” the Stars goaltender said at the time.

Smart kid, that Canadian.

Well, now, the Stars have won three straight playoff games and are on to the United States Hockey League West Division finals.

Jason Gregoire scored the game-winning goal five minutes into the third period, sparking Lincoln to a 7-3 victory against Sioux Falls on Saturday at the Ice Box.

The Stars swept the best-of-five first-round series, advancing to the division finals for the first time since 2006. Following a week of rest, Lincoln will play the winner of the Omaha-Sioux City series for the division title.

Jared Festler, Ryan Kretzer, Danny Baco and Chris Forfar also scored for the Stars. Jimmy Hayes got an empty-net score for Lincoln with two minutes remaining, and Festler another goal when the goaltender returned to the net at the finish.

Nick Dineen, Jake Hansen and David Grun scored for Sioux Falls, which had won seven straight playoff games against the Stars entering the series.

Saturday, Lincoln had to rally for just the second time in the series after Sioux Falls scored two straight goals in the second period and held a 3-2 lead to begin the final period.

But the Stars’ unsung hero of the playoffs again delivered. Baco rebounded in a shot by Kyle Follmer two minutes into the third period. Just three minutes later, Gregoire beat Sioux Falls goaltender Max Strang in front of the net for the winning score.

Stars coach Jimmy McGroarty embraced Baco near the bench after the game. Baco has three goals in the playoffs, after being tied for 12th among Lincoln goal scorers during the regular season.

“He was happy, and said, ‘Keep it going,’” Baco said. “I’m happy for (McGroarty), too. He’s worked hard all year and got players for us. He deserves this series win as much as we do.”

Reekie was a big reason Lincoln was able to win a series that was closer than it will be remembered. After being winless against Sioux Falls in five regular-season games, Reekie gave the Stars a chance to win each night of the series.

Saturday, Reekie caught deflected pucks in the air, stopped a laser of a wrist shot in the second period and helped Lincoln kill off five of six penalties.

After having a 3.79 goals-against average and .883 save percentage against Sioux Falls in the regular season, Reekie had averages of 2.38 and .918 in the playoffs.

And despite being the underdog, Lincoln was able to reclaim some of its magic from a 10-game winning streak midway through the season. The Stars did it by being the more physical team and getting contributions from their  entire lineup.

The physical part is what Sioux Falls coach Kevin Hartzell will remember when he looks back on the series.

“They were just a very motivated, much more physical team that us,” he said. “Our team reminded me of the Minnesota Wild last year. They were fun to watch, very skilled, but when they got in the playoffs against Anaheim, they were a bigger, stronger team and things changed.

“I think that happened here. We were a great regular-season team, but when we went against a physical team, they just wore us down.”

The win was extra special for the nine players who were on last year’s Stars team that was swept by Sioux Falls in the opening round of the playoffs, Baco said.

Reekie, too, couldn’t hide his sheepish grin. After all, he delivered on his promise to win games when he joined the team in December.

“We’re here to win hockey games,” Reekie said, “and I couldn’t be happier for everybody here.”

Reach Brent C. Wagner at 473-7435 or bwagner@journalstar.com.