Omaha Lancers
The Omaha Lancers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team and are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Founded in 1986, the Lancers play at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena in Ralston, Nebraska. Previous arenas of use include the Omaha Civic Auditorium, Mid-America Center, Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum, and Motto McLean Ice Arena.
Omaha Lancers | |
---|---|
City | Omaha, Nebraska |
League | United States Hockey League |
Conference | Western |
Founded | 1986 |
Home arena | Liberty First Credit Union Arena |
Colors | Orange, black, and white |
Owner(s) | Mike Picozzi[1] |
Head coach | David Wilkie |
Media | HockeyTV & MixIr (Broadcaster Nick Blaesser) |
Franchise history | |
1986–2002 | Omaha Lancers |
2002–2004 | River City Lancers |
2004–present | Omaha Lancers |
Championships | |
Regular season titles | 5 Anderson Cups (1989–90, 1992–93, 2001–02, 2004–05 (shared), 2007–08) |
Playoff championships | 7 Clark Cups (1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2008) 2 USA Hockey Junior National Championships (2001, 2008) |
The Lancers have claimed a league-record seven Clark Cup championships as playoff champions, five Anderson Cup titles as regular season champions, and two USA Hockey national championships.[2] In addition, the Lancers have aided in the development of hundreds of NCAA Division I hockey players, National Hockey League (NHL) draft picks, and dozens of NHL players.
History
In 2014, the majority ownership of the Lancers was bought by Crossbar Down, LLC, led by Anthony DiCesare, from the American Hockey Group, Inc, who had owned the franchise since 2004.[3]
On July 10, 2021, Chadd Cassidy was hired as head coach and general manager.[4] During the 2021–22 season, the players boycotted the team and the coaching staff resigned on November 18 citing operational budget cuts causing inadequate player treatment and coaching the resources. The league then postponed the three scheduled weekend games and placed team president Dave DeLuca on administrative leave.[5][6][7] Former Fort Wayne Komets' head coach Gary Graham was then brought in as interim head coach and the league designated Josh Mervis to oversee operations of the team while an investigation into the operations of the team was underway.[8] In January 2022, the majority ownership of the Lancers was transferred from Anthony DiCesare to Mike Picozzi.[1]
Roster
As of September 21, 2022.[9]
No. | S/P/C | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | College commitment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | Marcus Broberg | D | 6' 0" | 175 lb | 2003-10-23 | Örebro, Sweden | Malmö Redhawks J20 (J20 Nationell) | Omaha | |
5 | Tanner Rowe | F | 6' 0" | 178 lb | 2002-08-26 | Calumet, Michigan | Maryland (NAHL) | UMass | |
6 | Mateo Picozzi | D | 6' 0" | 170 lb | 2003-04-29 | Morristown, New Jersey | Trinity-Pawling (USHS–NY) | None | |
9 | Max Wattvil | D | 6' 0" | 180 lb | 2002-08-11 | Stockholm, Sweden | Oskarshamn J20 (J20 Nationell) | Merrimack | |
10 | Riley Rosenthal | D | 6' 2" | 214 lb | 2003-12-10 | Boca Raton, Florida | Dubuque (USHL) | None | |
11 | Braydon Beahm | F | 6' 4" | 205 lb | 2004-07-30 | Waupun, Wisconsin | Minot (NAHL) | Clarkson | |
12 | Griffin Jurecki | F | 5' 10" | 179 lb | 2003-05-03 | Grosse Ile, Michigan | Little Caesars U18 (Midget AAA) | Denver | |
13 | Nate Benoit | D | 6' 1" | 188 lb | 2002-11-26 | Bow, New Hampshire | Tri-City (USHL) | North Dakota | |
14 | Aleksi Kivioja | F | 6' 4" | 183 lb | 2003-08-02 | Helsinki, Finland | Kiekko-Espoo U20 (U20 SM-sarja) | Providence | |
16 | Adam Cardona | D | 6' 2" | 196 lb | 2003-10-05 | Beaconsfield, Quebec | Waterloo (USHL) | None | |
17 | Andon Cerbone | F | 5' 8" | 156 lb | 2004-04-13 | Stamford, Connecticut | Brunswick (USHS–CT) | Michigan | |
18 | Tucker Shedd | D | 6' 0" | 177 lb | 2004-09-08 | Holt, Michigan | Waterloo (USHL) | Michigan State | |
19 | Alex Bump | F | 6' 1" | 200 lb | 2003-11-20 | Prior Lake, Minnesota | Prior Lake (USHS–MN) | Vermont | |
21 | Charlie Lurie | F | 5' 11" | 187 lb | 2003-03-11 | Minnetonka, Minnesota | Youngstown (USHL) | Omaha | |
22 | Will Diamond | F | 6' 3" | 197 lb | 2003-12-22 | Carpentersville, Illinois | Aberdeen (NAHL) | None | |
24 | Luke Amell | D | 6' 4" | 193 lb | 2003-09-02 | Mars, Pennsylvania | Aberdeen (NAHL) | None | |
25 | Matthew Romer | F | 5' 10" | 174 lb | 2002-09-01 | Carpentersville, Illinois | Janesville (NAHL) | Arizona State | |
26 | Ryan Kusler | F | 5' 11" | 178 lb | 2003-05-19 | Battle Creek, Michigan | Odessa (NAHL) | None | |
27 | Justin Stupka | F | 6' 1" | 195 lb | 2005-03-15 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh Penguins Elite U18 (Midget AAA) | None | |
28 | Evan Werner | F | 5' 8" | 166 lb | 2003-02-13 | Flower Mound, Texas | Youngstown (USHL) | Colorado College | |
31 | Kevin Pasche | G | 5' 10" | 170 lb | 2003-02-14 | Mézières, Switzerland | Lausanne U20 (U20-Elit) | None | |
35 | Ben Behrens | G | 6' 2" | 154 lb | 2004-05-23 | St. Louis, Missouri | Bismarck (NAHL) | None | |
44 | Donovan Hamilton | D | 6' 3" | 188 lb | 2005-12-03 | Buffalo, New York | Nichols (USHS–NY) | Cornell | |
51 | Luke Baker | D | 6' 1" | 183 lb | 2005-07-02 | Howell, Michigan | North Jersey Avalanche U18 (Midget AAA) | Michigan State | |
62 | Vincent Salice | F | 5' 6" | 172 lb | 2003-02-28 | Commerce Township, Michigan | Des Moines (USHL) | Ohio State |
Lancers NHL alumni
- Keith Ballard: Phoenix Coyotes (2004–2008), Florida Panthers (2008–2010), Vancouver Canucks (2010–2013), Minnesota Wild (2013–2015)
- Jacob Bryson: Buffalo Sabres
- Thatcher Demko: Vancouver Canucks
- Ryan Donato: Boston Bruins, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken
- Dan Ellis: Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers
- Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson: Boston Bruins
- Erik Haula: Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils
- Louis Leblanc: Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Ducks
- Alex Lyon: Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers
- Ryan Malone: Pittsburgh Penguins (2003–2008), Tampa Bay Lightning (2008–2014), New York Rangers (2014–2015)
- Will O'Neill: Philadelphia Flyers
- Jed Ortmeyer: New York Rangers, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers
- Tucker Poolman: Winnipeg Jets, Vancouver Canucks
- Trevor Smith: Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Paul Stastny: Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, Winnipeg Jets, Carolina Hurricanes
- Akira Schmid: New Jersey Devils
References
- "USHL, Omaha Lancers Announce New Majority Owner". OurSports Central. January 28, 2022.
- "Team History". Omaha Lancers. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
- "New Lancers owner seeks to 'build on team's success'". Omaha World-Herald. October 7, 2014.
- "Lancers Name Chadd Cassidy as Head Coach, General Manager". OurSports Central. July 10, 2021.
- "Breaking News: Firestorm in Omaha". The Hockey News. November 18, 2021.
- "USHL's Omaha Lancers idle as player treatment investigated". NBC Sports. November 19, 2021.
- "Junior hockey team postpones weekend games amid chaos in program". KLKN-TV. November 19, 2021.
- "USHL Update on the Omaha Lancers". OurSports Central. November 20, 2021.
- "Omaha Lancers Roster". USHL. Retrieved September 17, 2022.