Omaha Lancers
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Omaha Lancers | |
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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 | Gary Graham (interim) |
Media | (Broadcaster Brandon Hofstra) |
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 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.
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 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]
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
- 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
- Louis Leblanc: Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Ducks
- Alex Lyon: Philadelphia Flyers
- 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
References[]
- ^ a b "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.
External links[]
- Sports in Omaha, Nebraska
- United States Hockey League teams
- Ice hockey teams in Nebraska
- 1986 establishments in Nebraska
- Ice hockey clubs established in 1986
- United States ice hockey team stubs
- Midwestern United States sports team stubs
- Nebraska stubs