When you haven’t won a game in three months, it’s a tall order to end a long losing skid against the top team in the league.

Games are never won or lost on paper, however, and the Omaha Lancers were in such a position Thursday night when they took on the Lincoln Stars.

The losing streak reached 26, as the Stars left little doubt of the outcome with four first-period goals in a 5-0 road shutout at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena.

Lincoln goaltender William Prowse stopped all 26 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season and the team’s fifth overall. It was the seventh time Omaha has failed to score in a game this season.

The Stars have scored at least a point in 13 of Prowse’s 16 starts and are now 6-0 against the Lancers this season. They improve their overall record to 32-12-1-0.

Jack Pechar needed just 25 seconds to put his club on the board, going in alone on a breakaway for his 18th of the year. His goal marked the 28th time Lincoln has scored first, improving their record to 25-2-1 in that span.

At the 13:33 mark, Ethan Weber lost his footing but somehow managed to maintain possession of the puck from his knees, rifling in a shot from the high slot that was redirected by Alex Pelletier for his 13th goal of the season and a 2-0 Stars lead.

The third goal of the period came when Bruno Idzan went all alone in front of the net and scored off a Etienne Lessard feed from the left point. Idzan has now recorded 16 points (8-8-16) over his last eight games.

Gio DiGiulian rounded out the first-period scoring with a power-play goal at the 19:50 mark with a one-timer from the far circle off the pads of Omaha goalie Daniel Moor.

The Stars’ final tally came midway into the middle frame when Michael Sandruck intercepted a pass and raced in alone in front of the cage for his fifth goal of the season. That ended up being the final score, as both goaltenders bore down the rest of the game.

The two teams will meet again Saturday, this time at the Ice Box, but the Stars’ next game is Friday against the Sioux Falls Stampede in a quirky schedule. It will be the second meeting between those clubs in the last three games.

Omaha (6-32-5-1) will be in Kearney, Nebraska for a Friday tilt against the Tri-City Storm before heading to Lincoln on Saturday.