The Lincoln Stars defeated the Green Bay Gamblers on Friday night and established a new franchise record for most goals in a home opener.
No Blake Montgomery? No problem. The Lincoln Stars showed no shortage of firepower in the team's 9-1 win over the Green Bay Gamblers on Friday night.
The Stars opened the game with seven straight goals, including five in the second period. Daniel Shlaine, who tallied his first career USHL goal at the Fall Classic last weekend, opened the scoring less than nine minutes into the opening frame.
Shlaine would go on to score two more times in that wild second period, which marked Lincoln's first hat trick on home ice since Lucas Wahlin achieved the mark in March 2022 and the first hat trick in a homer opener since Brandon Bochenski in October 2000 (via Joel Norman).
“It was a pretty exciting game," Shlaine said in the postgame commentary. "I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. We brought some energy. Obviously a great first (home) game, great home opener, great fans. We had a blast.”
The Gamblers ended Yan Shostak's shutout bid on Aidan Park's first goal of the season at the 3:52 mark of the third period. The Stars' netminder turned aside 20-of-21 overall.
Lincoln scored two more times before the final horn, establishing a new franchise record for most goals in a home opener and most goals in a game since March 2021.
Overall, 15 different skaters registered at least one point for the Stars, and eight different skaters had multi-point efforts. Lincoln will look to complete the weekend sweep over Green Bay while welcoming Montgomery back to the lineup on Saturday.