RALSTON, NE - The Dubuque Fighting Saints (38-18-1-2, 79 pts) visit the Omaha Lancers (7-44-6-1, 21 pts) in their final road game of the regular season on Saturday night.
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Here are five things to know ahead of the matchup:
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1. Constant Contributors
The Fighting Saints fell 4-2 in Sioux City on Friday, but the pair of goals were scored by two top contributors of late.
Heikki Ruohonen scored his fifth point in the last three games with a goal in the second period, his 14th of the season. Later in the frame, Lucas Van Vliet's 19th tied the game. It was Van Vliet's sixth point in the last four contests.
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2. Where things Stand
The Fighting Saints dropped to third place in the Eastern Conference after Friday's loss to Sioux City. With wins in the final three games of the regular season, Dubuque can finish with 85 points in the standings.Â
Currently, Madison and Muskegon have 80 points with three games remaining. Dubuque is one point behind those two teams, while Youngstown is just behind with 78 points and four games remaining.Â
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3. Road Rebels
Saturday is the final road game of the season for the Fighting Saints, wrapping up a 30-game road slate.
Overall, Dubuque has an 18-9-0-2 record away from ImOn Arena this season. The Fighting Saints have won four of their last six contests on the road entering play on Saturday.
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4. Fighting Back
The Fighting Saints have a 14-5-0-1 record following a loss this season. Following a loss to Omaha in October, the Fighting Saints started a season-long six-game win streak.
On Saturday, Dubuque makes its lone visit to Ralston this season, aiming to keep pace in the Eastern Conference.
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5. Lancer Listings
Omaha enters Saturday on a nine-game losing streak with an offense that has struggled to score like it did in a 5-0 win in Dubuque in October. In total, the Lancers average under two goals scored per game, the lowest in the USHL.
Defensively, Omaha allows the most goals on average in the Western Conference at 4.07 and the Lancers' nearly 36 shots faced per game are the most in the USHL.
Saturday's game begins at 6:05 p.m. CDT at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena and can be found on Eagle 102.3 and FloHockey.
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