Chicago, IL – The Dubuque Fighting Saints (1-0-0-0, 2 pts) skated to a 6-3 victory over the Lincoln Stars (0-1-0-0, 0 pts) to open the 2026-27 season on Thursday.
Just 17 seconds into the first period of the regular season, the Stars took the lead on the first shot of the game. Casey Vandertop put Lincoln ahead on the first shift, but Dubuque responded with four unanswered goals over the next two periods.
Shortly after the five-minute mark of the first, Travis Lefere sprung Melvin Ekman on a breakaway out of the penalty box. Ekman's first chance was stopped, but he pounced on a rebound and tied the game at 5:11 of the first.
The momentum helped Dubuque draw three consecutive penalties as the first period approached its halfway-point. On the second of those opportunities, Lefere and Lincoln Krizizke found Kane Johnson at the netfront. Just like Ekman's goal, Johnson found his own rebound and scored his first of the season.
Dubuque came out quickly in the second period, returning the favor after Lincoln's early first-period goal. Olle Därth scored just 21 seconds into the middle frame with a wrist shot on the rush.
At 14:04 of the second, Johnson scored his second of the game after a setup from down low by Arsienii Voroteliak. Kris Richards logged an assist as well.
Just about halfway through the third, however, Richards was called for a major penalty. Lincoln scored twice on the ensuing power play, once at 10:52 and again at 12:41 to make it a 4-3 game late.
As soon as the rest of the penalty kill ended, Dubuque put the pressure back on Lincoln as it had most of the game. The Saints finished with 35 shots on goal and allowed just 23 in the victory.
The late pressure paid off with a pair of goals in 14 seconds late in the third. Lefere capped a three-point game with an empty-net goal assisted by Hudson Lohse and David Thomasson. Then, Max Lind scored his first off a faceoff win by Därth.
Luke Carrithers made 20 saves in his Saints debut, earning the victory for Dubuque. The Saints return to the ice at noon on Friday when they take on the Tri-City Storm.
