By Jordan McAlpine, Reporter
As Trey Carlson’s shot hit the back of the net 10:23 into overtime last April, the Omaha Junior Lancers had won their first-ever USA Hockey High School National Championship. To make the moment even sweeter, the Jr. Lancers were able to win it on home ice as Omaha hosted the event last spring.
With the 2021-22 hockey season now right around the corner, the Jr. Lancers are back on the ice and gearing up for a season that they hope ends with a second straight title.
“It was really special winning it at home last year, but back-to-back seasons would be great,” said senior forward Timmy Johnson. “Especially being a senior, I would love to do it again.”
Johnson is one of 12 members of last spring’s varsity roster that will return this season. He said it’s still surreal to look up and see that national championship banner hanging above the Omaha bench and just talking about what they did as a group brings a smile to his face.
Omaha finished the regular season 29-9-1 and was one of two Midwest High School Hockey League teams that claimed a spot in the Division II championships. Omaha won their first game 4-2 over Osseo/Maple Grove (MN) and went on a run throughout the rest of the tournament. It was capped it off with a 5-4 overtime win over the Capistrano (CA) Coyotes to claim the title.
“We’re motivated to get back to that point,” Johnson said. “We’re all going towards a common goal of winning the championship again.”
The Jr. Lancers high school hockey program has been in existence since 1989 and fields both a varsity and junior varsity team. The program features kids from various high schools around the metro. This upcoming season will be the third with head coach Nick Harrahill leading the bench, but it’s his ninth with the program overall.
Harrahill said the focus leading up to this season is making sure his group is prepared both physically and mentally on the ice.
“Right now in the preseason it’s about getting the compete level and high intensity up,” Harrahill said. “That’s what our practices have been like so far. We need to make sure we’re competing every game because you never know when you’re going to be down 3-0 or up 3-0, you’ve got to be ready for any situation and compete.”
That 3-0 deficit is exactly where his team sat early in that national championship game. However, as they did all season, the Jr. Lancers responded. His group is no stranger to adversity.
“There’s a lot of hard work that went into it and our kids definitely earned it,” Harrahill said of the championship. “Resilient group. I don’t think they were the most talented team we’ve had here in the last 10 years, but the effort was there game in and game out.”
Much of that group is back this season and Harrahill expects that same effort. Now the focus is on defending their title. Omaha’s home-opener is Oct. 29 against the Lincoln Stars at Ralston Arena.
