Oh, Canada! Imports giving Lancers a boost

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A friendship forged in the British Columbia Hockey League has played a big role in the Lancers' steady climb up the USHL's Western Conference standings.

Defenseman Kenney Morrison and forward Casey Bailey were teammates on the BCHL's Alberni Valley squad last season. Bailey leads the team in goals (18) and is second in points (38) while Morrison has been a steady presence in Omaha's defensive scheme.

Both ending up in Omaha this season was more a coincidence than a master plan to remain teammates. It's also happenstance that the man who sold them on the program — then assistant head coach Mike Aikens — now is the Lancers' interim head coach.

"We both went to a tournament in Boston last summer," Morrison said. "That's where we met Coach Aikens. He told us about the USHL, and it was the first time I heard about the league."

Bailey said he knew about the league because his older brother Kyle had played for the Des Moines Buccaneers.

"Coach Aikens definitely intrigued me with what he had to say about the league," Bailey said. "When I was 18, I knew it was a high-prospect league and I wanted to give it a shot."

Once he finished some research about both Omaha and the USHL, Morrison said his decision didn't take long. A week or two later, Bailey decided Omaha was the place he wanted to be before heading to Penn State next season.

Both Morrison, who is committed to Western Michigan, and Bailey said having a familiar face around has made moving to a new team and league far less stressful.

"It kind of helped for him to come and made the transition to the league a lot easier," Morrison said. "It's nice to have that instead of being a stranger and new to things by yourself."

That there's never an easy game on the schedule is something both players agree is the biggest difference between the BCHL and USHL.

"The BCHL has a lot of good players and was a good experience," Morrison said. "But the USHL is a lot deeper. No matter who you're playing, you have a chance to win or lose.

"In the other league, playing a bottom team you didn't necessarily have to show up with your 'A' game and you still could win."

Both Bailey and Morrison acknowledged how talented the third and fourth lines were for all 16 teams compared to the depth in the BCHL.

"This league attracts all of the top-notch prospects looking to play college hockey, and even some guys looking to go pro," Bailey said. "All the talent comes here. There's no layover team because the bottom teams are still very skilled. It's a battle and a grind every night."

The Lancers split their first two games in February after going 14-4 in December and January. That's when the team became more closely knit with several long-range goals it still hopes to accomplish after starting the season 9-8-2.

"We've just been finding ways to win," Morrison said. "It seems we're more confident now that if we're up or down by a goal we think we're going to win."

Only 21 games remain in the 60-game regular season, and the 24-12-3 Lancers have 18 to go against Western Conference foes. The two closest to them in the standings — Lincoln and Waterloo — visit Civic Auditorium this weekend.

Another factor that attracted both players to Omaha was its passionate fan base, something both players hope will come into play during this weekend's important matchups.

"They realize what a high talent level of play they're seeing," Bailey said. "That brings a good environment and excitement to the game."

Morrison has noticed that both at home and road games.

"The place where I was (in the BC league) had great fans but the arena only held about 2,500 people," Morrison said. "Coming to Omaha, I've never played in front of that many fans before, even at some of the other arenas."

Contact the writer:

402-618-4113, alexsdad@mail.com, twitter.com/stevebeideck

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