Omaha Lancers Forward Emerges From Slump
Forward Dan Welch has made the most of his one and only season with the Omaha Lancers.
And, judging by his play last week, he's saved his best for last.
The 20-year-old forward from Hastings, Minn., is one reason why the Lancers fielded one of their best offensive teams in recent years. Entering the postseason, Welch has 30 goals and 27 assists and is 10th in the United States Hockey League scoring race with 57 points.
He also played a major role in a pair of recent wins.
Welch played a strong game while scoring twice in a 7-1 win over the U.S. Nationals and then scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 road victory two nights later against Des Moines.
"Overall, I'm happy with the way things have gone this year," he said. "I started out hot, kind of
slumped in midseason and have come on again here at the end."
Welch knew coming into this season that he had only one chance to make his mark on the Lancers. He played for the University of Minnesota as a freshman last season and entered the junior ranks after he was declared academically ineligible before his sophomore year.
"I didn't find out I wouldn't be eligible at Minnesota until I got my summer school grades in
mid-August," he said. "I needed a couple of B's and I got a couple of C's."
At that point, Welch wasn't sure where he would be playing this season. He ended up coming to Omaha after speaking with two incoming Lancers - defenseman Keith Ballard and forward Jake Fleming - at a hockey camp.
"We'd all played high school hockey in Minnesota," Welch said, "and they told me they were going to Omaha. I'd heard good things about the Lancers, talked to Coach Hastings about it and came on down."
Hastings said Welch, who scored six goals in his first five games with Omaha, has made a solid contribution.
"Dan has done a lot of things for us," the coach said. "That includes the power play, the penalty
kill and even strength. He and Riley (Riddell) have combined on to give us some pretty good
punch."
The 5-foot-11 Welch and the 5-9 Riddell have played on the same line all season. Riddell has
30 goals and 34 assists and is sixth in the league scoring race.
But Welch and Hastings acknowledged they had a chat at midseason when Welch was struggling offensively.
"If coach thinks he's not seeing a solid effort out of you, he'll let you know about it," Welch said.
"It was something I probably needed to hear."
Hastings said he did light a fire under Welch, but Hastings also said the forward has been under a certain amount of pressure. Welch has had to carry a full load of classes for two semesters at Metro Community College while playing a 56-game schedule with the Lancers.
"He's here to get his grades up, and that's been his priority," Hastings said. "Dan had to pass
on the (USHL) All-Star Game and a trip to Europe with a select team from the league because he's concentrating on his studies."
Welch has seven unassisted goals and leads the team in game-winning goals with eight.
The Lancers will need more of that firepower in the weeks ahead. After closing the regular
season last weekend, No. 4-seeded Omaha is expected to begin postseason play Friday night at the Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum in a best-of-five series against No. 5-seeded Des Moines.
"Dan has a history of playing well at important times," Hastings said. "We're definitely going to
need his leadership here as the season winds down."
Welch said his grades might allow him to rejoin the Golden Gophers by the first semester next
season. He'll be joined at Minnesota by Ballard and Fleming, the players who helped persuade him to play for the Lancers.
"We're looking forward to our college time together," Welch said, "but we all know we've got a lot of unfinished business here. We want to bring the Lancers a championship before we go."
