The scoring line of Kirill Lebedev, Sean Kuraly and Daniil Tarasov combined for eight points (5G, 3A) as the Indiana Ice toppled the Western Conference-leading Omaha Lancers 6-3 at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

Kirill Lebedev continued to impress on the ice as the Russian forward notched his first USHL hat trick in only his eighth game on the Indy roster.  Kuraly added three points (G,2A) to his numbers while leading scorer Tarasov added another goal and assist in the effort.  Netminder Jon Gillies earned 29 saves on 32 Omaha bullets.

Both teams were able to put 10 shots on net in the opening period, but the Ice’s “Russian Connection” was able to find twine on two occasions in the first frame.  Winger Kirill Lebedev earned his fifth goal in just eight contests with Indy after rocketing a laser over the glove hand of Lancers’ netminder Alex Lyon.  The shot came off a redirect from Tarasov and Sean Kuraly, who were covered in the slot.

Tarasov further added to Omaha’s first-period blues when a shot from the point came loose in Lyon’s pads before lighting the lamp for his 28^th goal of the season.  Krug earned his sixth assist of the season on the 2-0 goal.

The second period was all but silent as both teams combined for five goals and 14 penalty minutes in the middle stanza.  The Lancers started the scoring seven minutes into the contest to cut Indy’s lead in half.  The Ice answered midway through the period with three goals to take a 5-1 lead with six minutes left in the frame.

Kuraly scored the first of the three goals on the power play with help from Robbie Baillargeon and Ryan Obuchowski.  The Ice received some assistance at the 13 minute mark when the puck deflected off an Omaha player’s  stick and into the cage.  John Doherty earned the credit for the marker.

Lebedev rounded out Indy’s scoring 28 seconds later off rebounded shots from Krug and Kuraly to earn his second goal of the night.  Omaha’s Kenney Morrison cut the deficit to 5-2 with 56 ticks left in the second period.

The third frame remained silent despite heavy offensive pressure from both teams.  The Lancer’s Dominic Sacco broke the silence with his second goal of the night to draw Omaha back within two at the 14-minute mark.

With a two-goal lead and an empty net, Lebedev dismounted any Lancer opportunity for a comeback when he fired shot from center ice to light the lamp for the third time of the night, finalizing the score at 6-3.

Indy remains on the road for the next two weekends before beginning a five-game home stretch on Friday, March 9 against the Youngstown Phantoms from Pepsi Coliseum.