Steve Schultz’s hat trick propelled the host Lincoln Stars to a 7-3 win over the RoughRiders Friday night.

The Riders led 1-0 until Schultz buried a rebound at 2:33 of the second period to even the score and trigger a run of four straight Lincoln goals.

Schultz struck again just 34 seconds later, again pouncing on a rebound, to give Lincoln a 2-1 lead.

The Stars extended the lead to 3-1 while on the power play when Carter Camper wristed the puck home from the slot at 8:47.

Dan Comrie fired a Camper centering pass past Rider goaltender Richard Bachman for another power play goal at the 13:22 mark.

The Riders would trim the deficit to 4-2 with a power play goal of their own. Pat Cannone swept the puck under Lincoln netminder Bryan Hogan from the left wing circle at 15:56 of the second.

Just over four minutes into the third period Cannone struck again, finishing off a 2-on-1 rush to bring the Riders back within one.

The Stars responded with the game’s final three goals. Schultz again kick-started the onslaught, this time by rifling a Dan Comrie centering pass home at 5:27 of the third.

Lincoln capped off the win with a pair goals just over two minutes apart. First, Kyle Follmer knocked in a Jared Brown feed from the doorstep at 10:03. Then, at 12:02, Mike Kramer steered Patrick Johnson’s pass home from the doorstep. After Kramer’s goal the Riders replaced Bachman with Kent Patterson.

The night had begun much differently for the Riders, who scored the only goal of the first period. Cedar Rapids was on the power play when Scott Wietecha crashed the net to jam the puck in 4:23 into the game.