KEARNEY, Neb. – The Fargo Force (13-39-6) scored three goals in the first period and held on to defeat the Tri-City Storm (20-34-3) 4-0 at Scheels Arena on Saturday night.

Hayden Lavigne made 31 stops for the Storm in defeat, while Mathias Israelsson also turned aside 31 shots to earn the shutout and the win for Fargo.

The Force took a 1-0 lead at 5:45 of the opening period on a rebound shot by forward Brody Stevens.

Later in the period Fargo scored twice in a 10-second span, opening up the game. Mason Morelli got the second tally of the night, followed by C.J. Hayes, who beat Lavigne after Fargo won the center-ice face-off and moved the puck right on net.

Fargo led 3-0 after the first, outshooting Tri-City 16-8 in the opening frame.

The Storm never broke through on Israelsson, despite outshooting Fargo 23-19 in the final two periods.

The Force added a power play goal from Mikey Eyssimont at 4:44 of the final period to make it 4-0 and seal the win.

Tri-City will now head to Sioux City for a battle on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. The game will be their third in three days.

The Storm’s final home game of the season will take place on April 5 against Lincoln at 7:05 p.m. Tri-City will celebrate fan appreciation night while honoring the 10-year anniversary of their Anderson Cup Championship from the 2003-04 season.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Nolan Aibel, Drew Mayer, Kyle Eastman, and Nick Hutchison, along with defensemen Cutler Martin, Sean Lang, Fredric Larsson and goaltender Jacob Johansson… 

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Fargo – Brody Stevens (unassisted) 5:45
Fargo – Mason Morelli (unassisted) 10:20

Fargo – C.J. Hayes (unassisted) 10:3

2nd Period

(no scoring)

3rd Period

Fargo – Mikey Eyssimont (power play) (Tyler Hynes, Garick Gray) 4:44

PENALTIES

1st Period

Fargo – J.M. Piotrowski – (Fighting), 5 min, 15:42
Tri-City – Cody Milan – (Fighting), 5 min, 15:42

2nd Period

Fargo – C.J. Hayes – (Roughing), 2 min, 3:59
Tri-City – Donovan Gardiner – (Roughing), 2 min, 3:59
Tri-City – Daniel Fritz – (Hooking), 2 min, 6:44
Fargo – Tanner Jago – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 8:05
Fargo – Hunter Warner – (Checking From Behind), 9:24
Fargo – Cole Bjugson – (Fighting), 5 min, 11:48
Tri-City – Joey DiBenedetto – (Fighting), 5 min, 11:48

3rd Period

Tri-City – Patrick Curry – (Hooking), 2 min, 2:58
Fargo – Tanner Jago – (Elbowing), 2 min, 6:50
Fargo – Cole Bjugson – (Hooking), 2 min, 13:41
Tri-City – Hayden Lavigne – (Slashing), 2 min, 15:01
Fargo – Andrew McDonald – (Slashing), 2 min, 15:01
Fargo – Tyler Hynes – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 15:54

Power Play

Tri-City –0/5

Fargo – 1/2

Shots

Tri-City: 8, 13, 10 = Total: 31
Fargo: 16, 6, 13, = Total: 35

Saves

Tri-City – Hayden Lavigne – 31/35
Fargo – Mathias Israelsson – 31/31