LINCOLN, Neb. – Ludvig Hoff scored a breakaway goal in overtime for the Lincoln Stars to defeat the Tri-City Storm 4-3 at the Ice Box on Friday night.
Storm forwards Mark Petaccio, Aleksi Ainali and Chase Berger each scored goals in the loss, while goaltender Blake Weyrick made 33 saves.
The game got off to a fast start and saw three goals in just over three and a half minutes. Lincoln’s Ryan Jones opened the scoring when he put a puck on net that deflected past Storm goalie Blake Weyrick and gave his team a 1-0 lead.
Tri-City responded less than a minute later with a goal from forward Mark Petaccio. The Sicklerville, N.J. native took a pass from linemate Aleksi Ainali off a face-off and made his shot count, tying the game at 1-1.
After Lincoln’s Blake Christensen made it 2-1, Ainali responded for the Storm and re-tied the game at 2-2 on a pass from defenseman Bobby Nardella.
Late in the opening period, Storm forward Chase Berger got a pass off the boards in stride from defenseman Kevin Kerr and wristed a shot into the top left corner of the net to give Tri-City a 3-2 lead going into the first intermission.
No scoring in the second period kept the Storm in front going into the third.
After over 15 minutes of scoreless play in the final period, a late double minor penalty to Petaccio allowed the Stars a four-minute power play. Lincoln made their chance count when Christensen scored his second of the game to tie things up at 3-3 with just 1:05 remaining.
With the score tied, the teams elected to play a 3-on-3 overtime for five minutes. During the extra period, Hoff found himself all alone and beat Weyrick to give Lincoln their first preseason win in their fourth exhibition game.
Tri-City now has a record of 2-0-1 in preseason play.
The two teams will play a rematch in Kearney at the Viaero Event Center on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City will finish up a three-game weekend on Sunday afternoon with a 4 p.m. game in Omaha against the Lancers.
The Storm will open the regular season in Lincoln on Sept. 26 in and return to Kearney for their home opener on Oct. 3 vs. Sioux Falls.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
Lincoln – Ryan Jones (unassisted) 2:16
Tri-City – Mark Petaccio (Aleksi Ainali) 3:08
Lincoln – Blake Christensen (Chris Klack) 3:33
Tri-City – Aleksi Ainali (Bobby Nardella) 6:05
Tri-City – Chase Berger (Kevin Kerr) 17:27
2nd Period
(no scoring)
3rd Period
Lincoln – Blake Christensen (power play) (Ludvig Hoff) 18:55
Overtime
Lincoln – Ludvig Hoff – (unassisted) 2:16
PENALTIES
1st Period
Lincoln – Blake Christensen – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 6:38
Lincoln – Blake Christensen – (Fighting (Instigator)), 2 min, 6:38
Lincoln – Blake Christensen – (Fighting), 5 min, 6:38
Lincoln – Blake Christensen – (Fighting) (Misconduct), 10 min, 6:38
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Fighting), 5 min, 6:38
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Fighting) (Misconduct), 10 min, 6:38
Lincoln – Jared Bethune – (High Sticking), 2 min, 10:55
Tri-City – Tory Dello – (Holding), 2 min, 11:31
Lincoln – Tony DeVito – (Slashing), 2 min, 19:16
Lincoln – Connor Frantti – (Roughing), 2 min, 19:56
2nd Period
Tri-City – Jason Krych – (Tripping), 2 min, 2:57
Lincoln – Tye Ausmus – (Interference), 2 min, 16:54
3rd Period
Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 0:44
Tri-City – Chase Berger – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 5:17
Lincoln – Tye Ausmus – (Roughing), 2 min, 16:06
Tri-City – Mark Petaccio – (Boarding), 2 min, 16:06
Tri-City – Mark Petaccio – (Roughing) (Double Minor), 4 min, 16:06
Overtime
(no penalties)
Power Play
Tri-City –0/6
Lincoln – 1/6
Shots
Tri-City: 16, 14, 4, 0 = Total: 34
Lincoln: 11, 7, 13, 6 = Total: 37
Saves
Tri-City – Blake Weyrick – 33/37
Lincoln – Cam Hackett – 13/16, Peyton Jones – 18/18