KEARNEY, Neb. – The Tri-City Storm are recognizing three forwards, including Brad Schierhorn, Kenny Brooks and Tim Bonner as their alumni of the month in March.
Schierhorn, currently in his sophomore season at Dartmouth College, notched the game-winning goal in last weekend’s ECAC opening round playoff series against Rensselaer in Troy, N.Y.
In the deciding contest of a three-game playoff series, the Big Green entered the third period down 4-2 to RPI on the road. Three goals in the final frame gave Dartmouth the win and advanced the team to the ECAC quarterfinals this weekend, where they’ll play Union.
The final goal the Big Green needed came from Schierhorn with just 2:14 remaining on the clock. The Anchorage, Alaska native wristed a shot into the top right corner of the net for his eighth goal of the season in his 32nd game on the year.
Schierhorn suited up for the Storm in 116 games during two seasons from 2010-12, scoring 18 goals and 37 assists for a total of 55 points while donning a Tri-City sweater.
Brad’s brother Eric is also currently in the USHL, playing goaltender for the Muskegon Lumberjacks.
Brooks, who played three seasons with the Storm from 2009-2012, is playing a key role at Penn State during the inaugural season of the Big Ten hockey conference.
The sophomore has four goals and five assists in 32 games. In Saturday’s game with the No. 5 ranked Wisconsin Badgers, Brooks scored with 2:44 left to force overtime. The Las Vegas, Nev. native was in the right place at the right time, picking up the puck behind the Badger net and banking it into the goal off a Wisconsin defenseman.
Penn State is a few weeks away from concluding their second season, starting their Division 1 hockey program in 2012. Despite the youth of the program, the Nittany Lions have two wins over Michigan, and have pushed many other well-established teams to the brink, with one-goal losses to UMass-Lowell, Union, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan State and Boston College.
In 165 games with Tri-City, the forward scored 31 goals and 55 assists. Brooks is sixth all-time in games played for the Storm, 17th in goals, sixth in assists, and 10th in points scored.
Bonner, a freshman at Yale University, is back on the ice after a concussion kept him out of game action for over a calendar year.
The Maple Grove, Minn. native played his last game for Tri-City on Feb. 23, 2013 before going down with the injury. When Bonner arrived at Yale in the fall, he still wasn’t ready to suit up.
The 21-year old was able to return to action on Mar. 1, as the Bulldogs blanked RPI 5-0. Bonner was a +3 in the win.
Bonner was also in the lineup for both games last weekend that saw Yale sweep Harvard in the first round of the ECAC playoffs. The Bulldogs will battle in-state rival and defending national champion Quinnipiac in the quarterfinal round this weekend.
The forward played 105 games with the Storm from 2011-13, scoring 39 goals and 33 assists. Bonner’s goal total is 7th best in Tri-City history, while his point total is 19th.
The Storm are back in action this weekend when they host the Sioux City Musketeers on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.at the Viaero Event Center.
