KEARNEY, Neb. – Chase Berger’s short-handed overtime winning goal gave the Tri-City Storm (33-14-6) a 5-4 win over the Des Moines Buccaneers (21-18-13) and secured the team a berth in the 2015 Clark Cup Playoffs on Friday night at the Viaero Event Center.
Berger’s tally was his 10th of the season, while Mason Appleton, Jake Wahlin and Kevin Kerr each had two point nights for Tri-City.
Appleton, who returned after missing three games with an injury, scored on the team’s first shot of the game. The forward deflected a shot from Chris Wilkie past Des Moines goaltender Ryan Ruck to make it 1-0 Tri-City at 1:23 of the opening period. Wahlin picked up the second assist on the goal.
After a penalty to Dan Labosky had Tri-City short-handed, Des Moines tied the game at 1-1 on a goal by Ryan Dmowski.
But the Storm responded to take a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period on defenseman Bobby Nardella’s eighth goal of the season. The tally came with assists by defenseman Mattias Goransson and forward Kyle Eastman.
Tri-City increased their lead in the middle period on goals by Kerr and Nick Master. Kerr scored on a rush into the offensive zone with pass from Wahlin. The defenseman put a shot up high that went into the top shelf of the net to make it 3-1. Appleton was credited with the second assist on Kerr’s sixth of the season.
After a Brennan Sanford goal brought Des Moines back within a goal, Kerr sprung Master free on a breakaway and the forward made it count for his 23rd goal of the year.
Two Des Moines goals from Dmowski and Georgy Gorodetsky tied the game for the Buccaneers in the first seven minutes of the third period.
With seconds left in regulation, Kerr took a double-minor penalty for high sticking that put his team short-handed for the final 27 seconds of the game and into the overtime period.
While the Storm were killing the penalty in overtime, Berger picked up a loose puck in neutral ice and raced into the Des Moines end. The forward made a backhand pass to defenseman Vince Pedrie who had joined the rush up the ice. After an initial shot by Pedie was stopped, Berger put the rebound into the net for the game-winner.
Ruck made 39 saves in defeat for the Buccaneers, while Jared Rutledge stopped 15 shots to earn the victory for Tri-City.
The Storm remain in first place in the USHL’s Western Conference with 72 points with seven games remaining.
Tri-City and Des Moines will complete their weekend series on Saturday night at the Viaero Event Center at 7:05 p.m.
Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Matthew Freytag, Wade Allison and Nolan Aibel…
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
Tri-City – Mason Appleton (Chris Wilkie, Jake Wahlin) 1:23
Des Moines – Ryan Dmowski (power play) (Georgy Gorodetsky, Alec Rauhauser) 9:55
Tri-City – Bobby Nardella (Mattias Goransson, Kyle Eastman) 15:48
2nd Period
Tri-City – Kevin Kerr (Jake Wahlin, Mason Appleton) 5:36
Des Moines – Brennan Sanford (Patrick Grasso) 11:32
Tri-City – Nick Master (Kevin Kerr) 15:15
3rd Period
Des Moines – Ryan Dmowski (Georgy Gorodetsky, Ara Nazarian) 4:07
Des Moines – Georgy Gorodetsky (power play) (Alec Rauhauser, Patrick Grasso) 6:53
Overtime
Tri-City – Chase Berger (short-handed) (Vince Pedrie) 1:29
PENALTIES
1st Period
Tri-City – Dan Labosky – (Hooking), 2 min, 9:41
2nd Period
Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Slashing), 2 min, 11:32
3rd Period
Tri-City – Christopher Brown – (Hooking), 2 min, 6:30
Des Moines – Zach Jordan – (Tripping), 2 min, 8:55
Des Moines – Nicky Wolff – (Head Contact), 5 min, 9:46
Des Moines – Nicky Wolff – (Head Contact) (Game Misconduct) 10 min, 9:46
Tri-City – Chase Berger – (Roughing), 2 min, 12:35
Tri-City – Kevin Kerr – (High Sticking), 4 min, 19:33
Overtime
(no penalties)
Power Play
Des Moines – 2/4
Tri-City – 0/3
Shots
Des Moines: 8, 4, 7, 0 = Total: 19
Tri-City: 14, 13, 15, 2 = Total: 44
Saves
Des Moines – Ryan Ruck – 39/44
Tri-City – Jared Rutledge – 15/19