KEARNEY, Neb. – Three unanswered third period goals helped the Tri-City Storm (32-14-6) defeat the Omaha Lancers (29-15-7) and move into first place in the USHL’s Western Conference with a 5-3 victory on Saturday night at the Viaero Event Center.

Storm captain Garrett Gamez led the way with four assists, while Nick Master scored his third goal of the weekend and Chris Wilkie notched his league leading 31st goal of the seson.

The Storm finished the season with a record of 4-2-2 against the Lancers, splitting the series with their in-state rival. After eight games played, each team had a total 205 shots on net.

Tri-City erased three Lancer leads in the game, and didn’t lead until 4:45 of the third period.

Omaha took their first advantage early on, getting an unassisted goal by Matthew Meier at 6:15 of the first.

The Storm responded when Nick Master scored his third goal of the weekend from Gamez and Christopher Brown at 15:10 to take a 1-1 game into the first intermission.

Steven Spinner game the Lancers their second lead at 7:30 of the second period, making it 2-1 on a rebound in front with assists from Meier and Ryan Donato.

Tri-City tied the game six minutes later on a goal by Vince Pedrie that hit off a Lancer skate in front and got past netminder Zach Driscoll. Gamez and Master were both rewarded with assists on the play.

But Omaha re-took the lead heading into the second intermission on a power play goal by Shane Gersich at 15:18 of the second period.

It was all Storm in the third, as Tri-City tied the game for the third time on a deflection by Chase Berger at 3:49 of the final period. Berger’s ninth goal of the season came from defenseman Kevin Kerr and forward Kyle Eastman.

Tory Dello gave the Storm a 4-3 lead less than a minute later, scoring his second goal of the season on a wrist shot that beat Driscoll low blocker side. Gamez found the Notre Dame commit for the first assist, while Wilkie earned the second helper on the go-ahead goal.

With their first lead all weekend, Tri-City got the insurance they needed from Wilkie at 11:18 of the third. The tally was the Omaha native’s fifth goal against his hometown team this season, which leads the team.

Gamez picked up his fourth first assist of the game on Wilkie’s strike, while Nick Master was credited with his third point of the evening with the second assist.

Storm goaltender Alec Dillon picked up the victory, making 25 saves in the win. The Victoria, B.C. native leads the USHL with a goals against average of 2.12, and has earned 21 victories in 36 appearances this season.

The Storm will have a chance to clinch a playoff berth next weekend when they host the Des Moines Buccaneers for two games in Kearney. Friday’sgame begins at 7:30 p.m., while Saturday’s starts at 7:05.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Matthew Freytag, Mason Appleton and Nolan Aibel…

 

SCORING SUMMARY

 

1st Period
Omaha – Matthew Meier (unassisted) 6:15
Tri-City – Nick Master (Garrett Gamez, Christopher Brown) 15:10

2nd Period

Omaha – Steven Spinner (Ryan Donato, Matthew Meier) 7:30
Tri-City – Vince Pedrie (Garrett Gamez, Nick Master) 13:37
Omaha – Shane Gersich (power play) (Steven Spinner, Louie Rowe) 15:18

 

3rd Period
Tri-City – Chase Berger (Kevin Kerr, Kyle Eastman) 3:49
Tri-City – Tory Dello (Garrett Gamez, Chris Wilkie) 4:45
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (Garrett Gamez, Nick Master) 11:18

PENALTIES

 

1st Period
Tri-City – Bench Minor – (Too Many Men), 2 min, 1:11
Omaha – Anthony Angello – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 3:11

2nd Period
Omaha – Jake Henderson – (Slashing), 2 min, 10:47
Tri-City – Jake Wahlin – (Tripping), 2 min, 14:52
Omaha – Steven Spinner – (Tripping), 2 min, 18:00
Tri-City – Conner Valesano – (Roughing), 4 min, 20:00
Omaha – Jake Henderson – (Roughing), 4 min, 20:00

3rd Period
Tri-City – Tory Dello – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 12:30

Power Play

Omaha – 1/3

Tri-City – 0/3

Shots

Omaha: 8, 12, 8 = Total: 28
Tri-City: 8, 16, 4 = Total: 28

Saves
Omaha – Zach Driscoll – 23/28
Tri-City – Alec Dillon – 25/28

KEARNEY, Neb. – Sean MacTavish scored his first two career USHL goals and added an assist as the Lincoln Stars (16-29-5) held off the Tri-City Storm (31-14-6) by a score of 4-3 in the teams’ final meeting of the season on Friday night at the Viaero Event Center.

Storm forward Nick Master scored twice in the defeat, while defenseman Bobby Nardella added a goal and an assist and Chris Wilkie picked up helpers on all three Tri-City goals.

Just as they did at the Ice Box on Tuesday night, Lincoln took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, getting a goal from Dominick Sacco at 11:10 of the opening frame. Assists on the tally went to MacTavish and Biagio Lerario.

The Stars widened their advantage early on in the middle frame when Ethan Price made it 2-0 with a goal at 1:40 of the period from Lerario.

But less than two minutes later, Nardella put one top shelf and cut Lincoln’s lead in half with his seventh goal of the season. Wilkie had the first assist on the strike, while Jake Wahlin recorded his fifth point in the past two games with the second assist.

MacTavish responded with his first USHL goal to make it 3-1 at 4:45 of the second.

Then Master got on the board with his first of the evening by putting home a rebound on the power play to cut the score to 3-2. Nardella had the initial shot and the first assist for Tri-City, while Wilkie picked up the second helper on the play.

The eventual game-winner was scored at 9:27 of the second by MacTavish from both Lerario and Sacco.

After Lincoln’s fourth goal, Storm Head Coach Jim Hulton replaced starting goaltender Jared Rutledge with Alec Dillon. Rutledge allowed four goals on 18 shots, while Dillon remained in the game for the rest of the way and made 11 stops.

Tri-City made it a one-goal game for the third time when Master scored his 21st of the season off a perfect feed from Wilkie on a rush into the Lincoln end. Tory Dello was credited with the second assist, his 14th of the season.

The Storm had chances to tie it in the final minutes, and pulled Dillon for the final 1:33 of the contest, but couldn’t get an equalizer past Lincoln netminder Cam Hackett.

Hackett finished the game with 41 saves and picked up his 12th victory of the season.

The Storm finished the season with a record of 6-1-1 against Lincoln.

After the loss, Tri-City remains one point behind the Sioux City Musketeers for the top spot in both the conference and the USHL.

The Storm will finish the home weekend with a battle against the Omaha Lancers Saturday night at the Viaero Event Center. Puck drop scheduled for7:05 p.m.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Kyle Eastman and Mason Appleton, along with defenseman Jason Krych…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period
Lincoln – Dominick Sacco (Sean MacTavish, Biagio Lerario) 11:10

2nd Period

Lincoln – Ethan Price (Biagio Lerario) 1:40
Tri-City – Bobby Nardella (Chris Wilkie, Jake Wahlin) 3:28
Lincoln – Sean MacTavish (Grant Jozefek) 4:45
Tri-City – Nick Master (power play) (Bobby Nardella, Chris Wilkie) 6:04
Lincoln – Sean MacTavish (Biagio Lerario, Dominick Sacco) 9:27
Tri-City – Nick Master (Chris Wilkie, Tory Dello) 16:41

3rd Period
(no scoring)

PENALTIES

1st Period
Lincoln – Luke Jaycox – (Tripping), 2 min, 3:26
Tri-City – Vince Pedrie – (Holding), 2 min, 17:18

2nd Period
Lincoln – Bench Minor – (Too Many Men), 2 min, 5:40

3rd Period
Lincoln – Ludvig Hoff – (Hooking), 2 min, 0:23
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Diving), 2 min, 0:23
Lincoln – Cam Lee – (Slashing), 2 min, 1:44
Tri-City – Dan Labosky – (Boarding), 2 min, 1:44
Lincoln – Ryan Jones – (Hooking), 2 min, 5:58
Lincoln – Ludvig Hoff – (Tripping), 2 min, 10:41

Power Play

Lincoln – 0/1

Tri-City – 1/4

Shots

Lincoln: 12, 10, 7 = Total: 29
Tri-City: 16, 12, 16 = Total: 44

Saves
Lincoln – Cam Hackett – 41/44
Tri-City – Jared Rutledge – 14/18, Alec Dillon – 11/11

LINCOLN, Neb. – Jake Wahlin led the way with a four-point night as the Tri-City Storm (31-13-6) used goals from six different scorers to defeat the Lincoln Stars (15-29-5) 6-1 on Tuesday night at the Ice Box.

Chris Wilkie became the first USHL player to reach the 30-goal plateau this season with a third period tally, while Wahlin and Matthew Freytag each scored and reached the 30-point mark in the victory.

The Storm are now 6-0-1 against Lincoln this season, with the teams’ final battle coming on Friday night in Kearney.

The Stars scored their only goal at 7:07 of the first period to take a 1-0 lead when Ludvig Hoff beat Storm goalie Alec Dillon on a partial breakaway.

Dillon stopped everything that came his way after the early tally, and finished with 17 saves to earn the win.

Tri-City tied the game in the second period on Freytag’s 15th goal of the year at the 11:10 mark. The forward finished off a perfect passing play started by Nick Master at the top of the Lincoln zone. After keeping the puck in, Master found Gamez open down low. The captain then swung a pass over to Freytag, who was in perfect position for a tap-in goal.

Less than two minutes later, Wahlin got on the board, wristing a shot past the glove of Lincoln netminder Peyton Jones. Chase Berger and Wilkie were credited with assists on the tally.

Gamez was next to strike, deflecting a puck home on the Storm’s only power play of the evening. Wahlin served the pass to the forward in front, while defenseman Bobby Nardella was credited with the second assist.

Although, not on the scoresheet, Storm forward Nolan Aibel made his presence felt in the contest by dropping his gloves with Lincoln’s James LaDouce for his first career fight late in the second period.

In the third period, Wilkie made it 4-1 with his 30th of the year from Wahlin and Berger at 6:16.

Then it was defenseman Tory Dello who got in on the act, scoring his first goal of the season on a shot from the point. Assists on his tally went to Nardella and forward Christopher Brown.

Finally Tri-City made it 6-1 on Chase Berger’s eighth of the season with assists from Wahlin and defenseman Jason Krych.

With the win, Tri-City earned two more points in the Western Conference standings and are now just a single point behind the Sioux City Musketeers for the top spot in both the conference and the USHL.

The Storm and Lincoln will finish off their eight-game season series on Friday night in Kearney at the Viaero Event Center at 7:30 p.m.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Kyle Eastman, Mason Appleton and Joel Herbert…

 

SCORING SUMMARY

 

1st Period
Lincoln – Ludvig Hoff (Ethan Price, Waltteri Hopponen) 7:07

2nd Period

Tri-City – Matthew Freytag (Garrett Gamez, Nick Master) 11:10
Tri-City – Jake Wahlin (Chase Berger, Chris Wilkie) 12:35
Tri-City – Garrett Gamez (power play) (Jake Wahlin, Bobby Nardella) 17:12

 

3rd Period
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (Jake Wahlin, Chase Berger) 6:16
Tri-City – Tory Dello (Bobby Nardella, Christopher Brown) 9:48
Tri-City – Chase Berger (Jason Krych, Jake Wahlin) 17:48

PENALTIES

 

1st Period
(no penalties)

2nd Period
Lincoln – James LaDouce – (Fighting), 5 min, 16:40
Lincoln – James LaDouce – (Fighting) (Misconduct), 10 min, 16:40
Tri-City – Nolan Aibel – (Fighting), 5 min, 16:40
Tri-City – Nolan Aibel – (Fighting) (Misconduct), 10 min, 16:40
Lincoln – Patrick Polino – (Roughing), 2 min, 17:04
Tri-City – Mattias Goransson – (Tripping), 2 min, 18:55

3rd Period
Tri-City – Tory Dello – (Holding), 2 min, 3:25
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Slashing), 2 min, 15:05
Tri-City – Mattias Goransson – (High Sticking), 2 min, 20:00

Power Play

Tri-City – 1/1

Lincoln – 0/3

Shots

Tri-City: 13, 16, 5 = Total: 34
Lincoln: 5, 7, 6 = Total: 18

Saves
Tri-City – Alec Dillon – 17/18
Lincoln – Peyton Jones – 28/34

KEARNEY, Neb. – During the final month of the regular season, the Tri-City Storm will be bringing in some of their high school affiliate players to spend time with the team in Kearney.

Among those will be defenseman Cameron Dineen, the team’s first round pick in the 2014 USHL Phase I Draft, who will be with the team for the remainder of the year.

Affiliate players are selected during the USHL Draft, but play elsewhere during the season. USHL teams maintain the rights to their affiliate players and use them to play on a part-time basis until they are ready to be placed on the roster full-time.

Dineen has spent his year with the New Jersey Rockets in the EHL, leading his team in scoring with 41 points in 39 games on 11 goals and 30 assists. A native of Toms River, N.J., Dineen is committed to play his college hockey at Yale University.

Other affiliates expected to spend time with the team during the final month of the season include Brian Hawkinson, Austen Long, Johnny McDermott, Jack McNeely, Carson Meyer, Sam Sternschein, and Bryan Yoon.

In the coming weeks, the Storm will have more information about some of their affiliate players, who are having big years on the ice in preparation for their time with the team in the USHL.

Tri-City has 11 games remaining in the 2014-15 season, and will play seven more contests in Kearney at the Viaero Event Center.

The Storm are back in action Tuesday night in Lincoln at 7:05 p.m., before returning to the VEC for a pair of games this weekend to finish their season series with both Lincoln and Omaha.

Friday night’s game with the Stars starts at 7:30, while Saturday’s tilt vs. the Lancers begins at 7:05.

For more information and to purchase tickets, contact the Viaero Event Center Box Office at 308.338.8011 or visit www.stormhockey.com.