OMAHA, Neb. – The Tri-City Storm (9-7-3) failed to dig themselves out of an early hole and fell 4-2 to the Omaha Lancers (7-7-3) on Saturday night at the Ralston Arena.

Joel Herbert and Chris Wilkie each scored in the third period for Tri-City, while goaltender Alec Dillon returned to the lineup and made 18 saves.

Both teams had lots of chances early in the game, but there was no scoring in the opening period. Omaha netminder Hayden Hawkey got the start, but was forced to leave the game with an injury and was replaced by Kris Oldham.

The Lancers took control of the game with two goals in under a minute late in the second period. First, Drew Best scored on a short-handed breakaway, before Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson made it 2-0 just 34 seconds later at 17:22.

Omaha made it 3-0 early in the third period with a power play goal from Shane Gersich at 2:49.

Later in the frame, Herbert got the Storm on the board with his third tally of the year. Nick Master found the big forward in front, while Kyle Eastman picked up the second assist on the team’s first goal of the night.

Tri-City then made it a one-goal game when Wilkie found the back of the net on the power play at 14:34 of the final period. The goal was the Omaha native’s 11th of the season, and came with assists from defensemen Bobby Nardella and Mattias Goransson.

The Storm had a few chances to tie the game in the closing minutes, but couldn’t close the gap. Lancers’ forward Louie Rowe made it 4-2 with an empty net goal in the final minute of the game.

Oldham recorded the win in between the pipes for Omaha, making 13 saves in relief. The Lancers outshot the Storm 22-20 on the night.

Tri-City is back in action next Saturday in Dubuque against the Fighting Saints at 7:05 p.m. The Storm return to the Viaero Event Center on Tuesday, Dec. 9 in a matchup with the Lincoln Stars at 7:05.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Garrett Gamez and Conner Valesano along with defenseman Cameron Spicer…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

(no scoring)

2nd Period

Omaha – Drew Best (short-handed) (Anthony Angello) 16:48
Omaha – Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson (Jimmy Schuldt, Cal Foote) 17:22

3rd Period
Omaha – Shane Gersich (power play) (Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, Brendan Smith) 2:49
Tri-City – Joel Herbert (Nick Master, Kyle Eastman) 12:25
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (Bobby Nardella, Mattias Goransson) 14:34
Omaha – Louie Rowe (empty net) (Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, Jake Henderson) 19:41

PENALTIES

1st Period

Omaha – Louie Rowe – (Roughing), 2 min, 11:37
Tri-City – Gordi Myer – (Roughing), 2 min, 11:37
Omaha – Jimmy Schuldt – (Slashing), 2 min, 11:47
Tri-City – Nolan Aibel – (Tripping), 2 min, 18:16
Tri-City – Joel Herbert – (High Sticking), 2 min, 19:59

2nd Period

Tri-City – Chase Berger – (Interference), 2 min, 7:13
Omaha – Jake Gingell – (High Sticking), 2 min, 15:01
Omaha – Drew Best – (Tripping), 2 min, 18:41

3rd Period

Tri-City – Kevin Kerr – (High Sticking), 2 min, 2:38
Tri-City – Nolan Aibel – (Roughing), 2 min, 3:56
Omaha – Louie Rowe – (Roughing), 2 min, 3:56
Omaha – Michael Wilson – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 14:19

Power Play

Tri-City – 1/4

Omaha – 1/4

Shots

Tri-City: 6, 7, 7 = Total: 20
Omaha: 8, 8, 6 = Total: 22

Saves
Tri-City – Alec Dillon – 18/21
Omaha – Hayden Hawkey – 5/5, Kris Oldham – 13/15

DES MOINES, Ia. – A slow start came back to haunt the Tri-City Storm (9-6-3) on Wednesday night at Buccaneer Arena, as the Des Moines Buccaneers (10-6-2) hung on to win 4-3 and move back into second place in the Western Conference standings.

Storm forward Mason Appleton had a goal and an assist in the loss, while captain Garrett Gamez scored his seventh tally of the season and defenseman Mattias Goransson had his fourth of the year.

Des Moines scored the first goal of the game on a penalty shot by forward Nikita Pavlychev at 17:49 of the opening period and Tri-City went into the first intermission trailing 1-0.

The Bucs then increased their lead early on in the middle frame on a power play goal by forward Mark Petaccio at 3:05.

Goransson cut the lead to 2-1 at 5:29 of the second, scoring off a pass from defenseman Bobby Nardella on a rush. Forward Nick Master started the play, picking up the second assist by finding Nardella. The Rosemont, Ill. native found Goransson trailing the play for an open look at the net and the big man didn’t miss.

Less than two minutes after Goransson’s tally, Des Moines made it 3-1 on a goal by Joe Widmar at 6:45.

In the third, Tyler Drevitch extended the Bucs’ lead to 4-1 with his first goal of the season 3:57 in.

But Tri-City got a comeback going a few minutes later when Gamez found a loose puck in front for a power play tally to make it 4-2. Appleton and Nardella were credited with assists on the goal.

While a Tory Dello tripping penalty had the Storm down a man minutes later, defenseman Jalen Schulz found an opening and hit Appleton on a home run pass that sent the forward in on a breakaway. The Green Bay, Wis. native converted for the team’s second short-handed goal of the season and cut the lead to 4-3.

With the score holding up late in the game, Des Moines defenseman Patrik Kosh took a five-minute major penalty for slashing, giving the Storm a power play for 4:19, which was all that was left in regulation.
Although Tri-City had their chances, they couldn’t find the equalizer they were searching for and fell short by one goal.

Blake Weyrick got the start in between the pipes for the Storm and made 28 saves in the loss. Des Moines netminder Ryland Pashovitz earned the win for his team, making 33 saves.

After the Thanksgiving holiday, Tri-City will resume play in Omaha against the Lancers on Saturday night at 7:35 p.m. The Storm return to the Viaero Event Center on Tuesday, Dec. 9 in a matchup with the Lincoln Stars at 7:05.

Notes: The Storm scratched forward Chase Hatcher and defenseman Jason Krych. Chris Wilkie was also scratched, serving a one-game suspension…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Des Moines – Nikita Pavlychev (penalty shot) 17:49

2nd Period

Des Moines – Mark Petaccio (power play) (Ryan Dmowski, Corey Schueneman) 3:21
Tri-City – Mattias Goransson (Bobby Nardella, Nick Master) 5:29
Des Moines – Joe Widmar (Kyle Patava, Ryan Dmowski) 6:45

3rd Period
Des Moines – Tyler Drevitch (Brennan Sanford, Joe Widmar) 3:57
Tri-City – Garrett Gamez (power play) (Mason Appleton, Bobby Nardella) 6:51
Tri-City – Mason Appleton (short-handed) (Jalen Schulz) 10:38

PENALTIES

1st Period

Tri-City – Matthew Freytag – (Elbowing), 2 min, 10:11
Tri-City – Matthew Freytag – (Boarding), 2 min, 12:55
Des Moines – Kyle Patava – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 15:38

2nd Period

Tri-City – Tory Dello – (Holding), 2 min, 2:04
Des Moines – Patrick Koch – (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 2 min, 7:22
Tri-City – Nolan Aibel – (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 2 min, 7:22
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Roughing), 2 min, 7:22
Des Moines – Nikita Pavlychev – (Kneeing), 2 min, 15:30

3rd Period

Des Moines – Patrick Grasso – (Slashing), 2 min, 6:04
Tri-City – Tory Dello – (Tripping), 2 min, 8:53
Des Moines – Patrik Kosh – (Slashing), 5 min, 15:41
Des Moines – Patrik Kosh – (Slashing) (Misconduct), 10 min, 15:41

Power Play

Tri-City – 1/4

Des Moines – 1/5

Shots

Tri-City: 6, 12, 18 = Total: 36
Des Moines: 13, 11, 8 = Total: 32

Saves
Tri-City – Blake Weyrick – 28/32
Des Moines – Ryland Pashovitz – 33/36

SIOUX CITY, Ia. – The Sioux City Musketeers (13-4-1) came out ahead after a wild game, defeating the Tri-City Storm (9-5-3) 7-5 in a battle of the top two teams in the Western Conference at the Tyson Events Center on Saturday night.

Storm forward Cody Milan scored twice in the first period, while captain Garrett Gamez, defenseman Kevin Kerr and forward Nick Master all found the back of the net later in the game for Tri-City.

Milan opened the scoring 2:06 into the game, taking a perfect pass from Matthew Freytag and wristing a shot into the top left corner of the Sioux City net to give Tri-City a 1-0 lead.

But 1:01 after Milan’s tally, Storm forward Chris Wilkie was called for a checking from behind penalty and received a game ejection. On the ensuing double minor power play for the Musketeers, both Robert Carpenter and Joel Janatuinen scored goals and Sioux City had themselves a 2-1 lead.

Later in the opening frame, Milan struck again on the power play and tied things up at 2-2. Defenseman Tory Dello took a shot from the top of the zone and the White Lake, Mich. native found the rebound in the crease, pushing it past Musketeers’ netminder Collin Olson. Freytag picked up his second assist of the game on the goal.

After a Waltteri Hopponen goal made it 3-2 Sioux City at 3:10 of the second period, Gamez tied the game right back up with his sixth goal of the year 33 seconds later. While on a power play, forward Mason Appleton set the captain up perfectly in front of the net, and Gamez outwaited Olson, beating the netminder to his left.

The Musketeers took control of the game late in the middle frame, scoring three times in the final six minutes. Janatuinen had two of the three tallies, securing a hat trick on the night, while defenseman Avni Berisha scored his first goal of the year. Tri-City was trailing 6-3 as the teams headed to the third period.

The Storm fought to the end, scoring twice to cut the score to 6-5. First Master got his fourth of the season on the power play at 2:50 from Gamez and forward Jake Wahlin.

Then as time was running out on Tri-City, Kevin Kerr scored his second goal of the weekend with just 3:47 left in the game to cut the Musketeer lead to just one.

Tri-City pulled netminder Blake Weyrick in the final minute, but a late penalty to Chase Berger derailed the comeback and Berisha scored an empty net power play goal to finish things off with eight seconds to go.

Weyrick finished with 19 stops in the game for Tri-City, while Olson had 25 saves for Sioux City in the win. The Storm had the edge in shots on goal in the game, 30-26.

Tri-City will be back in action Wednesday with a Thanksgiving Eve contest on the road in Des Moines against the Buccaneers at 7:05 p.m. The Storm will return to the Viaero Event Center on Tuesday, Dec. 9 in a matchup with the Lincoln Stars.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Conner Valesano and Wade Allison along with defenseman Jason Krych…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Tri-City – Cody Milan (Matthew Freytag) 2:06
Sioux City – Robert Carpenter (power play) (Sam Kurker, Joel Janatuinen) 4:41
Sioux City – Joel Janatuinen (power play) (Robert Carpenter) 6:23
Tri-City – Cody Milan (power play) (Tory Dello, Matthew Freytag) 16:05

2nd Period

Sioux City – Waltteri Hopponen (Alexandre Payusov) 3:10
Tri-City – Garrett Gamez (power play) (Mason Appleton) 3:43
Sioux City – Joel Janatuinen (power play) (Ryan Zuhlsdorf) 14:22
Sioux City – Avni Berisha (Sam Kurker, Joe Snively) 14:59
Sioux City – Joel Janatuinen (unassisted) 19:28

3rd Period
Tri-City – Nick Master (power play) (Garrett Gamez, Jake Wahlin) 2:50
Tri-City – Kevin Kerr (Jake Wahlin, Nolan Aibel) 16:13
Sioux City – Avni Berisha (empty net) (unassisted) 19:52

PENALTIES

1st Period

Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Checking From Behind), 4 min, 3:07
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Checking From Behind) (Game Ejection), 10 min, 3:07
Sioux City – Jake Durflinger – (Slashing), 2 min, 15:07
Tri-City – Tory Dello – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 16:56

2nd Period

Sioux City – Jake Durflinger – (Charging), 2 min, 3:17
Tri-City – Cody Milan – (Slashing), 2 min, 5:09
Tri-City – Tory Dello – (High Sticking), 2 min, 12:51

3rd Period

Sioux City – Jacob Wilson – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 1:51
Sioux City – Jacob Wilson – (Checking From Behind) (Misconduct), 10 min, 1:51
Sioux City – Avni Berisha – (Interference), 2 min, 8:06
Tri-City – Chase Berger – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 18:29

Power Play

Tri-City – 3/4

Sioux City – 4/6

Shots

Tri-City: 10, 11, 9 = Total: 30
Sioux City: 8, 11, 7 = Total: 26

Saves
Tri-City – Blake Weyrick – 19/25
Sioux City – Collin Olson – 25/30

KEARNEY, Neb. – Five goals from five different players propelled the Tri-City Storm (9-4-3) to a 5-2 win over the Des Moines Buccaneers (9-6-2) and into second place in the USHL’s Western Conference on Friday night at the Viaero Event Center.

Storm captain Garrett Gamez tallied a goal and an assist for his team in the victory, while defenseman Mattias Goransson recorded two assists and Kevin Kerr scored his first of the season.

Tri-City netminder Blake Weyrick made 21 saves to earn his first win of the year and the Storm outshot Des Moines 41-23 in the game.

Three first period goals put Tri-City in front early and the team never looked back. Forward Chris Wilkie opened the scoring with his 10th goal of the year at 7:12 of the opening period.

Gamez then added a power play goal to make it 2-0 at 16:55. The recent Providence College commit deflected a shot from defenseman Tory Dello by Bucs’ netminder Ryan Ruck for his fifth strike of the season. Goransson picked up the second assist on the tally.

Just 1:10 later, forward Nolan Aibel scored his second goal of the year, with assists from forward Chase Hatcher and defenseman Jalen Schulz.

The Storm widened their lead to 5-0 in the second period with goals from Kerr and forward Cody Milan. Kerr got his first of the year with Kyle Eastman screening Ruck in front on a pass from defensive partner Cameron Spicer.

Milan scored the first short-handed goal of the year for Tri-City, his third tally on the year. The forward took the puck into the Des Moines’ end on the backhand, and lifted it over Ruck perfectly, making it a five-goal advantage for the Storm.

The Buccaneers scored twice in the final period to make it 5-2 on goals by forward Nikita Pavlychev and defenseman Alec Rauhauser.

The Storm now head to Sioux City to take on the Musketeers for the first time this season on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. Tri-City returns to the Viaero Event Center on Tuesday, Dec. 9 in a matchup with the Lincoln Stars.

Notes: The Storm scratched defensemen Gordi Myer and Jason Krych. Forward Joel Herbert was also scratched, serving a one-game suspension…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (Jake Wahlin, Chase Berger) 7:12
Tri-City – Garrett Gamez (power play) (Tory Dello, Mattias Goransson) 16:55
Tri-City – Nolan Aibel (Chase Hatcher) 18:05

2nd Period

Tri-City – Kevin Kerr (Cameron Spicer, Garrett Gamez) 14:37
Tri-City – Cody Milan (short-handed) (Mattias Goransson) 16:45

3rd Period
Des Moines – Nikita Pavlychev (power play) (Georgy Gorodetsky, Alec Rauhauser) 9:22
Des Moines – Alec Rauhauser (Tanner Karty) 16:29

PENALTIES

1st Period

Tri-City – Conner Valesano – (Interference), 2 min, 0:56
Des Moines – Chandler Lindstrand – (Interference), 2 min, 15:21

2nd Period

Tri-City – Conner Valesano – (Slashing), 2 min, 3:48
Tri-City – Cody Milan – (Holding), 2 min, 7:29
Tri-City – Wade Allison – (Holding), 2 min, 16:26

3rd Period

Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Boarding), 2 min, 8:38
Des Moines – Brennan Sanford – (Slashing), 2 min, 11:43

Power Play

Des Moines – 1/5

Tri-City – 1/2

Shots

Des Moines: 9, 7, 7 = Total: 23
Tri-City: 17, 12, 12 = Total: 41

Saves

Des Moines – Ryan Ruck – 36/41
Tri-City – Blake Weyrick – 21/23

KEARNEY, Neb. – The Tri-City Storm announced a new partnership with the Team Jack Foundation, and will host Team Jack Night when they battle the Sioux Falls Stampede on Saturday, January 24.

The Team Jack Foundation is a non-profit organization that aims to fund pediatric cancer research at the world’s best research institutions. As of January 2013, the Team Jack Foundation has committed more than $1.1 million and counting to pediatric brain cancer research.

Starting today, fans can go to Team Jack’s website and either make a one-time donation or pledge a donation to the Foundation for each goal recorded by the Storm score for the remainder of the season (45 games).

“We are very excited for the opportunity to partner with the Tri-City Storm and are so grateful for their support,” said Andy Hoffman, Chair of the Team Jack Foundation. “By pledging per goal recorded by the Storm, individuals will have a chance to make a direct impact on pediatric brain cancer, the leading cancer cause of death in children.”

The Storm are also working to provide other donation options, including adopting individual players. For example, fans could adopt one or multiple players and donate based on their success for the remainder of the season.

The game promotion will also include Star Wars Night, featuring themes from a galaxy far, far away.

In addition, the Storm have designated the Team Jack Foundation as a recipient for the month of January in the annual Jerseys For A Cause program, presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield.

“We are honored to have the opportunity to work with the Team Jack Foundation in an effort to build a memorable game night theme and ultimately generate dollars for pediatric brain cancer research,” said Tri-City Storm President Greg Shea.

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

KEARNEY, Neb. – Tri-City Storm captain Garrett Gamez has signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division I College Hockey with the Providence College Friars next season.

Gamez, who has appeared in a total of 116 games with the Storm over the past three seasons, currently ranks 18th all-time among Storm skaters with 42 assists. Through 13 games this season, the Chino Hills, Calif. native has four goals and four assists.

The forward will become the second player to go from Tri-City to Providence in the last three years, joining forward Trevor Mingoia, who played for the Storm during the 2012-13 season.

The two will be reunited for one more season next fall, as Mingoia, currently a junior, will have only his senior season remaining.

The 19-year-old was previously committed to Denver University and was recruited by then assistant coach Steve Miller. Although things didn’t work out with the Pioneers, Gamez will end up getting a chance to play for Miller after all, as he is currently an assistant with the Friars under head coach Nate Leaman.

“The coaching staff there was a huge hit for me,” Gamez said. “Coach [Miller] was with Denver when I was committed there so I already had a really good relationship with him.”

Since taking the reins in 2011-12, Leaman has changed the culture at the school, guiding the team to its first winning seasons since the 2005-06 campaign. The Friars qualified for the NCAA Tournament last spring for the first time since 2001 and fell one game short of reaching the Frozen Four, losing to Union College in the quarterfinals after defeating Quinnipiac in the opening round.

“I liked that he was very honest with me,” Gamez said of his now future head coach. “He’s not really a player pleaser; he’s just very honest and very straight with you. He tells you how you need to improve and what you’re doing well. I like being able to go to a coach that’s very honest and not scared to hurt my feelings.”

Gamez also said he felt more mature with the way he went through the college selection process a second time.

“I had a better understanding of what I needed to look for and the opportunity I was getting at each college that offered me a scholarship,” Gamez said. “I felt that Providence was the best offer for me and I’m really excited to attend. I liked the atmosphere there.”

With his future now firmly in place, Gamez is looking forward to concentrating on his time left with Tri-City and achieving his goal of winning a championship in the USHL.

“The last couple weeks were pretty stressful getting everything situated and figured out,” Gamez said. “It’s definitely a blessing for myself to be committed there and it’s a bit of a sigh of relief knowing that I’m going to college next year.”

The Storm will take on Des Moines at the Viaero Event Center Friday night at 7:30 p.m., before hitting the road to face Sioux City on Saturday 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.

KEARNEY, Neb. – With 15 games down and 45 to go, there’s still a long road ahead in the 2014-15 USHL season. Through the first quarter of the year, the Tri-City Storm have an overall record of 8-4-3 and 19 points which is good for third place in the Western Conference.

During the upcoming weekend, Tri-City will face the two teams ahead of them in the standings, Des Moines and Sioux City.

“We’re very excited to line up against the top two teams in our conference this weekend,” said Storm Head Coach Jim Hulton. “This is a time for us to make up some ground and we think we’re at that stage in the season now that we’re ready to take it to another level. We’ve been satisfied with our play, but we’d like to be a lot more consistent and make a real push to the top.”

The Buccaneers (9-5-2, 20 points) come to Kearney on Friday night, for a 7:30 p.m. matchup. In the first meeting of Tri-City and Des Moines back onOct. 4, the Storm skated out of Buccaneer Arena with a 2-1 shootout victory. Forward Nick Master scored for Tri-City in the first period of the contest, while Chris Wilkie and Bobby Nardella took care of the extra point, scoring in the shootout.

Sioux City (11-4-1, 23 points) is at the top of the Western Conference and second-best in the USHL. Saturday’s game at the Tyson Events Center will be the first of six matchups between the teams this season.

With eight wins in their first 15 games, the Storm are off to their best start since the 2006-07 season, when they had nine wins in the team’s first 15 contests.

Tri-City has been led offensively by Chris Wilkie, who has nine goals and five assists this season. Three defensemen are tied for the lead in scoring amongst blueliners, with Mattias Goransson, Kevin Kerr and Bobby Nardella each recording nine points on the season.

Goaltender Alec Dillon has shouldered most of the load between the pipes, posting a record of 8-3-2 with a goals against average of 2.16 and a save percentage at .921.

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

OMAHA, Neb. – The Tri-City Storm (8-4-3) got their eighth victory of the season in shootout fashion over the Omaha Lancers (4-7-3) on Saturdaynight, earning two points with a 2-1 victory at the Ralston Arena.

Chase Berger scored early in the first, and both Chris Wilkie and Cody Milan found the back of the net in the skills competition, while goaltender Alec Dillon made 28 saves to pick up the victory.

Berger helped the Storm get out to a fast start, scoring just 43 seconds into the game to give Tri-City a 1-0 lead. Chris Wilkie and Mattias Goransson picked up assists on Berger’s third tally of the season.

The Lancers evened the game in the middle period, converting on a power play with a goal by forward Shane Gersich.

Later in the second, Storm forward Joel Herbert took a major penalty for checking from behind, as well as a game ejection. But Tri-City killed off the ensuing power play for Omaha, and kept the score tied at 1-1 after two periods.

No scoring in the third period, forced overtime, and eventually a shootout. It was the fifth shootout for the Storm in the team’s first 15 games of the season.

Omaha outshot Tri-City 29-26 in the game and Lancers’ netminder Hayden Hawkey finished with 24 saves.

The Storm will return home to face Des Moines at the Viaero Event Center in Kearney on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Wade Allison and Nolan Aibel along with defenseman Gordi Myer…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Tri-City – Chase Berger (Chris Wilkie, Mattias Goransson) 0:43

2nd Period

Omaha – Shane Gersich (power play) (Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, Niklas Folin) 3:08

3rd Period

Cedar Rapids – Jiri Fronk (power play) (Andrew Oglevie) 3:24
Cedar Rapids – Jiri Fronk (Erik Foley, Andrew Oglevie) 5:14

Overtime
(no scoring)

PENALTIES

1st Period

Omaha – Michael Wilson – (Hooking), 2 min, 2:30
Tri-City – Cody Milan – (Hooking), 2 min, 4:25
Tri-City – Matthew Freytag – (Hooking), 2 min, 8:16

Tri-City – Mason Appleton – (Tripping), 2 min, 13:19

Omaha – Michael Wilson – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 15:52

2nd Period

Tri-City – Nick Master – (Tripping), 2 min, 2:52
Omaha – Nick Rivera – (Kneeing), 2 min, 4:11
Tri-City – Joel Herbert – (Checking From Behihnd), 5 min, 14:36
Tri-City – Joel Herbert – (Checking From Behind) (Game Misconduct), 10 min, 14:36

3rd Period

Omaha – Nick Rivera – (Elbowing), 2 min, 10:50

Overtime
(no penalties)

Power Play

Tri-City – 0/4

Omaha – 1/5

Shots

Tri-City: 10, 5, 7, 3 = Total: 25
Omaha: 9, 12, 7, 1 = Total: 29

Saves

Tri-City – Alec Dillon – 28/29
Omaha – Hayden Hawkey – 24/25

CEDAR RAPIDS, Ia. – The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (13-1-0) earned their tenth straight victory, defeating the Tri-City Storm (7-4-3) 7-2 in their first meeting of the season at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena on Friday night.

Forward Chris Wilkie scored his ninth goal of the season for the Storm in the loss, while forward Matthew Freytag picked up his fourth tally with a power play goal.

Cedar Rapids was led by a tandem of wings in Jiri Fronk and Erik Foley, who combined for five of the RoughRiders seven goals. Fronk scored once in the second and twice in the third to complete a hat trick on the night, while Foley had a goal in each of the first two periods.

The RoughRiders got goals from Foley and Alec Marsh in the first, and secured a 2-0 lead after the opening period.

After a third Cedar Rapids goal by Tyler Gernhofer early on in the second period, Wilkie got the Storm on the board, stealing a puck and heading in alone on a breakaway. The Omaha native beat RoughRider netminder Ben Blacker with a shot glove side, giving Tri-City some life in the game.

But Cedar Rapids responded with two more tallies from Fronk and Foley to take a 5-1 lead, forcing the Storm to pull goaltender Alec Dillon in favor of backup Blake Weyrick.

Freytag’s goal came in the final seconds of Tri-City’s first power play of the evening on a deflection of a slapshot from defenseman Mattias Goransson. Tory Dello picked up the second assist on the goal.

Fronk scored twice in less than a two minute span for the RoughRiders in the third to open things up and despite 17 shots for Tri-City in the final period, the game ended with Cedar Rapids on top 7-2.

The Storm outshot the RoughRiders 34-20 in the game.

Tri-City now heads to Omaha to take on the Lancers at the Ralston Arena on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Wade Allison and Chase Hatcher along with defenseman Jason Krych… 

SCORING SUMMARY 

1st Period
Cedar Rapids – Alec Marsh (Tyler Gernhofer) 13:13
Cedar Rapids – Erik Foley (Jiri Fronk, Andrew Oglevie) 15:37

2nd Period
Cedar Rapids – Tyler Gernhofer (Dylan McLaughlin) 1:47
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (unassisted) 2:37
Cedar Rapids – Jiri Fronk (Erik Foley) 5:58
Cedar Rapids – Erik Foley (power play) (Ross Colton) 12:20
Tri-City – Matthew Freytag (power play) (Mattias Goransson, Tory Dello) 16:26

3rd Period
Cedar Rapids – Jiri Fronk (power play) (Andrew Oglevie) 3:24
Cedar Rapids – Jiri Fronk (Erik Foley, Andrew Oglevie) 5:14

PENALTIES

1st Period
Tri-City – Jake Wahlin – (Slashing), 2 min, 17:38
Cedar Rapids – Alec Marsh – (Slashing), 2 min, 17:38
Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Tripping), 2 min, 18:53

2nd Period
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Roughing), 2 min, 5:27
Cedar Rapids – Clark Kuster – (Roughing), 2 min, 5:27
Tri-City – Cody Milan – (Boarding), 2 min, 6:38
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Interference), 2 min, 11:19
Cedar Rapids – Clark Kuster – (Tripping), 2 min, 14:26
Tri-City – Tory Dello – (Continuing Altercation) (Misconduct), 10 min, 20:00
Cedar Rapids – Andrew Gaus – (Continuing Altercation) (Misconduct), 10 min, 20:00

3rd Period
Tri-City – Gordi Myer – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 2:15
Tri-City – Conner Valesano – (Slashing), 2 min, 12:03
Cedar Rapids – Alec Marsh – (Slashing), 2 min, 13:43
Tri-City – Nolan Aibel – (Slashing), 2 min, 20:00

Power Play
Cedar Rapids – 2/5
Tri-City – 1/2

Shots
Cedar Rapids: 6, 7, 7 = Total: 20
Tri-City: 3, 14, 17 = Total: 34

Saves
Cedar Rapids – Ben Blacker – 32/34
Tri-City – Alec Dillon – 5/10, Blake Weyrick – 8/10