KEARNEY, Neb. – The Tri-City Storm (18-29-3) lost their third straight Sunday afternoon at the Viaero Event Center 4-3 to the Fargo Force (9-35-5). With the win, Fargo swept the weekend series between the two teams in Kearney.

Chris Wilkie notched three points, scoring a goal and two assists to add to his team leading scoring total of 31, while Cody Milan scored his second goal in as many nights.

Tri-City scored first midway through the first period when Dan Labosky found Wilkie, the North Dakota commit, sitting in front of the net for his 15th goal of the season.                                           

Three minutes later, Fargo took advantage of a power play as Tyler Hynes netted his 15th goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1.

Less than a minute after the goal by Hynes, following a Storm turnover in the Fargo zone, Force forward Andrew Zerban snuck one past Storm goaltender Hayden Lavigne to give his team a 2-1 lead.

Heading into the locker room for the first intermission, Fargo had themselves a 2-1 lead.

In the second period Tri-City had a great opportunity to put the puck in the net after Zerban took a major penalty for boarding. The Storm offense had a 5-on-4 opportunity for five minutes, but couldn’t convert.

At the conclusion of the middle period, the teams left the ice without any change in score and Fargo leading 2-1 going into the third.

Tri-City only needed 52 seconds to find an equalizer in the final period. Taking advantage of a power play, Wilkie and Austin Poganski found Chase Berger diving in front of the net to tie the game.

Fargo answered back moments later as Alex Jackstadt found a rebound in front of the net and backhanded the puck through Lavigne’s legs to retake the lead at 3-2.

The Force padded their lead later in the period on a deflection in front by defensemen Tanner Jago.

With an extra attacker on the ice for Tri-City late in the third period, White Lake, Mich. native Cody Milan forced the puck into the net to cut the Force lead to 4-3.

But the Storm were unable to pull even, as their few last second opportunities in the waning moments of the game were unsuccessful.

Fargo goaltender Mathias Israelsson outdueled Lavigne for the win and finished the afternoon with 33 saves. Lavigne turned aside 34 shots of his own.

The Storm will host five more games in Kearney over the next three weeks.

Tri-City is back in action Friday night at 7:30 p.m. as they host a weekend series with the Muskegon Lumberjacks at the Viaero Event Center. Saturday’s game will start at 7:05.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Nolan Aibel, and Joey DiBenedetto, along with defensemen Cutler Martin Sean Lang, Fredric Larsson and Tory Dello…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (Dan Labosky) 11:06

Fargo – Tyler Hynes (power play) (Meirs Moore) 14:17

Fargo – Andrew Zerban (Mike Babcock) 15:05

2nd Period

(no scoring)

3rd Period

Tri-City – Chase Berger (power play) (Austin Poganski, Chris Wilkie) 0:52

Fargo – Alex Jackstadt (unassisted) 2:43

Fargo – Tanner Jago (Teemu Kivihalme) 12:01

Tri-City – Cody Milan (Chase Berger, Chris Wilkie) 18:52

PENALTIES

1st Period

Tri-City – Donovan Gardiner –  (Tripping), 2 min, 6:53

Tri-City – Chase Berger – (Holding), 2 min, 12:24

Tri-City – Ryan McMurphy – (Holding), 2 min, 15:42

2nd Period

Fargo – Andrew Zerban – (Boarding) (Major), 5 min, 5:04

Fargo – Andrew Zerban – (Boarding) (Game Misconduct), 10 min, 5:04

Fargo – Hunter Warner – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 13:04

Tri-City – Bench Minor – (Too many men), 2 min, 14:19

Fargo – Mikey Eyssimont – (Charging), 2 min, 19:56

3rd Period

Fargo – Garrick Gray – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 6:37

Tri-City – Cody Milan – (High Sticking), 2 min, 7:19

Tri-City – Dan Labosky – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 15:45

Power Play

Fargo –1/4

Tri-City – 1/6

Shots

Fargo: 14, 11, 13, = Total: 38
Tri-City: 7, 11, 18, = Total: 36

Saves

Fargo – Mathias Israelsson – 33/36
Tri-City – Hayden Lavigne – 34/38

KEARNEY, Neb. – The Fargo Force (8-35-5) erased a two-goal deficit in the third period and defeated the Tri-City Storm (18-28-3) in a shootout 5-4 at the Viaero Event Center on Saturday night.

Storm forward Austin Poganski had a goal and an assist, while Conner Valesano netted a power play goal for Tri-City in the defeat.

Fargo was able to jump out to an early 1-0 lead when forward Andrew Zerban scored just 1:36 into the opening period.

But Tri-City quickly evened the game minutes later when Poganski found Valesano in front at the end of a Storm power play. Poganski took a pass from Dan Labosky and raced into the offensive zone, skated wide right of the net and delivered the puck at the perfect time for Valesano to deflect it past Force netminder Brendan Jensen to tie the game at 1-1.

The Storm then took control of the game when forward Kyle Eastman scored less than two minutes after Valesano’s strike. Tri-City had the puck deep in the offensive zone when Labosky found Eastman in front for a quick release wrist shot that beat Jensen up high and gave the Storm a 2-1 lead.

In the final minute of the first period, the Storm’s line of Nick Hutchison, Drew Mayer and Cody Milan continued the hard work and got rewarded. Milan threw the puck towards the net and it deflected past the goal line with just 14 seconds remaining, pushing the Tri-City lead to 3-1 going into the intermission. The goal was Milan’s first in a Storm uniform.

The second period was more of the same for the Storm, as they outshot Fargo 16-5. Poganski made it 4-1 after a great individual effort, driving to the net and shoving the puck in using only one hand on his stick. Both Valesano and Fritz picked up assists on the goal. For Fritz, it was his first point since coming to Tri-City from Sioux Falls.

Poganski is now the leader on the team with 15 goals this season.

The Force cut the Storm lead to 4-2 when Mikey Eyssimont scored at 11:03 of the middle frame, taking a pass from Tyler Hynes and redirecting it past Storm goaltender Jacob Johansson.

Fargo was able to capitalize on two power play opportunities in the third period to tie the game at 4-4, with both Hynes and Garick Gray finding the back of the net.

With neither team able to find the tiebreaker in overtime, the game went to a shootout.

In the skill session, both goaltenders stopped the first four shooters they faced until forward C.J. Hayes beat Johansson in the fifth round. Chase Berger had a chance to tie it for the Storm, but missed and the Force secured two points for their eighth win of the season.

The two teams will do battle again on Sunday afternoon at the Viaero Event Center, with the game getting underway at 3:05 p.m.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Joey DiBenedetto and Nolan Aibel, along with defensemen Cutler Martin, Fredric Larsson, Sean Lang and Tory Dello…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Fargo – Andrew Zerban (Neal Goff), 1:36

Tri-City – Conner Valesano (power play) (Austin Poganski, Dan Labosky), 4:24

Tri-City – Kyle Eastman (Ryan McMurphy, Dan Labosky), 6:08

Tri-City – Cody Milan, (Nick Hutchison, Drew Mayer), 19:46

2nd Period

Tri-City – Austin Poganski (Conner Valesano), 9:25

Fargo – Mikey Eyssimont (Tyler Hynes), 11:03

3rd Period

Fargo – Garrick Gray (power play) (Butrus Ghafari), 2:09

Fargo – Tyler Hynes (power play) (unassisted), 15:59

Overtime

(no scoring)

PENALTIES

1st Period

Fargo – Andrew Mcdonald, (Holding), 2 min, 2:48

Tri-City – Nick Hutchison, (Slashing), 2 min, 8:45

Fargo – Butrus Ghafari, (Hooking), 2 min, 11:53

Tri-City – Kyle Eastman, (Fighting) (Major), 5 min, 13:14

Fargo – Cam Ashley, (Fighting) (Major), 5 min, 13:14

Fargo – Cam Ashley, (Removing opponents helmet) (Game Misconduct), 10 min, 13:14

Tri-City – Garrett Gamez, (Tripping), 2 min, 16:05

2nd Period

Fargo – Garrick Gray, (Fighting )(Major), 5 min, 12:13

Tri-City – Conner Valesano, (Fighting) (Major), 5 min, 12:13

Fargo – Tanner Jago, (Cross Checking), 2 min, 13:36

Fargo – Butrus Ghafari, (Tripping), 2 min, 14:27

Tri-City – Nick Hutchison, (Fighting) (Major), 5 min, 19:04

Fargo – Hunter Warner, (Fighting) (Major), 5 min, 19:04

3rd Period

Tri-City – Kevin Kerr, (Holding), 2 min, 1:19

Fargo – Tyler Hynes, (Slashing), 2 min, 4:26

Tri-City – Cody Milan, (Tripping), 2 min, 14:30

Power Play

Fargo –2/3

Tri-City – 1/7

Shots

Fargo: 14, 6, 6, 4 = Total: 30

Tri-City: 10, 15, 9, 6 = Total: 40

Saves

Fargo – Brendan Jensen – 36/40

Tri-City – Jacob Johansson – 26/30

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Tri-City Storm (18-28-2) took a one-goal lead into the third period, but allowed three consecutive scores in the final frame and fell 5-3 to the Lincoln Stars (17-22-7) at the Ice Box on Friday night.

Austin Poganski and Nick Hutchison each scored shorthanded goals for Tri-City in the loss, while Dan Labosky scored his sixth goal of the season.

The Stars took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a power play goal by Magnus Hoff at 9:12.

Tri-City then took another penalty, as forward Cody Milan skated to the box for high sticking. During that penalty kill, the Storm scored twice and took a 2-1 lead.

Both tallies came on breakaways. Poganski got his after winning a race to a loose puck on a face-off in his own zone, while Hutchison made Lincoln pay for a turnover while moving up ice. Stars’ goalie Michael Bitzer tried to fire a pass up towards the Storm end while Tri-City was changing, but a deflection had the puck go right to Hutchison, who was in all alone.

With their new lead, Tri-City expanded their advantage when Labosky found a rebound in front to make it 3-1 at 16:11of the opening period. Forward Kyle Eastman moved the puck up ice and into a scoring area between the circles in the Lincoln end. After an initial save by Bitzer, Labosky swept the rebound home and the Storm we up two goals 20 minutes in.

The Stars got back in the game during the second when Brandon Smith scored during a five-on-three power play advantage, cutting the Storm lead to 3-2.

Tri-City had two power play chances later in the middle period, but failed to capitalize and headed to the third while clinging to a one-goal lead.

After neither team scored in the first half of the final frame, Lincoln made their opportunities count, scoring three times to secure the win.

Dominick Sacco tied the game at 11:06 of the third, scoring off a pass from Hoff. It was Sacco’s third goal in the last two meetings between the teams.

Lincoln took the lead three minutes later when Hoff scored his second of the game, and sealed the victory in the final minute on a goal by leading scorer John Simonson.

Storm netminder Jacob Johansson finished with 26 saves, while Bitzer fended off 29 shots.

Tri-City is back at home on Saturday night to face the Fargo Force at 7:05 p.m. The Storm will finish the weekend on Sunday afternoon in another tilt with Fargo, which gets underway at 3:05.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Joey DiBenedetto and Nolan Aibel, along with defensemen Cutler Martin, Daniel Fritz, Sean Lang and Tory Dello…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Lincoln – Magnus Hoff (power play) (Blake Christiensen, Zach Frye) 9:12
Tri-City – Austin Poganski (shorthanded) (unassisted) 10:00

Tri-City – Nick Hutchison (shorthanded) (unassisted) 10:47

Tri-City – Dan Labosky (Kyle Eastman) 16:11

2nd Period

Lincoln – Brandon Smith (power play) (David Parrottino) 5:33

3rd Period
Lincoln – Dominick Sacco (Magnus Hoff, Zack Pittman) 11:06
Lincoln – Magnus Hoff (Brandon Smith, David Parrottino) 14:06
Lincoln – John Simonson (Brandon Smith, Tom Marchin) 19:13

PENALTIES

1st Period
Lincoln – Zach Frye – (Head Contact), 2 min, 7:00
Tri-City – Conner Valesano – (Interference), 2 min, 7:14
Tri-City – Cody Milan – (High Sticking), 2 min, 9:34
Tri-City – Bench Minor – (Too Many Men), 2 min, 13:24

2nd Period

Tri-City – Patrick Curry – (Slashing), 2 min, 4:38
Tri-City – Dan Labosky – (Roughing), 2 min, 5:25
Lincoln – Hunter Anderson – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 10:49
Lincoln – Hunter Anderson – (Checking From Behind) (Game Misconduct), 10 min, 10:49
Lincoln – Connor Frantti – (Elbowing), 2 min, 14:33
Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Fighting), 5 min, 19:52
Lincoln – Magnus Hoff – (Fighting), 5 min, 19:52

3rd Period

Lincoln – Zach Frye – (Delay of Game), 2 min, 5:11
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Delay of Game), 2 min, 5:11
Lincoln – David Parrottino – (Slashing), 2 min, 15:48

Power Play

Tri-City – 0/4
Lincoln – 2/5

Shots

Tri-City: 12, 14, 6 = Total: 32
Lincoln: 12, 12, 7 = Total: 31

Saves

Tri-City – Jacob Johansson – 26/31
Lincoln – Michael Bitzer – 29/32

KEARNEY, Neb. – The Tri-City Storm (18-27-2) battled hard but ultimately fell short, losing 5-4 to the Lincoln Stars (16-22-7) in front of a sold out crowd of 4,025 on ‘Pack It In Purple’ night at the Viaero Event Center on Saturday.

Storm forward Chase Berger had two power play goals and an assist in the loss, while Chris Wilkie had a goal and an assist and Conner Valesano scored his first goal in a Tri-City uniform.

The opening period saw the two teams combine for a total of six goals. The Stars opened the scoring when Dominick Sacco beat Storm goaltender Hayden Lavigne 5:39 into the game.

Tri-City responded with a power play tally from Berger, who deflected a Jalen Schulz shot past Lincoln netminder Michael Bitzer. Defenseman Kevin Kerr picked up the second assist on the play.

Sacco put Lincoln back in the lead with his second tally of the game at 15:34 of the first, but Wilkie tied the contest at 2-2 with a deflection under Bitzer less than three minutes later.

In the final minute and a half of the first, the Stars got goals from Brandon Smith and Max Humitz to take a 4-2 lead into the intermission.

Storm head coach Jim Hulton pulled Lavigne from the game to start the second, replacing him with Jacob Johansson.

The Storm had total control of the middle frame, outshooting Lincoln 12-1, but only got one goal to show for their efforts. Berger’s second power play tally of the night got Tri-City within one at 4-3.

Both teams scored within a minute of each other in the beginning of the third, which left the Storm down a goal. Lincoln got the game winner from forward Thomas Carey at 2:05 of the final period. Valesano responded at 2:48 with his ninth tally of the season. Assists on the Storm’s fourth of the night went to Garrett Gamez and Fredric Larsson.

Lincoln was able to hold on to their one-goal lead and earned a split in the weekend home-and-home series with a 5-4 win.

Johansson finished the night with 16 saves during the final 40 minutes after Lavigne made nine stops during the first period.

The two teams will meet again on Friday night in Lincoln at the Ice Box for a 7:05 p.m. start.

Tri-City is back at home on Saturday night to face the Fargo Force, also at 7:05. The Storm will finish the weekend on Sunday afternoon in another tilt with Fargo which gets underway at 3:05.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Joey DiBenedetto and Nolan Aibel, along with defensemen Cutler Martin, Sean Lang and Tory Dello…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Lincoln – Dominick Sacco (Connor Frantti, Tristan Rostagno) 5:39

Tri-City – Chase Berger (power play) (Jalen Schulz, Kevin Kerr) 11:04

Lincoln – Dominick Sacco (Thomas Carey) 15:34

Tri-City – Chris Wilkie (Chase Berger, Patrick Curry) 18:02

Lincoln – Brandon Smith (power play) (unassisted) 18:33

Lincoln – Max Humitz (Dominick Sacco) 19:40

2nd Period

Tri-City – Chase Berger (power play) (Jalen Schulz, Chris Wilkie) 17:36

3rd Period
Lincoln – Thomas Carey (Brandon Smith) 2:05
Tri-City – Conner Valesano (Garrett Gamez, Fredric Larsson) 2:48

PENALTIES

1st Period
Lincoln – Tristan Rostagno (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 6:00
Lincoln – Tristan Rostagno (Checking From Behind) (Misconduct), 10 min, 6:00
Lincoln – Keegan Ward – (Interference), 2 min, 9:41
Tri-City – Drew Mayer – (Slashing), 2 min, 18:35

2nd Period

Lincoln – Luke Shiplo – (Holding), 2 min, 2:34

Lincoln – John Simonson – (Tripping), 2 min, 17:10

3rd Period

Tri-City – Ryan McMurphy – (Tripping), 2 min, 5:16
Tri-City – Austin Poganski – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 12:04
Tri-City – Austin Poganski – (Checking From Behind) (Misconduct), 10 min, 12:04

Power Play

Lincoln – 1/3
Tri-City – 2/4

Shots

Lincoln: 13, 1, 16 = Total: 30
Tri-City: 13, 12, 12 = Total: 37

Saves

Lincoln – Hayden Lavigne – 9/13, Jacob Johansson – 16/17
Tri-City – Michael Bitzer – 33/37

LINCOLN, Neb. – Austin Poganski scored twice to lead the Tri-City Storm (18-26-2) to a 4-2 victory over the Lincoln Stars (15-22-7) at the Ice Box on Friday night.

Forward Garrett Gamez had a goal and an assist, while Storm goaltender Jacob Johansson stopped 34 shots and picked up his 14th win of the season.

After a scoreless first period in which Tri-City outshot Lincoln 11-9, the Storm broke through in the first half of the middle frame.

Poganski got his first of the night at 4:54 of the second, taking a turnaround shot that beat Lincoln netminder Michael Bitzer.

Gamez, who picked up an assist on the goal, scored less than five minutes later when he found a loose puck in front of the net and wristed it home to give Tri-City a 2-0 lead.

Just 14 seconds later, Poganski made it 3-0, driving to the net and putting a rebound past Bitzer. The St. Cloud, Minn. native also had an assist on the Gamez tally and finished the game with three points.

Although the Storm were in control of the game, John Simonson got Lincoln on the board in the final two minutes of the period and made it 3-1 as the two teams headed to the third.

The Stars converted on an early power play at 2:20 of the final frame to make it 3-2 when Lincoln forward Brandon Smith took a wrister that deflected off of Johansson’s glove and in. But the Storm goalie didn’t allow another puck to get by him, giving Tri-City the wall they needed behind them for the remainder of the game.

While killing a penalty to defenseman Fredric Larsson, the Storm picked up the breathing room they needed when Chase Berger found Eastman for Tri-City’s eighth shorthanded goal of the season to make it 4-2.

Bitzer finished with 23 saves, as Lincoln outshot the Storm 36-27.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday night at the Viaero Event Center in Kearney to close a home-and-home series. The game gets underway at 7:05 p.m.

Saturday’s game will see the Storm host their annual ‘Pack It In Purple’ promotion, where the team will don specialty jerseys to be auctioned off after the game with proceeds benefitting the United Way.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Joey DiBenedetto and Nolan Aibel, along with defensemen Cutler Martin, Sean Lang and Tory Dello…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

(no scoring)

2nd Period

Tri-City – Austin Poganski (Garrett Gamez) 4:54
Tri-City – Garrett Gamez (Austin Poganski) 9:36
Tri-City – Austin Poganski (Conner Valesano) 9:50
Lincoln – John Simonson (Max Humitz, Ludvig Hoff) 18:15

3rd Period
Lincoln – Brandon Smith (power play) (Zach Frye, Jared Kolquist) 2:20
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman (shorthanded) (Chase Berger) 12:18

PENALTIES

1st Period
Lincoln – Ludvig Hoff – (Holding), 2 min, 4:31

Tri-City – Cody Milan – (Hooking), 2 min, 8:59

2nd Period

Tri-City – Fredric Larsson – (Charging), 2 min, 11:49
Tri-City – Fredric Larsson – (Fighting), 5 min, 11:49
Lincoln – Zach Frye – (Fighting), 5 min, 11:49
Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Hooking), 2 min, 14:29
Lincoln – Tom Marchin – (Fighting), 5 min, 16:49
Tri-City – Drew Mayer – (Fighting), 5 min, 16:49
Lincoln – Connor Frantti – (Roughing), 2 min, 19:23

3rd Period

Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Tripping), 2 min, 1:42

Tri-City – Fredric Larsson – (Tripping), 2 min, 10:39
Lincoln – Zack Pittman – (High Sticking), 2 min, 16:49

Power Play

Tri-City –0/3
Lincoln – 1/5

Shots

Tri-City: 11, 11, 5 = Total: 27
Lincoln: 9, 14, 13 = Total: 36

Saves

Tri-City – Jacob Johansson – 34/36
Lincoln – Michael Bitzer – 23/27

KEARNEY, Neb. – The Tri-City Storm are recognizing forwards Mario Puskarich and Mark Van Guilder, along with goaltender Adam Wilcox as their alumni of the month for February.

Puskarich has been having a big season in his freshman year at the University of Vermont, averaging a point per game through 28 contests. His 14 goals and 14 assists make him the second leading scorer on the Catamounts, and put him fifth in all of Division I among freshman.

The Fort Walton Beach, Fla. native has also been scoring at clutch times, and has four game-winning goals this season. In addition, Puskarich has five goals on the power play, and his 14 tallies have him tied for 32nd overall among the nation’s goal scoring leaders.

The forward suited up for the Storm 31 times in two seasons from 2009-11. He then went on to have two big years with the Langley Rivermen in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL), putting up 41 goals and 49 assists in 55 games last season.

Van Guilder, who played two seasons with the Storm from 2002-04, has continued to impress in his sixth year of professional hockey, serving as an assistant captain with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL). Van Guilder has nine goals and nine assists in 50 games as one of the team’s centers.

A native of Roseville, Minn., Van Guilder is one of the longest tenured players in the Admirals organization, and has made a big impact off the ice in the Milwaukee community.

In 119 games with Tri-City, the forward scored 28 goals and 30 assists. Van Guilder was also a member of the Storm’s Anderson Cup winning team in 2003-04. Tri-City will be recognizing the team in a 10-year anniversary tribute during their season finale at the Viaero Event Center on April 5.

Wilcox, a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, has been recognized as one of the best netminders in the country. After securing the starting job as a freshman and leading the team to the NCAA tournament last season, the South St. Paul, Minn. native has continued his high level of play this year.

Through 29 games, Wilcox has a record of 20-4-5 with a goals against average of 1.97 and a save percentage of .931. His goals against is sixth-best in the country, while his save percentage is 11th and his winning percentage is fourth.

The Golden Gophers are ranked No. 2 in this week’s USCHO.com poll and should be a lock to qualify for the NCAA tournament again this spring.

The goaltender played 34 games with Tri-City during the 2011-12 season and led the team to the playoffs, amassing 16 wins and a save percentage of .916.

The Storm face Lincoln in a home-and-home series this weekend. Friday’s game is in Lincoln at the IceBox and starts at7:05 p.m. The two teams will then head to Kearney on Saturday night for another 7:05 opening face-off.

Saturday’s game will see the Storm host their annual ‘Pack It In Purple’ promotion, where the team will don specialty jerseys to be auctioned off after the game with proceeds benefitting the United Way.

BENSENVILLE, Ill. – Chicago Steel (22-19-3) goaltender Chris Nell kept the Tri-City Storm (17-26-2) at bay for most of the afternoon, making 42 saves and backstopping his team to a 4-2 win on Sunday at The Edge Ice Arena.

Tri-City got goals from forwards Chase Berger and Garrett Gamez in defeat, and goaltender Jacob Johansson made 23 saves in the final 45 minutes after replacing starter Hayden Lavigne.

The Steel took control of the game in the opening period, scoring three goals in the first 14 minutes of the game.

Forward Mason Bergh kicked off the scoring with a tally 7:20 into the contest to make it 1-0, before defenseman Alec Vanko and forward Fredrik Olofsson added power play goals 50 seconds apart.

The consecutive man-advantage tallies was enough for Storm head coach Jim Hulton to make a change in net, removing Lavigne in favor of Johansson.

Despite outshooting the Steel 14-11 in the first frame, Tri-City headed to the intermission with a three goal deficit.

Tri-City got on the board halfway through the middle period when Berger found a loose puck in the neutral zone and raced in alone on a breakaway. The St. Louis native then flipped a wrist shot over Nell’s glove and made it 3-1 at the10:19 mark of the second.

The Storm continued to control the play in the middle period, but a quick Steel breakout resulted in a goal for the team’s leading scorer John Ernsting and Chicago regained a three-goal lead at 4-1.

Once again, Tri-City outshot the Steel in the third period, but couldn’t find the twine until the final minutes when Gamez cashed in on a loose rebound in front of the Chicago net. Assists on the goal were awarded to forwards Conner Valesano and Dan Labosky.

The final shot tally had the Storm ahead 44-32, but they were behind on the scoreboard, dropping a fifth consecutive game. The team’s current five-game losing stretch comes on the heels of their longest winning streak of the season, which also stands at five games.

Tri-City will now look forward to a home-and-home series with the Lincoln Stars this weekend. Friday’s game is in Lincoln at the IceBox and starts at 7:05 p.m. The two teams will then head to Kearney on Saturday night for another7:05 opening face-off.

Saturday’s game will see the Storm host their annual ‘Pack It In Purple’ promotion, where the team will don specialty jerseys to be auctioned off after the game with proceeds benefitting the United Way.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Joey DiBenedetto, Nick Hutchison and Nolan Aibel, along with defensemen Cutler Martin, Sean Lang and Tory Dello…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Chicago – Mason Bergh (Robbie Payne) 7:20

Chicago – Alec Vanko (power play) (Brian LeBlanc) 12:29

Chicago – Fredrik Olofsson (power play) (John Ernsting, Robbie Payne) 13:19

2nd Period

Tri-City – Chase Berger (unassisted) 10:19
Chicago – John Ernsting (Jake Bunz) 14:47

3rd Period
Tri-City – Garrett Gamez (Conner Valesano, Dan Labosky) 18:28

PENALTIES

1st Period
Tri-City – Dan Labosky – (Kneeing), 2 min, 12:02
Tri-City – Michael Joyaux – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 12:53
Chicago – Victor Bjorkung – (Delay of Game), 2 min, 16:05
Chicago – Victor Bjorkung – (Roughing), 2 min, 16:05
Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Delay of Game), 2 min, 16:05
Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Roughing), 2 min, 16:05
Chicago – Brady Jones – (Hooking), 2 min, 18:36

2nd Period

Chicago – Robbie Payne – (Roughing), 2 min, 11:18

Chicago – Alec Vanko – (Delay of Game), 2 min, 12:13

Tri-City – Patrick Curry – (Delay of Game), 2 min, 12:13

3rd Period

Tri-City – Fredric Larsson – (High Sticking), 2 min, 1:25
Chicago – Brendon Kearney – (Interference), 2 min, 3:53

Power Play

Tri-City –0/3
Chicago – 2/3

Shots

Tri-City: 14, 16, 14 = Total: 44
Chicago: 11, 11, 10 = Total: 32

Saves

Tri-City – Hayden Lavigne – 5/8
Chicago – Chris Nell – 42/44

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Indiana Ice (28-7-6) controlled the second period, scoring five goals, and completed a sweep of the Tri-City Storm (17-25-2) with a 6-0 win at the Pan Am Arena on Saturday night.

Storm goaltender Jacob Johansson made 22 saves in the loss, while Indiana’s Jason Pawloski stopped all 15 shots that came his way to pick up his third shutout of the season.

Tri-City outshot Indiana 8-7 in the first period, but trailed 1-0 after the opening 20 minutes. The Ice got an early goal from Patrick Newell to take the lead, but things were otherwise even at the conclusion of the first frame.

But Indiana opened things up in the middle period, scoring five times on 20 shots to take control of the game.

The Ice got goals from Dwyer Tschantz, Vince Pedrie, Brian Pinho and Ryan Mantha in the second period.

Pinho found the back of the net twice, and secured the first star of the game for himself.

Two of the Ice goals were scored on the power play, and Indiana finished the contest going 2-for-9 on the man-advantage. Tri-City was unsuccessful on five power play attempts.

The Storm pulled Johansson during the second period in favor of backup Hayden Lavigne, but head coach Jim Hulton elected to go back to his starter at the beginning of the third.

In the final period, Johansson held Indiana scoreless, turning aside 11 shots.

The Storm will now head to Chicago to conclude their weekend with an afternoon battle against the Steel on Sunday afternoon at 3:15 p.m.

Tri-City will return home to the Viaero Event Center to face Lincoln on Feb. 22 at 7:05 p.m.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Patrick Curry and Nolan Aibel, along with defensemen Cutler Martin, Sean Lang and Tory Dello…

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Period

Indiana – Patrick Newell (Sam Kurker) 11:02

2nd Period

Indiana – Dwyer Tschantz (Denis Smirnov) 2:34
Indiana – Vince Pedrie (power play) (Joshua Jacobs, Jacob Pritchard) 3:23
Indiana – Brian Pinho (Jacob Pritchard, Tyler Andrew) 6:20
Indiana – Brian Pinho (Aiden Muir) 11:28
Indiana – Ryan Mantha (power play) (Denis Smirnov, Patrick Newell) 11:57

3rd Period
(no scoring)

PENALTIES

1st Period
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (Slashing), 2 min, 4:59

Indiana – Joshua Jacobs – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 7:41
Indiana – Timothy Shoup – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 15:00

2nd Period

Tri-City – Daniel Fritz – (Interference), 2 min, 2:41
Indiana – Scott Conway – (Tripping), 2 min, 10:09
Tri-City – Austin Poganski – (Hooking), 2 min, 10:09
Tri-City – Daniel Fritz – (Hooking), 2 min, 11:52
Indiana – Chris Martenet – (Tripping), 2 min, 13:34
Tri-City – Fredric Larsson – (Interference), 2 min, 17:42

3rd Period

Indiana – Ryan Mantha – (Holding), 2 min, 1:48
Indiana – Michael Preston – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 3:12
Tri-City – Fredric Larsson – (Interference), 2 min, 6:45
Tri-City – Jalen Schulz – (Interference), 2 min, 6:48
Tri-City – Donovan Gardiner – (Tripping), 2 min, 15:12

Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Roughin), 2 min, 19:06

Tri-City – Chris Wilkie – (Holding), 2 min, 19:06

Power Play

Tri-City –0/5
Indiana – 2/9

Shots

Tri-City: 8, 1, 6 = Total: 15
Indiana: 7, 20, 11 = Total: 38

Saves

Tri-City – Jacob Johansson – 22/26, Hayden Lavigne – 10/12
Indiana – Jason Pawloski – 15/15