KEARNEY, NE – The Tri-City Storm won the organization's annual Teddy Bear Toss Game presented by Slumberland Furniture by a final score of 4-3 Friday night at the Viaero Center in a rivalry showdown with the Omaha Lancers. Cam Briere, Blake Steenerson, Ryan Smith, and Vladislav Lukashevich all netted goals for Tri-City in the victory. Briere's goal was the first of the game, and set off the Teddy Bear Toss event for Friday's game. Steenerson's scoring play was the first of his USHL career. Cameron Korpi shined in net, and improved to 11-4-0-1 on the season in goal for Tri-City. The Storm will return to action next weekend with back-to-back games against the Lincoln Stars to complete the pre-holiday break portion of the 2023-2024 regular season schedule. Puck drop for Friday's road game against the Stars is scheduled for 7:05pm CT at the Ice Box.
 
Cam Briere netted his eighth goal of the year at 6:51 of the 1^st period to give the Storm a 1-0 lead in the matchup. This season's "Teddy Bear Toss Goal" was netted on the powerplay, and was assisted by Artemi Nizameyev, and Vladislav Lukashevich. Blake Steenerson scored his first goal of the season, and the first goal of his USHL career, at 13:54 of Friday's opening period to put the Storm ahead by two goals. Ryan Smith and Carmelo Crandell each notched an assist on Steenerson's scoring play. The Storm's final goal of the 1^st period was scored on the powerplay with less than four minutes to play. Ryan Smith notched his ninth goal of the year at 16:12 to increase Tri-City's lead to three goals. Owen Beckner and Alexander Bales each recorded an assist on the powerplay goal. Omaha's Rylan Brady scored his first goal of the season with less than a minute to play in Friday's 1^st period to cut into the Storm's lead. The goal was netted unassisted, and scored even-strength. The Lancers outshot the Storm 12-11 during Friday's opening period, but trailed by two goals entering the middle period.
 
Ryan Kusler's second goal of the season at 13:35 of the 2^nd period gave Omaha two consecutive goals to bring Tri-City's advantage in the matchup down to one goal. The goal was netted even-strength, and was assisted by Aleksi Kivioja, and Cam VanSickle. Vladislav Lukashevich fired a puck past Omaha goaltender Mikhail Yegorov to give the Storm its second two-goal lead of the night at 17:01 of Friday's middle period. The goal was assisted by Owen Beckner and Jake Rozzi. The final goal of the 2^nd period was scored with less than a minute to play by Omaha's Justin Stupka. The goal was netted even-strength, and was assisted by Drew DellaSalla, and Mateo Picozzi. The Storm was outshot by an 11-6 margin during Friday's 2^nd period, but the team carried a one-goal lead into the final period.
 
Tri-City notched 8 shots on net during the final 20 minutes of play, but was unable to score a goal during the 3^rd period. Omaha recorded 4 shots on goal, but was also held off of the scoreboard during the final period. Tri-City skated away with a 4-3 victory over Omaha Friday night at the Viaero Center. The Storm improved to 12-8-1-1 overall on the season, and 9-2-0-0 in games played this year against Western Conference competition. The Lancers outshot the Storm by a final margin of 27-25 during Friday's contest.
 
Cameron Korpi made 24 saves on 27 shots to record the victory in goal for Tri-City. Mikhail Yegorov dropped the game in net for the Lancers following a 21-save-on-25-shot-perofrmance. Ryan Smith was named the 1^st Star of Friday's game, with teammates Vladislav Lukashevich, and Blake Steenerson collecting 2^nd and 3^rd Star honors, respectively.
 
Tri-City's final home game before the holiday break will be played on Saturday, December 16^th against the Lincoln Stars. The game will serve as the Storm's annual Concrete Cares game presented by Kearney Concrete. Concrete Cares is a volunteer group whose primary focus is fighting cancer on a local level. The mission of the organization is to make a difference in the local community by enabling friends, relatives, and families to join the fight to provide support for those stricken with cancer. More information on the group can be found online at www.ConcreteCares.com.
 
Tomorrow from 3pm to 5pm, the Storm and the Viaero Center will host its annual Paint the Ice event ahead of next Saturday's Concrete Cares game. Fans are encouraged to attend tomorrow's free event and paint messages of support on the ice at the Viaero Center to support those affected by cancer. The Storm's home game against the Stars on Saturday, December 16^th will be played on the painted ice. Tri-City will wear specialty sweaters during the matchup that will be auctioned off following the game. Proceeds raised during the postgame jersey auction will benefit Concrete Cares.
 
The Storm hits the ice again on Friday, December 15^th, in a road game against the Lincoln Stars. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05pm CT. Skate to www.StormHockey.com for individual game tickets and more information regarding the Tri-City Storm organization. The Tri-City Storm is presented by Viaero Wireless.