Saturday's box score
WATERLOO, Iowa – Three massive third period goals from Jack Hamilton, Carson Pilgrim, and Ilia Morozov respectively lifted the Tri-City Storm over the Waterloo Black Hawks 5-3 on Saturday night at Young Arena.
Tri-City (8-7-3, 19 pts) picked up its first sweep of a two-game series against one opponent this season. Waterloo (9-5-5, 23 pts) suffered its first regulation loss at home this year.
Unlike Friday's contest, Tri-City was the first team to score on Saturday.
After Carmelo Crandell grabbed a puck high in the Storm zone, the Arizona State commit quickly moved up the right wing of the ice. Ashton Dahms joined Crandell for a 2-on-1 rush during the play. As Crandell crossed the Storm blue line on the right wing, the Alberta native sent a pass in front of the Waterloo net to Dahms, who made a nifty forehand-backhand deek on Black Hawks goaltender Daniel Moor for his third goal of the season.
Waterloo tied the game a couple of minutes later. Kaeden Hawkins, who grabbed a loose puck on the near wing boards of the Storm zone, skated to the high slot and dropped a pass to Matthew Lansing. The Quinnipiac commit ripped a snapshot past Storm goaltender Adam Dybal from the center point for his fourth goal of the season.
A late first period tally put Tri-City back on top. Following a neutral ice faceoff near the Storm blue line, Artemi Nizameyev sent a pass toward Nolan Roed at the Waterloo blue line. Roed broke through a pair of Black Hawk defenders, then made a forehand-backhand move on Moor for his second goal of the series. The puck barely crossed the goal line while contacting Moor's left pad.
After an even first half of the second period, Waterloo tallied a pair of goals in the middle part of the frame to grab the lead back and massively turn the momentum in their favor.
At the 10:39 mark of the second, Grady Deering drove the puck through the left circle of the Tri-City zone. As the Des Moines, Iowa native released the puck close to the blue paint of the Storm crease, the puck slowly made its way around Storm goaltender Adam Dybal into the back of the net.
Less than a minute later, the Black Hawks took their first lead of the game. Waterloo's Teddy Townsend possessed the puck on the right wing boards in the Storm zone. With Brendan McMorrow streaking down the middle of the ice, Townsend quickly fed McMorrow with a centering pass. McMorrow made a move on Dybal, dragging the puck to his forehand and shooting it to the back of the Tri-City net.
The Storm overcame Waterloo momentum at the start of the third period, and put up a trio of goals in the frame to seal the win.
Hamilton scored his first career USHL goal at the 3:31 mark of the third. The Miami commit received a deflected puck in the high slot and ripped a shot past Moor to tie the game.
A little over four minutes later, Tri-City went on the power play after Waterloo's Michael Phelan was assessed a minor for hooking. During the man advantage, Crandell, who held the puck near the left wing circle in the Waterloo zone, sent a beautiful pass between the circles to ilgrim in the middle of the ice. Pilgrim seamlessly tipped the pass top shelf to give Tri-City its second lead of the night.
The Storm power play continued to show improvement, going 3-for-11 during the two-game series.
Waterloo pulled Moor with about two minutes remaining. At the 19:16 mark of the third, after snagging a loose puck on the right wing near the Storm blue line, Morozov marched down the sheet and fired a shot into the empty net, making the score 5-3.
The win was Tri-City's fifth straight on the road.
Dybal, who earned his second victory of the season in the Storm net, halted 19 of 22 Waterloo shots during the night.
Up next: Tri-City hosts Fargo next week in a three-game series across Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at Viaero Center. Thursday and Friday's contests will begin at 7:05 pm CT. Saturday's puckdrop is slated for 6:05 pm CT.
The Storm are offering a 2-for-1 ticket special during the series. Any fan who purchases a ticket to Thursday's game can stop by the Viaero Center box office, show their Thursday ticket, and receive a free ticket to either Friday or Saturday's contest.
Tri-City will put on a coat and food drive during Friday's matchup. Bring a new or slightly used coat and/or non-perishable food item to receive a ticket voucher to a future Storm game. All coats and food items will be donated to local charities. $5 Kids Friday also takes place on November 22nd.
On Saturday, the Storm will host Teacher Appreciation Night. All teachers in the Central Nebraska region will receive an email link to purchase special discount tickets.
For tickets and additional information, visit stormhockey.com, call the Storm at 308-338-8144, or stop by the Viaero Center box office in-person.
