KEARNEY, NE – The Tri-City Storm begin a two-game series with the Sioux Falls Stampede on Friday night inside the Viaero Center. Puckdrop is scheduled for 7:05 pm CT.
Tickets for the contest can be purchased at stormhockey.com, via phone at 308-338-8144, or in-person at the Viaero Center box office.
The clubs have previously met twice this season at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. The Stampede were victorious on Friday, October 18 by a 7-5 score. Tri-City took the matchup on Saturday, October 19 by a 3-2 margin. The Storm's Artemi Nizameyev produced a goal and an assist to lead Tri-City's offense in the victory.
Tri-City (5-6-3, 13 pts, 6th place Western Conf.) is coming off a three-game in three-day stretch across Friday, Saturday, and Sunday last weekend. The Storm fell to Omaha in overtime by a 1-0 score on Friday at home. Saturday, Tri-City dropped a 4-3 decision to Dubuque inside Viaero Center. On Sunday, the Storm picked up an exciting, come-from-behind 4-2 victory against Omaha at Liberty First Credit Union Arena. Tri-City overcame a two-goal deficit in Sunday's win for the first time this season.
Sioux Falls (7-4-0, 14 pts, 5th place Western Conf.) enters tonight's game having won two of its past three contests. The Stampede, in their only game last weekend, fell 5-2 at Waterloo on Friday night. Sioux Falls collected wins over both Des Moines and Omaha across a pair of games on October 26 and 27. The Stampede have won five of their last seven games since October 11.
Today marks the third of six meetings between Tri-City and Sioux Falls this season. After this weekend, the Storm and Stampede will face off one more time each at Viaero Center and the Denny Sanford Premier Center this year.
The Tri-City offense is paced by Nizameyev (6-6-12), who has put up nine points in his last six games. Arizona State commit Carmelo Crandell (5-6-11) places second in team scoring after two points last weekend. Nolan Roed (5-4-9) follows.
Sioux Falls' Ethan Wyttenbach (5-8-13) leads the Stampede roster in points. The Roslyn, New York native enters Friday's game on an eight-game point streak, which ties for second-longest among active point streaks in the USHL. John McNelis (7-3-10) is second on the team in scoring after putting up four points in his past three games. Defenseman Gennadi Chaly (2-7-9) follows.
Fans can stream Friday's action on FloHockey. The game will also be broadcast on Storm Radio.
Up next: Tri-City completes the two-game series with Sioux Falls tomorrow night at Viaero Center. Puckdrop is slated for 6:05 pm CT. Tickets can be purchased at stormhockey.com, via phone at 308-338-8144, or in-person at the Viaero Center box office.
