KEARNEY, NE – Artemi Nizameyev and Carmelo Crandell put up two goals each to lead Tri-City's offense on Friday night as the Storm beat the Sioux Falls Stampede 7-5 inside Viaero Center.

Tri-City (6-6-3, 15 pts) snapped a four-game home losing streak with the win. Sioux Falls (7-5-0, 14 pts) has lost five of their first eight games against Western conference opponents this season. 

A combined four goals were scored in the opening ten minutes of regulation. 

Tri-City was first to find the scoreboard, and did so just over 90 seconds into the game. Colby Woogk fed Ashton Dahms, who took the puck into the left wing circle of the Sioux Falls zone. Dahms then slid a beautiful backdoor feed to the right post of the Stampede net, where Carmelo Crandell slapped a one-timer past Sioux Falls goaltender Carl Axelsson. 

The Storm added another 6:05 into the opening frame. Dylan Nolan grabbed a loose puck near the right post of the Sioux Falls net and fed a pass to Colton Whitfield at the left point. The Warwick, Rhode Island native ripped a wrist shot through traffic past Axelsson on the blocker side. It was Whitfield's first career USHL goal. 

Tri-City's advantage did not last. Sioux Falls tallied twice in the next two minutes and six seconds to tie the game. 

The Stampede got on the board 6:44 into the first. Hunter Anderson, who possessed the puck at the left point of the Sioux Falls offensive zone, fed Ben Wilmot at the top of the right wing circle. Wilmot slipped a quick one-time shot five-hole past Storm goaltender Erick Roest to make it a 2-1 contest. 

About a minute and a half later, Sioux Falls won a board battle against the right wing half wall in their offensive end. The puck came to the Stampede's Hunter Anderson, who walked in front of the Tri-City net. Anderson sniped a shot top-left corner into the Storm cage to tie the game. It was the Denver commit's first goal and point of the season. 

Tri-City scored later in the period to jump ahead at the first intermission. With just under three minutes remaining in the frame, Crandell netted his second of the night after receiving a feed from Ashton Dahms inside the Storm zone. The Arizona State commit marched the puck down the left wing of the ice, eventually cutting in front of the Sioux Falls net. Crandell then executed a couple of backhand-forehand dekes to slide the puck around Axelsson.  

The Storm grew their lead early in the second period. Rylan Bonkowski, who controlled the puck at the right point in the Tri-City offensive zone, shuffled to the middle of the blue line. The Minnesota State commit took a pair of steps toward the goal, then snapped a shot into the back of the Sioux Falls net. It was Bonkowski's first career USHL tally. 

Tri-City netted their fifth goal later in the period. Colby Woogk grabbed a loose puck in the far corner of the Storm offensive zone and drove it behind the Sioux Falls net. The defenseman successfully executed a wrap-around attempt on the right post of the Stampede cage after placing a soft shot between the legs of Axelsson. It was the Texas native's second goal of the year. 

The Stampede replaced Axelsson in their cage following Woogk's goal. Aiden Wright, a Vermont commit, came in to play the rest of the night. 

Sioux Falls was able to cut the Storm lead in the middle portion of the second. At the 12:21 mark of the frame, the Stampede generated a turnover in front of the Tri-City net as the Storm looked to exit their zone. Sioux Falls' Ethan Wyttenbach grabbed the puck and sent a nifty backhand centering pass in front of the Tri-City cage to teammate Noah Urness. Urness quickly buried the puck past Roest to make it a 5-3 contest. 

Tri-City scored near the beginning of the third period, growing their lead to three. After Sioux Falls' Aleksandr Rybakov was assessed a holding minor just over a minute into the period, the Storm power play produced its lone tally of the evening. Carson Pilgrim held the puck at the left post of the Sioux Falls net and fed a pass to Artemi Nizameyev, who fired a quick shot from the rim of the right circle that bounced over the right shoulder of Wright. 

Sioux Falls closed the lead to 6-4 near the halfway mark of the third. As the Stampede rushed up the ice from their own zone, Reid Varkonyi drove the puck down the middle of the Tri-City zone and used a strong backhand shot to push the puck past Roest. 

Wright was pulled from the Stampede net with just under three minutes remaining in regulation. At the 18:26 mark of the third, Wyttenbach fed Anderson from the left faceoff dot in the Stampede zone. Anderson, posted up near the left point, sent a one-timer past Roest to make it a one-goal game. 

Following the center ice faceoff after Sioux Falls' fifth goal, a Stampede attempt to feed the puck through center ice was picked off by Nizameyev. The Miami commit took the puck down the right wing into the Stampede end and lifted a shot top-shelf past Wright to give the Storm a two-goal cushion with 1:12 to go. Nizameyev's team-leading eighth tally of the year wrapped the night's scoring. 

Six Storm players logged multiple points in the win. Crandell and Nizameyev each contributed two goals. Woogk added a goal and an assist. Carson Pilgrim, Ashton Dahms, and Dylan Nolan all chipped in a pair of assists. 

Roest, who appeared in Tri-City's net for the third straight game, halted 29 of 34 shots in the win. 

Following Sunday's victory in Omaha, Tri-City has recorded consecutive wins for the second time this season. 

Up next: Tri-City and Sioux Falls complete the two-game series on Saturday inside Viaero Center. Puckdrop is scheduled 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.