Friday's box score
KEARNEY, Neb. – After trailing 4-1 entering Friday's third period, the Tri-City Storm tallied three goals in the frame and added Carmelo Crandell's overtime winner to beat the Sioux City Musketeers 5-4 on Friday night at Viaero Center.
The game was Storm bench boss Marco Trevino's first as a USHL head coach. On Tuesday, Trevino was named the tenth head coach in franchise history.
Tri-City (12-10-3, 27 pts) has won three straight games for the first time this season. Sioux City (9-10-4, 22 pts) is winless in eight consecutive road contests.
A combined four goals were scored in the first. Sioux City opened the scoring just over five minutes into regulation. Landen Gunderson collected his sixth goal of the season after firing a rapid snapshot that beat Tri-City goaltender Adam Dybal.
The Musketeers doubled their lead 13 seconds later. Talan Blanck received a feed from behind the Storm net and quickly jammed the puck through Dybal's five hole. Kason Muscutt and Jackson Crowder were credited with assists.
Tri-City found the scoreboard 15:58 into the opening frame. Carson Pilgrim received a Shaun McEwen feed at the Musketeer blue line. Pilgrim raced the puck to the right circle of the Sioux City zone. The North Dakota commit fired a snapshot past Musketeer goaltender Samuel Urban on the blocker side to make it a 2-1 game.
The Musketeers extended their advantage prior to the first intermission. Giacomo Martino netted his eleventh tally of the season 16:54 into the opening frame after receiving the puck from Gunderson. Tate Pritchard also added an assist.
Martino tallied his second goal of the night in the middle part of the second, extending the Sioux City lead. The Northeastern commit quickly fired a shot from directly in front of the Storm cage past Dybal after Gundersen fed him a nifty centering pass.
Down by three at the start of the third, the Storm tallied a trio of goals within a stretch of 3:10 to tie the game.
The come back began 6:39 into the final frame. Attila Lippai recorded his second of the season after a sharp angle shot on the right wing of the Sioux City zone. The St. Thomas commit received a feed from Artemi Nizameyev to start the play.
Nizameyev found the back of the net during a Tri-City power play around two minutes later. The reigning USHL Forward of the Week bolted a shot past Urban from the right wing after a Nolan Roed pass. The Russia native scored his 18th goal of the season and fifth in his last three games.
Lincoln Hjelm tied the contest 9:49 into the third. The Omaha commit fired a shot that beat Urban off his left pad while moving through the right wing circle of the Sioux City zone. Hjelm's second of the year capped off the scoring in regulation.
Tri-City struck just under two minutes into overtime. Crandell grabbed the puck near the Storm blue line and drove down the right wing of the ice. The Arizona State commit motored toward the Sioux City net, then stuffed a backhand under Urban's outstretched right pad to end the contest.
Tri-City earned its first overtime victory since beating Fargo at home on Friday, November 22 by a 6-5 margin. Ironically, the Storm trailed 4-1 entering the third period, and tied the game with a Nolan Roed natural hat trick. Nizameyev won that contest in overtime.
Tri-City outshot Sioux City 37-18 on Friday. Dybal halted 14 of 18 Musketeer shots to collect his sixth victory of the season.
Nizameyev (1-1-2) and Crandell (1-1-2) each recorded multiple points for the Storm. Nizameyev has notched three straight multi-point games. The Musketeers received notable point production from Martino (2-1-3) and Gundersen (1-2-3) on Friday.
Up next: Tri-City closes its two-game homestand on Saturday against Sioux Falls. Puck drop at Viaero Center is scheduled for 6:05 pm CT. The Storm will host a post game player autograph session following the game. For tickets, visit stormhockey.com, call the Storm at 308-338-8144, or stop by the Viaero Center box office in-person.
