KEARNEY, NE– The Tri-City Storm opened the 2024 Clark Cup Playoffs in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Sioux Falls Stampede Monday night at the Viaero Center. Jake Rozzi netted the third postseason hat trick in franchise history, including a game-tying goal with less than five seconds to play to force an overtime finish. Nolan Roed and August Falloon also netted a goal for the Storm in the loss. Tri-City will return to action tomorrow night at the Viaero Center in the second game of the Best-Of-Three opening round series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05pm CT.
 
John McNelis gave the Stampede the lead at 9:21 of the opening period on a goal assisted by Chris Pelosi. Jaksen Panzer scored his first goal of the postseason at 14:27 of the 1^st period to give the Stampede a two-goal advantage in the matchup. Tyler Borgula collected an assist on the scoring play. Nolan Roed netted the Storm's first goal of the playoffs with less than five minutes to play in Monday's 1^st period to cut the Stampede's lead to 2-1. Vladislav Lukashevich and Jake Rozzi each collected an assist on the scoring play. Tri-City was outshot by an 8-7 margin in Monday's 1^st period. Tri-City was 2-12-1-1 when trailing after the 1^st period during the regular season campaign.
 
Chase LaPinta gave the Stampede another two-goal lead in the game with a scoring play at 4:41 of the middle period. Artur Cholach and Tyler Borgula each notched an assist on the goal. Jake Rozzi scored his first goal of the postseason for Tri-City with under four minutes to play in the period to bring the Storm's deficit to 3-2. Cooper Simpson and Nolan Roed each collected an assist on the scoring play. August Falloon netted his first goal of the playoffs for the Storm at 17:48 of the middle period to bring the game to a 3-3 score. Charlie Kinsman and Ryan Smith each collected an assist on Falloon's scoring play. The final goal of Monday's 2^nd period was scored with less than two minutes to play by Tyler Borgula. The scoring play was assisted by Chase LaPinta and Alexander Rybakov. Tri-City outshot Sioux Falls 11-5 during the middle period, but trailed by a 4-3 score entering Monday's 3^rd period.
 
Jake Rozzi netted his second goal of the game at 8:44 of the 3^rd period to bring the score to a 4-4 tie. The goal was assisted by Nolan Roed and Cooper Simpson. Tyler Borgula scored on a breakaway with less than a minute to play to give Sioux Falls a 5-4 lead in the matchup. Tri-City lifted goaltender Cameron Korpi for an extra attacker with under a minute left in the 3^rd period, and tied the game with a dramatic goal with less than five seconds to play. Jake Rozzi tipped a puck past Stampede netminder Christian Manz at 19:56 of the 3^rd period to send Monday's opening game of the playoffs to an overtime finish. The Storm was outshot 11-9 during the 3^rd period, and overtime began in a 5-5 draw.
 
The Storm successfully killed off a two-minute penalty for high sticking to Cam Briere in the opening minutes of the overtime, but were unable to kill off a two-minute cross checking penalty to Vladislav Lukashevich during the second half of the overtime period. Hunter Anderson scored the game-winning goal of Monday's playoff thriller at 11:14 of the overtime period. The goal was netted on the powerplay, and was assisted by Jaksen Panzer and Matthew Grimes. The Storm was outshot by a 13-4 margin during the overtime, and a 37-31 overall margin during the battle.
 
Cameron Korpi dropped the game in net for Tri-City after making 31 saves on 37 shots in over 71 minutes of game time. Christian Manz collected the win in net for the Stampede in a 26-save-on-31-shot performance. The Storm will now face elimination for the first time this postseason in tomorrow's second game of the opening round series.
 
Tickets to tomorrow's game may be purchased online by skating to www.StormHockey.com, or by calling the Viaero Center Box Office during Box Office hours at 308-338-8144. All non-first-row seats are available for only $7 per game. Glass tickets are $15 for Adults, and $12 for Kids. Tickets are complimentary for all Tri-City Storm Season Ticket Holders. Fans who attended the Storm's Fan Appreciation Night game on Friday, April 12^th at the Viaero Center, can bring their ticket to the Viaero Center Box Office and receive free admission. The winner of this week's series at the Viaero Center between the Stampede and the Storm will advance to play the Anderson Cup Champion Fargo Force in a Best-Of-Five series in the Conference Semifinal Round of the postseason.
 
Season Tickets to the Storm's 25^th Anniversary Season are on sale now and can be purchased by contacting a member of the Storm Sales Staff at 308-338-8144. Pricing, and the Season Ticket Order Form for the 2024-2025 season, can be found online at https://stormhockey.com/sports/2022/8/19/season-tickets.aspx.
 
The Storm hits the ice again on Tuesday, April 16^th, in a playoff game at the Viaero Center against the Sioux Falls Stampede. Puck drop for the matchup is set for 7:05pm CT. Skate to www.StormHockey.com for playoff tickets and more information regarding the Tri-City Storm organization. The Tri-City Storm is presented by Viaero Wireless.