FARGO, ND– The Tri-City Storm dropped the opening game of the team's Western Conference Semifinal series against the Fargo Force by a final score of 3-1 Saturday night at Scheels Arena.
Ryan Smith netted Tri-City's only goal during the 2
nd period of the matchup. The series will resume on Monday with a 7:05pm CT puck drop at Scheels Arena.
Zam Plante gave the Force a one-goal advantage at 6:50 of Saturday's 1
st period. Harper Bentz collected an assist on the scoring play. Michael La Starza scored his first goal of the postseason with under three minutes to play in the 1
st period. The goal was netted on the powerplay, and was assisted by Mac Swanson and Michael Quinn. The Storm was outshot by a 15-7 margin during the 1
st period, and trailed by two goals entering the 2
nd period.
Ryan Smith netted the only goal of the 2
nd period to bring Tri-City's deficit to one goal in the battle. The goal was Smith's first of the postseason, and was the Storm's first scoring play of the series.
Artemi Nizameyev collected an assist on the scoring play. Fargo outshot Tri-City 17-8 in the 2
nd period, and the Storm trailed by one goal entering Saturday's 3
rd period.
The only goal of Saturday's final period was netted on the powerplay by Michael La Starza at 6:17 of the period. The scoring play was his second of the night, and gave the Force a 3-1 lead in the matchup. Mac Swanson and Leo Gruba each collected an assist on the scoring play. The Storm outshot the Force 9-8 during the 3
rd period, but was outshot by an overall margin of 40-24 Saturday night. Tri-City fell by two goals to drop the opening game of the Best-Of-Five series.
Cameron Korpi made 37 saves on 40 shots and dropped the game in net for Tri-City. Hampton Slukynsky won the game in net for Fargo in a 23-save-on-24-shot performance.
The Storm hits the ice again on Monday, April 22
nd, in a playoff game at Scheels Arena against the Fargo Force. 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.
