DUBUQUE, Iowa – Five unanswered goals, including two on the power play, helped the Dubuque Fighting Saints defeat the Tri-City Storm 5-1 on Friday night at ImOn Arena.
The win improves Dubuque to 2-1-0 on the season. Tri-City falls to 0-2-1. The Fighting Saints have won the first two meetings between the clubs in the season series.
Dubuque began the scoring with a pair of first period goals in the middle part of the frame. Cooper Dennis tallied the Saints' first on a snapshot from the left circle that sneaked over the glove of Storm goaltender Adam Dybal. The goal, scored 10:59 into the period, was assisted by Charlie Arend, who got the puck to Dennis from near the left wing boards.
Dubuque added another 15:13 into the opening period on a Torkel Jennersjo shot. The Sweden native's second goal of the year was assisted by Dennis and Matthew Desiderio.
After an even beginning to the second period, Dubuque found the back of the net on a net mouth scramble with just under 50 seconds to go in the frame. Desiderio found a loose puck in the crease and buried it past Dybal to hand the Saints a 3-0 lead entering the second intermission.
Dubuque scored two more goals within the first five minutes of the third period. Jonathan Morello earned his first of the year 1:36 into the frame. Heikki Ruohonen made it 5-0 Dubuque with his first of the season at the 4:49 mark.
Tri-City got on the scoreboard, breaking up the string of five unanswered Dubuque tallies, thanks to a power play goal following a Teddy Merrill tripping minor. Dallas Vieau scored his first of the season, connecting on a shot after the puck came to his stick from Nolan Roed. Lincoln Hjelm also added an assist on the tally that made the game 5-1 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the frame.
Adam Dybal, who worked in net for Tri-City, stopped 23 of 28 Dubuque shots. The Storm produced 24 shots on goal in the contest.
Up next: Tri-City completes the two-game road trip with a matchup against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Saturday at ImOn Ice. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 pm CT. The game will be streamed on FloHockey and Storm Radio.
The Storm open their regular season home schedule on Friday, October 4 and Saturday, October 5 at the Viaero Center against the Madison Capitols. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 pm CT on Friday and 6:05 pm CT on Saturday. For tickets, visit stormhockey.com or call the Viaero Center box office at 308-338-8144.
