CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Artemi Nizameyev scored his team-leading second and third goals of the season with Rhys Wallin and Carmelo Crandell also finding the scoresheet as the Tri-City Storm knocked off the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders 4-1 on Saturday night at ImOn Ice Arena.
The victory is Tri-City's (1-1-2, 4 pts) first of the 2024-25 season. Cedar Rapids (2-1-0, 4 pts) dropped their first game of the campaign.
No goals were scored in the first period of the contest, where Tri-City outshot Cedar Rapids 8-4. The Storm successfully killed a penalty in the opening frame after Ilia Morozov drew a tripping minor in the middle part of the period.
Tri-City found the scoreboard 18 seconds into the middle frame. Nolan Roed sent the puck from the left wing boards to Nizameyev in the left circle, who ripped a shot top shelf over the glove side on Cedar Rapids netminder Rudy Guimond.
The Storm tallied another goal 13:21 into the second period on a turned-over puck in the Cedar Rapids zone. With the RoughRiders attempting to break out, Cam Briere grabbed an errant pass near the RoughRider blue line and walked the puck to the right wing circle. Briere then slid a tough pass across the Cedar Rapids net-front area to Nizameyev, who blasted a back-door shot high in the RoughRider cage.
Tri-City made it 3-0 on another Cedar Rapids turnover in the defensive zone. Wallin picked off a pass on the right wing, then fired a snapshot past Guimond for his first tally of the season.
The RoughRiders scored 10:44 into the 3rd period, cutting the Tri-City lead to two goals. Maxon Vig's shot from the left point bounced off teammate Haeden Ellis and into the Storm net. The goal, scored in a delayed-penalty situation, was originally waived off by the officials. After video review, it was announced the puck fully crossed the goal line and was not possessed by a Tri-City player.
The Storm capitalized a few minutes later when Crandell, who was positioned between the circles in front of the Cedar Rapids net, received a feed from behind the cage by Carson Pilgrim and buried it past Guimond to hand the Storm a 4-1 advantage. The goal was Crandell's first of the year.
Tri-City outshot Cedar Rapids 21-17 in the contest. Starting goaltender Erick Roest stopped 16 of 17 shots in the Tri-City net.
Up next: 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 for Friday's home opener is scheduled for 7:05 pm CT. Saturday's game will begin at 6:05 pm CT. For tickets, visit stormhockey.com or call the Viaero Center box office at 308-338-8144.
