OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha Lancers protected a 1-0 lead for much of regulation and used two late empty net goals to defeat the Tri-City Storm 3-1 on Sunday night at Liberty First Credit Union Arena. 

Omaha (4-12-1, 9 pts) collected its second win at home this season. Tri-City (7-7-2, 16 pts) snapped its four-game point streak.  

The Lancers jumped ahead less than four minutes into the opening period. Yegor Kim collected a turned-over puck between the circles of the Tri-City zone, then quickly ripped a shot past the glove side of Storm netminder Owen Nelson for his third marker of the year. 

Down by a goal, the Storm pulled Nelson with about ninety seconds left in regulation. Omaha found the empty net with 1:24 to go. Lefty Markonidis fed George Lovell in front of the Storm cage, where Lovell finished a backhand shot to double the Lancer lead. 

Just over 30 seconds later, after Tri-City pulled Nelson for a second time, Kole Hyles sent the puck from the Omaha blue line into the Storm cage to make it 3-0. 

Tri-City added its lone tally with 19 seconds remaining. In the midst of a Storm offensive zone possession, Cade Kozak collected a loose puck on the left wing boards of the Omaha zone and blasted the puck through Lancer goaltender Devin Shakar. It was the Isanti, Minnesota native's first career USHL tally. 

Shakar was excellent in the Omaha net, making numerous key saves to limit Tri-City opportunities. The Brown commit stopped 35 of 36 Storm shots and was seconds away from his first career shutout. Nelson put together another strong showing in Tri-City's cage, halting 21 of 22 Omaha attempts. 

NOTES: The Storm were limited to one goal or less for the first time since October 12 (5-0 home loss to Des Moines). 

Carson Pilgrim's career-long seven-game point streak was snapped Sunday. The North Dakota commit produced 11 points across his streak, which ranked as the second-longest active point streak among all USHL players entering the game. 

Up next: Tri-City hosts Waterloo in a two-game series next weekend at Viaero Center. Puckdrop on Friday is set for 7:05 pm. Saturday's game will begin at 6:05 pm. To purchase tickets, visit stormhockey.com, call the Storm at 308-338-8144, or stop by the Viaero Center box office in-person.