Saturday's box score
KEARNEY, Neb. – Nolan Roed's overtime game-winning tally and Cameron Springer's two-goal night powered the Tri-City Storm to a 5-4 victory over the Sioux City Musketeers on Saturday night at Viaero Center.
Tri-City (19-21-3, 41 pts) ended its season high five-game losing streak. Sioux City (22-16-7, 51 pts) earned three of four possible standings points in the two-game series. The Musketeers beat the Storm 4-1 on Friday.
Sioux City was first to score. The Musketeer's Luke Garry grabbed the puck after a Tri-City turnover as the Storm looked to exit their zone. Garry quickly sent a feed to Kason Muscutt at the edge of the left wing circle, who fired a rapid snapshot over the glove side of Tri-City netminder Michal Pradel.
The Musketeers doubled their lead exactly two minutes later. A shot from Tate Pritchard was stopped by Pradel's left pad, but the Slovakia native allowed a small rebound near his crease. Gunderson quickly stuffed the loose puck into Tri-City's net for his second goal of the night.
Tri-City roared back with three unanswered goals in the middle frame and took a 3-2 lead to the second intermission.
Springer tallied his sixth of the season 1:34 into the second. The Bowling Green commit flipped an initial shot toward Sioux City's net that was stopped by Musketeer goaltender Bjorn Bronas's chest. A rebound popped back to Springer, who slid a shot around Bronas's left pad to put Tri-City on the board.
A little over five minutes later, Dylan Nolan scored his first career USHL goal after tipping a Cole Ward one-timer from the bottom of the right wing circle in the Sioux City zone. Ward received a feed from Ilya Morozov, who was positioned near the right side of the Musketeer cage. The puck snuck past Bronas's glove side.
Attila Lippai gave Tri-City its first lead of the weekend thirty-five seconds after. The St. Paul, Minnesota native snatched a loose puck on the left wing of Sioux City's goal line and immediately tossed a shot toward Bronas. The puck slowly slipped under Bronas's body and ended up in the back of the net for Lippai's eleventh goal of the season.
Sioux City began the third period with a flurry of energy and tied the game 29 seconds into the frame. Gunderson intercepted a Tri-City clearing attempt in the slot of the Storm zone. The Ohio State commit cut toward the left post of Pradel's net and jammed a backhand shot around the goaltender's left leg for his second tally of the night.
The Musketeers jumped back ahead 9:01 into the third. As Sioux City rushed into its offensive zone, Tate Pritchard received a pass in the right circle from Giacomo Martino. Pritchard ripped a quick snapshot past Pradel's glove side for his second point of the contest.
It didn't take long for Tri-City to re-tie the game. A little over two-and-a-half minutes after Pritchard's tally, Springer collected his second goal of the night on a Storm power play. Former Tri-City forward Dallas Vieau was assessed a two-minute minor for tripping.
Springer finished a rebound off Bronas's left pad following a Charlie Pardue shot from the top of the left wing circle. Saturday was Springer's second multi-goal game of the season. The Dexter, Michigan native also scored twice on December 27 at Omaha.
No additional goals were scored prior to the end of the third. Saturday was Tri-City's first contest beyond regulation since Friday, December 6, when the Storm ironically beat Sioux City 5-4 in overtime at Viaero Center.
Roed collected his game-winner at the 3:19 mark of OT. The St. Cloud State commit rushed down the left wing into Tri-City's offensive zone and mailed a snapshot past Bronas's glove side for his 20th tally of the year. Roed has scored in two of his last three games.
Pradel, who made his first USHL start on Saturday, halted 21 of 25 shots in the victory. Bronas stopped 30 of 35 in Sioux City's crease.
The Storm wore special Kool-Aid jerseys on Saturday to honor the legendary beverage created in Hastings, Nebraska. Each uniform worn by a Storm player and Stormy was auctioned off live on the ice after the game.
Up next: Tri-City takes the ice three times against three different opponents next weekend.
The Storm first battle Omaha on Friday, February 21 at Viaero Center. Puckdrop is scheduled for 7:05 pm CT. Fans can take advantage of the Nebraska Lottery Rivalry Pack on Friday. Get four tickets, four hot dogs, four cans of soda, and ten Nebraska Lottery Scratch off tickets for only $44. Availability is limited.
Another FunZone Friday also takes place next week. Pizza Ranch is the presenting sponsor of FunZone Friday. Kid's tickets are $5.00 with the purchase of a full-price adult ticket at all remaining Friday home games this season. The first 50 kid's tickets purchased at the box office for a Friday Storm home game will receive a FunZone Arcade bounce back card, good for $5.00 worth of gameplay. The FunZone Arcade is located inside of Pizza Ranch in Kearney.
To purchase tickets or the Nebraska Lottery Rivalry Pack, visit stormhockey.com, call the Storm at 308-338-8144, or stop by the Viaero Center box office in-person. FunZone Friday tickets are only available in-person at the box office.
Tri-City then hits the road for a 6:05 pm CT start on Saturday, February 22 at Sioux Falls and 3:05 pm CT puckdrop Sunday, February 23 at Sioux City.
All three of next weekend's matchups will be broadcast on FloHockey and Storm Radio.
