Sunday's box score

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Four different Tri-City players scored goals and Michal Pradel halted 20 of 22 Des Moines shots as the Storm held on to beat the Buccaneers 4-2 on Sunday night at the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex. 

Tri-City (24-22-3, 51 pts) has won four consecutive games for the first time this season. Des Moines (19-29-3, 41 pts) dropped to ten games below .500. 

The Storm (6th place Western Conf.) now lead the Buccaneers (7th place Western Conf.) by ten standings points for the final Western Conference playoff spot. Tri-City has two games at hand on the Buccaneers. The Storm won all four meetings in the season series with Des Moines, which ended Sunday. 

Des Moines took a 1-0 lead just over two minutes into regulation. The Buccaneers swiftly rushed into their offensive zone after a Storm turnover at the Des Moines blue line. Mikey Burchill drove the puck toward the right post of the Storm net for a shot attempt that was stopped by Pradel, who conceded a small rebound in his crease. The loose puck was slapped into Tri-City's cage by Des Moines's Theo Kiss. It was the UMass commit's eighth tally of the year. 

Tri-City tied the contest at the 13:08 mark of the first. Des Moines goaltender Max Weilandt stopped a shot from the left circle of the Buccaneer zone by Storm defenseman Shaun McEwen. The Northbrook, Illinois native allowed a small rebound, which Carmelo Crandell quickly found in the blue paint and buried for his 12th goal of the season.  

The Storm jumped ahead with just over a minute remaining in the opening frame. Landon Fandel, who was positioned directly in front of the Buccaneer cage, redirected a Rylan Bonkowski shot that originated from the slot of the Des Moines zone. The puck fluttered past Weilandt for the Augustana commit's fifth goal of the year and second in his last two games. 

Tri-City grew its lead with a power play tally late in the second. Des Moines's Aiden Grossklaus was assessed a minor penalty for head contact. As the Storm entered the Buccaneer zone, Nolan Roed sent a pass from the middle of the ice to Cam Springer at the bottom of the right wing circle. Springer quickly returned the puck to Roed at the back door of the Des Moines cage, where the St. Cloud State commit shoved the puck around Weilandt for his 24th goal of the year and third tally across his past four games. 

Des Moines cut its deficit to one at the 2:32 mark of the third. Connor Bewick shipped a quick feed from the right point of the Buccaneer's offensive zone to Jacob Jastrzebski, who was open off the left post of Tri-City's cage. The Augustana commit quickly redirected the puck with the forehand of his stick past the outstretched right pad of Pradel. It was Jastrzebski's eleventh goal of the season. 

Still down 3-2 with approximately ninety seconds to go in regulation, Des Moines pulled Weilandt for an extra attacker. Tri-City was quick to strike into the empty net. 

Attila Lippai won a board battle on the left wing of the Storm zone and slung the puck approximately 180 feet down the length of the rink into the Buccaneer cage, making it 4-2. 

Pradel halted 20 of 22 Des Moines shots on the night. The Slovakia native is 5-0-0 in his first six appearances with the Storm. 

Tri-City has won four straight games for the first time since February 4-16, 2024. 

Up next: The Storm return home to face the Waterloo Black Hawks on Friday night. Puckdrop inside Viaero Center is set for 7:05 pm CT. 

Friday is Pucks n' Paws night presented by PetSmart. Dog tickets are $2.00 each, with all proceeds benefiting the Kearney Area Animal Shelter. PetSmart will be in attendance to inform fans about the many services they provide. 

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 for Friday's game, 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 closes next weekend with a Saturday matchup at Omaha. Puckdrop inside Liberty First Credit Union Arena is scheduled for 6:05 pm CT. 

Both Friday and Saturday's games will be broadcast on FloHockey and Storm Radio.