Friday's box score
RALSTON, Neb. – Cooper Simpson's overtime game-winning tally broke a scoreless tie and handed the Tri-City Storm a 1-0 win over the Omaha Lancers on Friday night at Liberty First Credit Union Arena.
The Storm victory plus Des Moines' regulation loss on Friday means Tri-City needs one more standings point to clinch a Clark Cup Playoff berth.
Fargo, the Western Conference's fifth place team, also lost in regulation on Friday. The sixth-place Storm now trail the Force by two points.
View the current USHL standings here: https://ushl.com/ht/#/team-stats
Tri-City (26-26-4, 56 pts) snapped a three-game losing streak with the overtime victory. Omaha (7-43-7, 21 pts) has lost eight consecutive games.
Neither team scored in an even first period, where the Storm outshot the Lancers 9-8. Tri-City hit two goal posts in the opening twenty minutes.
The second period brought much of the same. Each team exchanged a number of credible offensive opportunities, but neither could find the back of the net. Both clubs put up seven shots in the middle frame.
Tri-City received a key third period power play opportunity with just over four minutes left in regulation, but failed to cash in. Omaha was assessed a bench minor for too many men on the ice at the 15:53 mark of the frame. The Storm outshot the Lancers 9-5 in the final twenty.
The game went to overtime. Each club had equal puck possession in the first two minutes of the extra frame.
On the game-winning play, Tri-City's Colby Woogk chipped the puck to Simpson from the right wing boards of the Storm zone. The two generated a two-on-one rush into Omaha's end of the ice. Simpson released a snapshot from the right faceoff circle that rocketed past the glove side of Lancer netminder Daniel Moor. Two minutes and five seconds had passed by in the extra frame.
It was Simpson's second goal in three games with Tri-City. The North Dakota commit re-joined the Storm after completing his senior season at Shakopee High School in Minnesota.
Storm netminder Michal Pradel halted each of the 21 shots he faced Friday to collect his first career USHL shutout. The Slovakia native earned his seventh win in eleven appearances with Tri-City during 2024-2025.
Moor stopped 25 of 26 shots in Omaha's crease. The Princeton commit made several key saves to keep the game scoreless across regulation.
Up next: Tomorrow, the home-and-home series shifts to Viaero Center when the Storm host Omaha on Youth Hockey Night presented by the Tri-City Youth Ice Hockey Association. Puckdrop is slated for 6:05 pm CT.
Storm players and Stormy will wear special youth hockey-themed jerseys during the contest, all of which will be auctioned off live on the ice after the game. Auction proceeds will benefit the Tri-City Youth Ice Hockey Association.
Youth Hockey Night will also include Chuck-a-Puck. Various baskets will additionally be raffled off on the concourse courtesy of the Tri-City Youth Ice Hockey Association. Fans will also have the opportunity to learn more about youth hockey sign-ups and how to enroll in the association's Learn-to-Play program.
Nebraska Lottery Rivalry Packs are available Saturday. Get four tickets, four hot dogs, four cans of soda, and ten Nebraska Lottery Scratch off tickets for only $44. Availability is limited.
To purchase tickets or the Nebraska Lottery Rivalry Pack for tomorrow's game, visit stormhockey.com, call the Storm at 308-338-8144, or stop by the Viaero Center box office in-person.
