Saturday's box score 

RALSTON, Neb. – After overcoming a two-goal deficit to tie the game in the final minutes of the third period, the Omaha Lancers used a Chris Battaini overtime tally to beat the Tri-City Storm 4-3 on Saturday night at Liberty First Credit Union Arena. 

Omaha (7-36-6, 20 pts) snapped a thirty-game winless streak. Tri-City (24-23-4, 52 pts) has dropped consecutive games for the first time in approximately a month. 

The Storm struck first on an Attila Lippai goal at the 6:35 mark of the opening frame. Nolan Roed carried the puck down the left wing into Omaha's zone. The St. Cloud State commit cut to the slot, then leaked a pass to Lippai, who moved to the left wing circle and ripped a high snapshot past Omaha netminder Aiden McKenna. It was Lippai's 16th goal of the season and second in his last three games. 

Tri-City doubled its lead while shorthanded at the 12:22 mark of the second. As the Storm rushed into their offensive zone, Roed handled the puck in the right wing circle, then shipped a quick pass to the slot and Lippai. Lippai immediately returned the feed to Roed, who blasted a shot past McKenna from the bottom of the right wing circle for his league-leading seventh shorthanded tally of the year. It was also the White Bear Lake, Minnesota native's 25th goal of the season, which tops all Tri-City players. 

The Storm shorthanded tally came while Colby Woogk was serving a two-minute minor for tripping. Omaha recorded a power play goal on the same penalty. 

While the Lancers possessed in their offensive zone, Brian Lonergan sent a shot from the center point that Storm netminder Kyle Jones halted with his pads. After a rebound, the puck hopped toward the far post of Tri-City's net. Tanner Morgan scooped the puck around the outstretched left pad of Jones and into the cage for his seventh goal of the season. 

Tri-City answered less than two minutes later. Artemi Nizameyev grabbed the puck on the right wing boards of the Omaha zone and fed a streaking Shaun McEwen, who was cutting down the middle of the ice. McEwen glided toward McKenna, then bolted a snapshot past the goaltender's glove side to put the Storm back up by a pair. Nizameyev, who collected the primary assist, recorded his first point since January 31. The goal was McEwen's first since January 23. 

Afterward, however, Omaha used three unanswered goals to grab the victory. 

The Lancers cut Tri-City's lead to one at the 14:40 mark of the third, when Morgan notched his second tally of the night. The Madison, Alabama native received a pass on the right wing boards of the Tri-City zone, then drove to the Storm net. Morgan tucked a shot five-hole as he approached Jones. 

Omaha tied the contest with 1:57 left in regulation. Mikhail Katin possessed the puck at the left point of Tri-City's zone, then ripped a high wrist shot toward Jones. The UMass-Lowell commit rose his blocker, but the puck bounced off the blocker and directly into the net. Katin recorded his second goal of the campaign.

Despite a few chances on each side, neither team scored prior to the end of regulation. 

Tri-City outshot Omaha 2-1 in the overtime period, but the Lancers were first to score. 

As Omaha pressured in their offensive end, the Lancer's Noah Jones calmed the puck in front of Tri-City's net. With Storm players away from the puck and unable to defend, Noah Jones slid a quick feed to Battaini, who was positioned off the left side of the blue paint. Battaini one-timed a shot over the outstretched right pad of Storm goaltender Kyle Jones to end the game. 

Kyle Jones halted 29 of 33 Omaha shots on the night. McKenna stopped 26 of 29 Storm attempts to pick up his first win of the season.  

Up next: Tri-City hosts Omaha on Tuesday night at Viaero Center. Puckdrop is scheduled for 7:05 pm CT. The game serves as a makeup for the clubs' postponed Saturday, January 4 contest in Kearney. 

As a reminder, individual tickets from the January 4 date can be exchanged for any other regular season Tri-City home game in 2024-2025. Fans with inquiries can contact the Storm at 308-338-8144.

The Storm are offering Nebraska Lottery Rivalry Packs on Tuesday night. 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 Tuesday's game, visit stormhockey.com, call the Storm at 308-338-8144, or stop by the Viaero Center box office in-person during regular business hours.