Men's Ice Hockey 10/31/2026 8:55:00 PM

Storm put up trio of third period goals to beat Steel 4-1 on Saturday

Saturday's box score

KEARNEY, Neb. – The Tri-City Storm utilized a trio of third period goals to break a 1-1 tie and pick up a 4-1 win over the Chicago Steel on Saturday night at Viaero Center. The Storm swept the two-game weekend series between the teams.

Tri-City (10-3-0, 20 pts) has won five consecutive games. It's the team's longest winning streak since February 7-21, 2025. Chicago (5-4-2, 12 pts) has suffered consecutive losses for the first time since October 2 and 3.

The teams were tied at one entering the third period. Tri-City broke the tie with its first of three final period goals from Dylan Krayer on the power play at the 7:22 mark of the frame. A Joseph Hyten shot from the slot was halted by Steel netminder Chase Pastor. Krayer, in the vicinity of the net, quickly gathered the puck and slid it beyond Pastor's pads for his sixth goal of the year.

Tri-City's power play produced its second marker of the night with just over five minutes left to make it 3-1. As the Storm possessed in their offensive zone, a Jackson Smith shot from the center point was deflected by Hyten beyond Pastor to hand the Storm a 2-goal lead.

Down two goals in the final minutes of regulation, Chicago pulled Pastor for an extra attacker. Tri-City found the vacant cage with just under three minutes remaining. Nathan Garski gathered a turned-over puck up high in the Storm zone and rifled it home for his third marker of the campaign.

Chicago struck in the first period and the Storm in the second period to give the game its 1-1 tie entering the third.

Chicago broke the scoreless tie with a power play goal in the middle portion of the first period. As the Steel controlled in their offensive zone, Patrick Tolan sent a rinkwide feed to an open Cole Bumgarner in the right circle. Bumgarner caught the pass, then sent a quick wrist shot beyond Storm goaltender Ryan Denes for his fifth goal of the campaign.

Tri-City evened the contest thanks to a 5-on-3 power play goal with 13:10 gone by in the second frame. A CJ Watson shot from near the left point was tipped beyond Pastor by Tri-City's Aleksandr Sokolov. The marker was Sokolov's team-leading tenth of the year. The Brown commit entered Saturday's game tying for the second-most goals among all USHL players.

Denes halted 26 of 27 shots to pick up his fourth win of the season. Pastor, in his first career USHL start, stopped 18 of 21 Tri-City attempts.

Tri-City has scored 26 third period goals this season. They entered Saturday having scored more third period goals than all USHL teams.

Up next: Tri-City hosts Omaha on Friday night at Viaero Center. Puckdrop is set for 7:05 pm. Fans can purchase tickets at stormhockey.com. Friday's game is Tri-City's only matchup next weekend.

The contest will be broadcast on FloHockey and Storm Radio.

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Players Mentioned

#15 Jackson Smith: F; 6' 2"; Redshirt; R

#21 Dylan Krayer: F; 5' 10"; Redshirt; R

#22 Nathan Garski: F; 6' 1"; Redshirt; R

#29 Aleksandr Sokolov: F; 6' 2"; Redshirt; R

#31 Ryan Denes: G; 6' 0"; Redshirt; L

#7 CJ Watson: D; 6' 2"; Redshirt; L

Players Mentioned

#15 Jackson Smith
: 6' 2"; Redshirt; R
: F

#21 Dylan Krayer
: 5' 10"; Redshirt; R
: F

#22 Nathan Garski
: 6' 1"; Redshirt; R
: F

#29 Aleksandr Sokolov
: 6' 2"; Redshirt; R
: F

#31 Ryan Denes
: 6' 0"; Redshirt; L
: G

#7 CJ Watson
: 6' 2"; Redshirt; L
: D