Story by Tri-City Communications
The Tri-City Storm is set for the team’s final game of the 2023 DICK’S Sporting Goods USHL Fall Classic tonight in a matchup against the Sioux Falls Stampede. The Storm opened the event with a 2-1 victory Wednesday night over the defending Clark Cup Champion Youngstown Phantoms.
Tri-City (1-0-0-0) recorded scoring plays from first-time goal scorers Nolan Roed and Dallas Vieau during yesterday’s season-opening victory. Nick Peluso and Trevor Connelly each notched an assist on Roed’s opening goal of the USHL season at 15:59 of the 1st period, and Ryan Smith and Trevor Connelly each recorded an assist on Dallas Vieau’s goal at 8:41 of the 2nd period. Cameron Korpi shined in net for the Storm, stopping 23 of Youngstown’s 24 shots on goal. He turned away a critical penalty shot attempt by Youngstown’s Charlie Cerrato during the 3rd period. The Storm opened the season 0/7 on the powerplay, and Tri-City’s penalty kill finished last night’s game 4/4. Tri-City outshot Youngstown 12-2 in the 1st period, 8-7 in the 2nd period, and was outshot by a 15-11 margin during the 3rd period. The Storm outshot the Phantoms by an overall margin of 31-24. Tri-City finished the 2022-2023 regular season with a final record of 21-9-3-3 when outshooting opponents. The Storm was 21-2-1-2 when leading after the 1st period, and 29-0-1-0 when leading after the 2nd period last season. Tri-City also finished the regular season with an 11-2-4-4 record in one-goal games. The Storm posted back-to-back wins at the 2022 DICK’S Sporting Goods Fall Classic with a 4-1 win over the Madison Capitols, and a 6-4 win over the Muskegon Lumberjacks. Tri-City is now on a five-game winning streak at the Fall Classic following last night’s result in the sixty-two-game-season-opener.
Sioux Falls (1-0-0-0) matched Tri-City with an opening-night victory Wednesday at the Fall Classic. The Stampede posted a 5-2 win over the Eastern Conference’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. Sioux Falls’ five goals were netted by different goal scorers. Zach Nehring, Beckett Hendrickson, Egor Barabanov, J.J. Wiebusch, and Tyler Borgula scored goals in the matchup for the Stampede. Caleb Heil turned away 18 of Cedar Rapids’ 20 shots on goal to record the win in net for Sioux Falls. Heil posted a 5-2-1-0 record in goal for the Stampede during the 2022-2023 regular season. Sioux Fall’s powerplay finished the game 0/5 last night, and the team’s penalty kill was 4/4. The Stampede completed the 2022-2023 regular season with a final record of 23-31-5-3. Sioux Falls is 9-21-1-1 in head-to-head battles against Tri-City in the last five years. The powerplay for the Stampede was 4th in the USHL last year with a conversion rate of 24.1%. The Sioux Falls penalty kill ranked 8th in the USHL with a success rate of 78.7%. Goal scorers for the Stampede in this year’s preseason were J.J. Wiebusch (2), Ivan Anoshka, Grant Dillard, Jack Phelan, and Micah Berger.
The Storm will return home to the Viaero Center on Friday, September 29th following the official beginning of the sixty-two games regular season at the Fall Classic. Tri-City will host the Sioux City Musketeers for the organization’s Home Opener. Puck drop for the matchup is scheduled for 7:05pm CT. The battle will feature a rematch of the Tri-City’s opening-round playoff series against Sioux City in the 2023 Clark Cup Playoffs. The Storm will again play host to the Musketeers at 6:05pm CT the following evening on Saturday, September 30th.
Season Tickets, and Single-Game Tickets are on sale now for the 24th season in Tri-City Storm history. The organization will play thirty home games at the Viaero Center throughout the 2023-2024 USHL regular season. Following opening weekend, promotional dates will include Military Appreciation Night, Teddy Bear Toss Night, Concrete Cares Night, a New Year’s Eve Game, Scouting with the Storm, Kool-Aid Night, Puck’s N’ Paw’s Night, Youth Hockey Night, and Fan Appreciation Night. The complete promotional schedule for the 2023-2024 regular season can be found online at www.StormHockey.com.
Tonight’s game is set to begin at 7:30pm CT and will be streamed on FloHockey and Storm Radio. Tickets to home games at the Viaero Center may be purchased online by skating to www.StormHockey.com, or by calling the Viaero Center Box Office during Box Office hours at 308-338-8144.