Fargo Opens Series with 4-2 Friday Night Defeat of Tri-City
USHL Tri-City Storm

Fargo Opens Series with 4-2 Friday Night Defeat of Tri-City

Published on January 2, 2026 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Tri-City Storm News Release


FARGO, ND - Nine different Fargo players contributed points as the Force defeated the Tri-City Storm 4-2 on Friday night at Scheels Arena.

Fargo (18-11-2, 38 pts) has won three of its past four games. Tri-City (12-17-4, 28 pts) has dropped back-to-back contests for the first time since December 4 and 5.

The Force were first to strike. At the 11:59 mark of the opening period, Axel Lofgren recorded his fifth goal of the season after releasing a hard snapshot past the glove of Tri-City netminder Owen Nelson. Lofgren received a feed at the left point from Arseni Marchenko, then walked to an open top of the left circle to fire the puck.

With just under three minutes remaining in the opening frame, Wyatt Sypniewski doubled the Force lead with a snapshot from the right circle. The Providence commit's attempt, which occurred in the midst of a Fargo offensive zone possession, slipped between the legs of Nelson to make it 2-0.

Tri-City got on the board at the 10:57 mark of the second. As the Storm moved the puck out of their zone, Carson Pilgrim set up Brecken Smith with a nifty feed near the right wing of the Fargo blue line. Smith caught the pass, then raced away from Force defender Garrett Lindberg pressure for a breakaway. As he approached the Fargo net, Smith tucked a five-hole shot on Force goaltender Ajay White for his eighth marker of the year. Smith has now put up eight points over his past six games.

Fargo extended its lead with two key markers to begin scoring in the third period.

Jacob Sagadin made it 3-1 after ripping a shot through Nelson's five hole at the 2:02 mark of the frame. Sagadin, who had an earlier breakaway attempt stopped by Nelson's stick, caught the Storm netminder as he looked to readjust without his stick. The tally was Sagadin's sixth of the year.

A little over ten minutes later, Lindberg rifled a shot off a Luke McNamara feed top shelf past Nelson's blocker side. The attempt came from near the top of the left circle in the Storm zone. It was Lindberg's first goal since November 28 vs. Chicago.

Tri-City closed the gap with just over three minutes left in regulation. White allowed a rebound off a Smith shot from the Fargo slot. The puck, which bounced off the netminder's left leg, went in the direction of Carson Pilgrim, who finished into the Force net for his first goal since November 7 against Waterloo.

The Storm pulled Nelson in the games' final minutes for an extra attacker, but could not push any more goals across.

White stopped 18 of 20 Storm shots in what became his 11th win of the season. Nelson, who picked up his eighth loss of the campaign, halted 20 of 24 Fargo attempts.

Tri-City's Smith (1-1-2) and Pilgrim (1-1-2) finished with multiple points. Fargo's Sypniewski (1-1-2), Lofgren (1-1-2) and McNamara (0-2-2) each found the scoresheet multiple times.

Up next: Tri-City ends its two-game set with Fargo on Saturday at Scheels Arena. Puckdrop is scheduled for 6:05 pm CT. The matchup will be broadcast on FloHockey and YouTube.

Check out the Tri-City Storm Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from January 2, 2026


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