Storm Announce Captains for 2020-2021 Season
December 31, 2020 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Tri-City Storm News Release
Kearney, NE. - The Tri-City Storm has announced its Captains and Alternate Captains for the remainder of the 2020-2021 season ahead of tonight's sold-out New Year's Eve game against rival Lincoln at the Viaero Center. Defenseman Cole McWard and forward Carter Mazur have each been named Captain. Forward Matthew Knies, forward Nick Portz, defenseman Kyle Aucoin, and goaltender Todd Scott have each been named an Alternate Captain. Similar to last season, Captains and Alternate Captains will alternate and be designated each game based on the jersey the team wears (Black, White, Purple). As a goaltender, Scott will not wear an "A" on his jersey, but is included in the teams' leadership group as an Alternate Captain.
Cole McWard, 19, of Fenton, Missouri was drafted by the Storm 80th overall in the 5th Round of the 2017 USHL Phase I draft and made his USHL debut during the 2017-2018 regular season as an affiliate list callup. He scored his 1st career USHL goal on November 9th, 2018 in Tri-City's 1-0 road defeat of the Omaha Lancers. McWard has skated with Storm in over one hundred USHL games and has provided the Tri-City offense with ten goals, twenty-one assists, and thirty-one points. Prior to joining the Storm, McWard skated for Westminster Christian Academy in Town and Country, Missouri. He also skated for the St. Louis Blues AAA program in St. Louis, Missouri. McWard scored three game-winning goals for the Storm last season, including two overtime goals. He netted a goal in Tri-City's opening game of the 2020-2021 season, a 5-1 road victory over the Sioux City Musketeers on November 7th. McWard previously announced a commitment to play college hockey at Ohio State University.
"It is such an honor to wear a letter here. I have spent my past two seasons on Tri-City teams that had amazing leaders and I am beyond excited to carry on the culture they created. I believe I bring a competitive attitude that can push guys to get better and I can work my absolute hardest on the ice, after practice, and in the workout room." Cole McWard
Carter Mazur, 18, of Jackson, Michigan was drafted 3rd overall in the 1st Round of the 2018 USHL Phase I draft by the Storm and made his USHL debut during the 2018-2019 regular season as an affiliate list callup. Mazur made his USHL debut with Tri-City on November 10th, 2018 in the Storm's 4-2 home win over the Sioux Falls Stampede. He netted his first career USHL goal with the Storm on November 8th, 2019 in Tri-City's 5-2 home win over the Des Moines Buccaneers. Last season, Mazur scored six goals and provided the Storm's offense with seven assists in forty-seven games played. Entering tonight's New Year's Eve game against Lincoln, Mazur has already scored five goals and notched four assists and has appeared in every game during the 2020-2021 regular season. Previous to joining the Storm, Mazur skated for the Little Caesars AAA program in Detroit, Michigan. Mazur previously announced a commitment to play college hockey at Michigan State University.
"It means the world to me, I'm excited with the group of guys we have and being able to be the leader of such a good group is a great honor to me! This organization means a lot to me, I knew it was the place I wanted to be from the first day I was here, and to be named a Captain this year it is just surreal! I come to the rink each day with the will to work and push my teammates to become better every single day. I also feel like I'm a vocal leader and I'm always making it fun in the room so everyone enjoying being at the rink when we are there. I believe I put the team before myself, when the team succeeds, I feel like everyone is having a blast and that's when we're at our best! " Carter Mazur
Matthew Knies, 18, of Phoenix, Arizona was selected 38th overall by the Storm in the 3rd Round of the 2018 USHL Phase I Draft. He previously skated for the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes AAA program in Phoenix, Arizona. He made his USHL debut with the Storm as an affiliate list call-up on November 23rd, 2018 in Tri-City's 3-0 home shutout over the Omaha Lancers. He scored his first career USHL goal on October 10th, 2019 in the Storm's 4-1 home win over the Sioux Falls Stampede. Knies led the Storm with forty-five points last season. His thirty-one points were also the most among any Tri-City player during the 2019-2020 regular season. He scored fourteen goals and finished the year with forty-five points in forty-four games played. Knies was named the USHL's Forward of the Week, one year ago today, on December 31st. 2019. In total, Knies has appeared in fifty-three career USHL games with the Storm. He has scored fifteen goals, including a goal in the 2020-2021 season, and has provided the Storm offense with thirty-two career assists. Knies previously announced a commitment to play college hockey at the University of Minnesota.
"It's a huge honor to be named Alternate Captain, there have been a significant number of Captains before me that have led our team and had a huge impact on and off the bench. I try to lead by example, and I think I keep the pace of games and practice high. I also am a strong vocal character on the bench and in the locker room. I'm really excited to be named an Alternate Captain and I will love the opportunity to lead this team." Matthew Knies
Nick Portz, 20, of St. Cloud, Minnesota scored fourteen goals in fifty-four regular season games during the 2018-2019 season with the Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL) before being acquired by the Storm in October of 2019. He also provided the Wilderness offense with eighteen assists. In the 2017-2018 season, Portz led St. Cloud High School with twenty-three goals and twenty-six assists in twenty-five games played. He scored twenty-four goals and recorded nineteen assists in twenty-three games in the 2016-2017 season. Since joining the Storm during the 2019-2020 season, Portz has scored eighteen goals and notched twenty-five assists. With fifteen goals scored last season, Portz entered the 2020-2021 season as the Storm's top returning scorer. Portz also finished the 2019-2020 season with twenty-three assists. He previously announced a commitment to play college hockey at the University of North Dakota.
"It's a pretty special thing to be able to wear a letter on your chest, especially once you look at the guys before us that have worn one! I am honored to wear a letter for this team. I have the ability to push people in the right direction and I have a lot of different experiences in junior hockey that I will be able to rely on when helping to lead our team" Nick Portz
Kyle Aucoin, 18, of Hinsdale, Illinois was selected 156th overall in the 6th Round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. He made his debut for the Storm in the 2019-2020 season and was named the 2019-2020 USHL Scholar Athlete of the Year. Aucoin was also named to the USHL's All-Academic Team at the conclusion of last season. Aucoin was drafted by Tri-City 35th Overall in the 3rd Round of the 2018 USHL Phase I Draft. He appeared in seven games as an affiliate list callup during the Storm's 2018-2019 Anderson Cup Championship season. Aucoin skated in all forty-eight regular season games during the 2019-2020 season. Last season, he scored two goals and recorded eleven assists for the Storm offense. Aucoin scored the opening goal of the game in the Storm's 4-1 home win over the Omaha Lancers on December 11th. Aucoin previously announced a commitment to play college hockey at Harvard University.
"It's an amazing feeling to be named an Alternate Captain of this year's team. Our team has an opportunity to do something very special this year, so for me to be put in this position is something that is a great honor. I take great pride in being someone who has the ability to make my teammates better players and people. I put a lot of importance on being consistent every day in how I act and becoming a person that people can look up to." Kyle Aucoin
Todd Scott, 20, of Albertville, Minnesota has appeared in twenty-nine USHL games in his career. Twenty-two of those appearances have been with the Storm since joining the team last season. During the 2019-2020 regular season, Scott appeared in thirteen games with Tri-City after being acquired in January. He posted his first career USHL shutout with the Storm in a 5-0 road victory over the Madison Capitols on February 16th, 2020. Scott has been named the USHL's Goaltender of the Week twice to this point in the 2020-2021 regular season. He has been in net for five of the Storm's six victories in the 2020-2021 regular season. Scott currently ranks among the USHL's league leaders with a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 2.16 and a save percentage (SV%) of .913%.
"It means a lot to be named an Alternate Captain on this year's team and something that I'm very thankful for. I try to bring a good attitude and work ethic every day. I also try to bring energy in the locker room as well as on the ice." Todd Scott
"Our staff believes that wearing a letter in the game of hockey is one of the greatest honors in sports. There is a lot of pride that goes into wearing our jersey and specifically wearing a letter, especially if you look at the guys who came before this group. Adam Goodsir, Brian Hawkinson, Ronnie Attard, Connor McMenamin, Chase McLane, and Joe Berg are all guys who have built the program up to where it is right now during my time with the organization, and they all wore the "C" with a ton of pride. Our Captains and Alternate Captains were all fortunate to play with some of those players and they'll lead with the same integrity, level of pride, and level of commitment as those players who came before them did." President of Hockey Operations/Head Coach Anthony Noreen
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