Storm Ready for 'Best of the Best'
December 12, 2012 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Tri-City Storm News Release
KEARNEY - The Tri-City Storm is looking to make a statement this weekend when it hosts one of the USHL's best teams for a two-game home stand.
"All roads in the West Division go through Waterloo at this point. They won the division last year and remain the favorite early on this season," said Storm Head Coach Josh Hauge. "We'll see this weekend where we stack up with the best of the best.
Waterloo is 15-8 and ranked second in the Western Conference standings.
The Black Hawks lead the lead with 97 goals (4.2 per game average) and feature three of the USHL's top scorers in Taylor Cammarata, Zach Stepan and Justin Kloos. All three already have 30 points this season and are among the top four players in the league in scoring. A University of Minnesota recruit, Cammarata leads the league with 35 points on 14 goals and 21 assists.
"Waterloo has unbelievably talented forwards who are very gifted. It's a team with a lot of hockey sense," said Hauge. "Fans are going to see two teams that try to push the pace back and forth."
The Storm is 11-11-2 and ranked seventh in the West Division. However, the Storm is 6-3 over its last nine games and sits just three points out of fourth place in a tightly contested race.
"We aren't where we want to be in the standings, but our guys have fought through a lot of injuries and adversity," Hauge said. "We put ourselves in position to be in striking distance. Nobody is panicking. There's a lot of season left."
The Storm is getting consistent scoring from veteran players Trevor Moore, Michael Vecchione, Brian Ward and Tim Bonner. Moore and Vecchione lead the team with 23 points each and rank in the top 15 among USHL scoring leaders. Vecchione has nine points in his last five outings.
After missing the first 18 games to injury, Jared Linnell has rejoined the lineup and added some scoring punch with 10 points in his first six games.
"Our leadership is good, and our young guys are learning what it takes to win at this level," Hauge said. "We have good talent. We just need to tighten up our systems and get more cohesive as a unit."
Hauge expects big things from the Storm's first-year players heading into the second half of the season.
"It's the time of the year where young guys take the next step and help contribute to wins by putting their names on the score sheet," he said. "We have some kids who are really close to breaking out, and that's exciting."
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