Storm Surge to 6-0 Victory over U.S. National Team Development Program on Saturday Night in Kearney
USHL Tri-City Storm

Storm Surge to 6-0 Victory over U.S. National Team Development Program on Saturday Night in Kearney

Published on February 21, 2026 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Tri-City Storm News Release


KEARNEY, Neb. - Six different Tri-City players recorded goals and netminder Owen Nelson notched his first career shutout as the Storm knocked off the United States National Team Development Program (NTDP) Under-17 squad on Saturday night at Viaero Center.

Tri-City (25-19-5, 55 pts) extended its winning streak to five games, tying a season-high. The Storm have won ten of their past 12 matchups and are 13-3-1 since January 1. The U.S. National Team Development Program Under-17 squad (13-25-6) dropped its fifth straight game.

Tri-City opened the scoring at the 9:10 mark of the second period. Carson Pilgrim skated the puck to the bottom of the left circle, then released a rapid snapshot above the shoulders of NTDP netminder Eli Winters. The goal was Pilgrim's third tally in as many games and his team-leading 15th of the season.

Tri-City doubled its lead with 51 seconds left in the middle period. As the Storm generated a 2-on-0 rush toward Winters, Cooper Ernewein fed Adam Obusek just off the right post of the NTDP net. Obusek swiped the puck beyond Winters's outstretched left pad for his first career USHL marker.

The Storm broke the game open in the third, adding four more tallies.

Ernewein snagged his fifth goal of the year at the 3:45 mark of the frame. From the right circle, the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native deflected a Gairin Michalski right point shot beyond the right pad of Winters.

Michalski scored his first career goal about seven minutes later. As he exited the box after serving a penalty, the 2007-born player received a breakaway feed from Evan Sofkikits in the neutral zone. Michalski raced toward Winters, then popped a shot past the netminder's blocker side to make it 4-0.

The Storm added another goal at the 12:35 mark of the final frame. In the midst of a Tri-City power play, Maxwell Dessner set up Oliver Ozogany with a one-time feed in the left circle. The Slovakia native swiped the puck beyond a sliding Winters for his first tally since January 31.

Tri-City closed the scoring on a Lincoln Hjelm marker with just under 90 seconds to go. Hjelm handled the puck at the side of the NTDP net, then moved in front to gain separation from defenders. The Omaha commit flung a quick snapshot past Winter's blocker side for his fourth goal of the campaign.

Nelson stopped all 21 NTDP shots in what became his eighth win of the season. The Hudson, Wisconsin native has won five consecutive starts and logged a save percentage of .952 (139 saves on 146 shots) during that time.

Winters halted 29 of 35 Storm attempts in the NTDP net.

Four Storm players tabulated multiple points. Ernewein (1-1-2), Michalski (1-1-2), and Obusek (1-1-2) each logged their first career multi-point games. LaPointe (0-2-2) recorded his first multi-point game since March 23, 2025 when he was a member of the Chicago Steel. The appearance came against NTDP.

Up next: Tri-City faces Lincoln in a home-and-home series next weekend.

The Storm host the Stars on Friday at Viaero Center. Puckdrop is scheduled for 7:05 pm CT.

Friday is Epilepsy Awareness Night. Tri-City will wear special uniforms honoring those who battle the disease during the contest. Those jerseys will be auctioned off live after the game.

Kids tickets are also $5.00 on Friday with the purchase of an adult ticket courtesy of the FunZone Arcade inside of Pizza Ranch Kearney.

The Storm are additionally offering Nebraska Lottery Family Packs for Friday's matchup. Get four tickets, four hot dogs and four cans of soda for $44. Each pack also includes ten Nebraska Lottery scratch-off tickets. Limited quantities are available.

Fans can purchase tickets at stormhockey.com.

The Storm close the weekend at Lincoln on Saturday. Puckdrop at the Ice Box is set for 6:05 pm CT.

Both games will be broadcast on FloHockey and Storm Radio.

Check out the Tri-City Storm Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United States Hockey League Stories from February 21, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central