USHL Tri-City Storm

Tri-City Storm News & Notes - Week 22

Published on February 21, 2012 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Tri-City Storm News Release


KEARNEY, Neb. - With three-consecutive wins following Friday's 8-3 victory over the Lincoln Stars, the Tri-City Storm aim for their season's longest winning streak on Tuesday night in Lincoln. The Storm will also look to build upon a season-best four-game home winning streak this weekend, as Tri-City will host Sioux Falls (Friday) and Lincoln (Saturday).

Tri-City (18-25-0, 36 pts - 7th in Western Conference) fell back a spot in the Western Conference standings following Sunday's Waterloo Black Hawks-Des Moines Buccaneers game at Buccaneer Arena. The Buccaneers won 4-2 to jump in front of the Storm for the final playoff spot in the conference. With a Storm win on Tuesday in Lincoln, Tri-City would reclaim the final playoff spot for the third time in the past three weeks.

The Storm are expecting D Josh McArdle back in the lineup this week after being out of the defensive rotation due to an injury last week. Fellow blueliner Ryan Ivey could also be back soon pending further evaluation of his injury, which was also sustained in Fargo 10 days ago along with McArdle's injury.

Tri-City will not have D Cutler Martin this week, as he went back to finish the season with Victory Honda's U18 midget major club. Martin played in both games last weekend due to the injuries to McArdle and Ivey. He finished with a plus-2 rating, three shots on goal and two penalty minutes in two games during his call-up with the Storm.

New forward acquisition from two weeks ago, RW Grant Opperman, is still finishing his senior season with Breck High School (Minn.) before joining the Storm. Opperman's high school team is one of the favorites in Minnesota to win the state championship in Class 1A.

The Storm are 2-3-0 this season against the Stars, while 3-2-0 against the Sioux Falls Stampede. Tri-City is 16-19-0 overall against Western Conference opponents, including 10-8-0 at the Viaero Event Center this season.

All three games this week will air on ESPN Superstation 1460/1550 AM with the Viaero Wireless Pre-Game Shows starting at 6:45 p.m. each night.

Tri-City Notes:

Tri-City Storm - 18-25-0, 36 pts (7th in Western Conference)

- Last game - Feb. 18 - 8-3 win vs. Lincoln Stars

- Tri-City is now 12-10-0 under GM/Head Coach Josh Hauge after starting the season 6-15-0

- RW Kenny Brooks has now pulled to within one point of the team's scoring lead with 33 points (14g, 19a) following his hat trick performance on Saturday night vs. Lincoln. Brooks became the second player to register a hat trick this season, as C Nick Lappin did it on Oct. 22 in Sioux City (7-3 win). He also became the 13th player in team history to match the team record for goals in a game, which has now been done 17 times in 12 seasons. Brooks has eight points (4g, 4a) in his last five games for the Storm, including four points (3PPG, 1PPA) on the power play

- C Nick Lappin still leads the Storm in goals and points with 19 goals and 34 points. Lappin is tied for the team lead with eight power-play points (5PPG, 3PPA) with Brooks. Lappin has only has two goals and two assists in his last 11 games

- C Brian Ward has reached a plus-11 rating in 10 games with the Storm. Since the arrival of Ward, the Storm are 7-3-0 dating back to Jan. 20 vs. Waterloo. Ward has four goals and four assists in 10 games this season

- G Adam Wilcox (16-12-0) has a 2.78 GAA and .915 SV%. Wilcox's save-percentage is currently ranked third in the USHL. Wilcox is on a three-game winning streak and has made 286 saves on 305 shots (.938 SV%) in his last nine games for Tri-City

- The power play is still 15th in the USHL going 25-for-194 (12.9%), however the Storm have gone 5-for-17 (29.4%) in the last three games. the penalty kill is 11th in the league at 81.1% (154-for-190)

Opponents Notes:

Tuesday, Feb. 21 @ Lincoln Stars - 24-14-3, 51 pts (2nd in Western Conference)

Saturday, Feb. 25 vs. Lincoln Stars

- Last game - Feb. 18 - 8-3 loss @ Tri-City Storm

- The Stars are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games

- Lincoln has not won a road game since Dec. 30 in Des Moines (7-6 shootout win)

- The Stars are 19-3-0 when scoring the first goal this season, including one loss to the Storm on Saturday after scoring the first goal one minute into the game

- LW Kevin Roy leads the USHL in goals (35) and points (66). in five games against the Storm Roy has four goals and eight assists

- D Ralfs Freibergs (7g, 19a) and D Paul Ladue (9g, 17a) each have 26 points this season for Lincoln. Freibergs has seven points (3g, 4a) and a plus-5 rating against the Storm in five games, while Ladue has five points (2g, 3a) and a plus-4 rating in three games against the Storm in the season series

- G Charles Williams (10-3-2) has a 2.83 GAA and .901 SV%. G Jackson Teichroeb (14-11-2) has a 2.74 GAA and .894 SV%.each goalie has played in three games against the Storm and allowed eight goals

- Lincoln's power play is currently ranked third in the USHL at 22.6% (35-for-155), as the Stars are 7-for-23 (30.4%) in the season series against the Storm. the penalty kill is 170-for-211 (80.6%), which has them ranked 12th in the league. The Storm are 4-for-25 (16.0%) on the power play against Lincoln

Friday, Feb. 24 vs. Sioux Falls Stampede - 13-25-3, 29 pts (8th in Western Conference)

- Last game - Feb. 18 - 5-2 loss vs. Sioux City Musketeers

- The Stampede are 1-7-2 in their last 10 games

- Sioux Falls has only won five games since the start of December

- The Stampede have been outscored 17-13 on the season series against the Storm

- Several players are suspended for Friday's game against the Storm resulting from a line brawl against Sioux City last Saturday night. G Jay Williams, D Joseph Lordo, C Justin Selman, LW Kyle Rankin have all been suspended for Friday night's game

- The Stampede are the only USHL team without a short-handed goal on the season

- Sioux Falls' power play is currently ranked last in the USHL at 11.0% (17-for-154), however the Stampede are 3-for-15 (20.0 %) in the season series against the Storm. the penalty kill is 126-for-164 (76.8%), which also has them ranked last in the league. The Storm are 6-for-22 (27.3%) on the power play against Sioux Falls

Check out the Tri-City Storm Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from February 21, 2012


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