Story by Tri-City Storm Communications
The Tri-City Storm completed a two-game series sweep over the Sioux City Musketeers in the opening round of the Clark Cup Playoffs with a 5-4 win at the Viaero Center on Tuesday night. Kieran Cebrian scored the game-winning goal for Tri-City in the final five minutes of the game to lift the team into the next round of the postseason. Alex Bump, Evan Werner, Trevor Connelly, and Dane Dowiak also netted goals for the Storm in the victory. Cameron Korpi backstopped Tri-City to the win in net. The Storm has advanced to play the Fargo Force in a Best-of-Three Conference Semifinal round of the Clark Cup Playoffs. Tri-City will travel to Scheels Arena in Fargo, ND for the three-game series against Fargo. Game #1 of the Western Conference Semifinal Series between the Storm and the Force is set for Friday. Puck drop for the matchup is scheduled for 7:05pm CT.
Tri-City opened the first-round playoff series against Sioux City with a 6-1 home win at the Viaero Center on Monday night. Graham Gamache netted a hat trick in the matchup, and Cameron Korpi collected the win in goal for the Storm. Kieran Cebrian, Alex Bump, and Trevor Connelly also netted goals for the Storm in the Game #1 victory.
Game #2 of the Best-of-Three First Round series began on Tuesday night with Alex Bump’s second scoring play of the postseason less than two minutes into the battle. Bump’s goal was netted at 1:45 of the 1st period, and was assisted by Graham Gamache, and Tanner Adams. The Musketeers responded with back-to-back powerplay goals to take a one-goal lead in the matchup. Kaden Shahan netted his first goal of the postseason at 7:13 of Tuesday’s 1st period to bring the game to a 1-1 tie. Dylan Godbout and Grant Slukynsky each notched an assist on the scoring play. Ben Poitras scored his first goal of the playoffs just over two minutes later to put the Musketeers ahead by a goal. The goal was netted at 9:28 of the 1st period, and was scored on the powerplay. Kaden Shahan and Dylan Godbout each recorded an assist on the goal. The final goal of Tuesday’s back-and-forth opening period was scored by Evan Werner on the powerplay. Werner’s goal was his first of the postseason, and was netted at 11:25 of the 1st period. Tanner Adams, and Cale Ashcroft notched an assist on the scoring play. Each team recorded 7 shots on goal during Tuesday’s opening period, and the middle period began with each team locked into a 2-2 tie.
Trevor Connelly scored his second goal of the postseason at 3:55 of the 2nd period to give the Storm a one-goal advantage in the battle. Connelly’s goal was assisted by Tanner Adams, and was scored even strength. Dane Dowiak increased Tri-City’s lead to two goals at 10:50 of the middle period. Dowiak’s goal was his first of the playoffs, and was assisted by Daimon Gardner, and Cale Ashcroft. The Musketeers made a goaltending change following the Storm’s fourth scoring play of the night. Starting goaltender Croix Kochendorfer was replaced in net by Axel Mangbo for the remainder of the matchup. The final goal of Tuesday’s 2nd period was scored by Sioux City’s Ben Doran with less than two minutes to play. The scoring play cut the Storm’s lead down to one goal. Ben Poitras and Sam Deckhut each notched an assist on the goal. Tri-City outshot Sioux City 12-8 during the middle period, and the Storm carried a one-goal advantage into Tuesday’s final period.
Grant Slukynsky netted his first goal of the playoffs at 8:39 of the 3rd period to bring the battle to a 4-4 tie. Tyler Hotson notched an assist on the scoring play. Kieran Cebrian scored the game-winning goal for the Storm at 15:09 of the 3rd period. Cebrian deflected a shot from Sebastian Törnqvist by Axel Mangbo to give Tri-City the lead. Törnqvist recorded an assist on the scoring play. Sioux City put an extra attacker on the ice after lifting Axel Mangbo in the final two minutes of Tuesday’s 3rd period. Cameron Korpi made several key saves in the final moments to secure the Storm’s victory. Tri-City skated away with a 5-4 home win at the Viaero Center, and advanced to the next round of the Clark Cup Playoffs. Sioux City outshot Tri-City 8-7 in the 3rd period, but was outshot by the Storm by an overall margin of 26-23 during the battle.
Cameron Korpi turned away 19 of Sioux City’s 23 shots on goal to collect his second win of the postseason in net for the Storm. Axel Manbgo stopped 9 of 10 shots faced, but recorded the loss in goal for the Musketeers. Mangbo appeared in 27:10 of game time in relief of Croix Kochendorfer. Kochendorfer made 12 saves on 16 shots and was replaced after appearing in 30:50 of game time for Sioux City.
Kieran Cebrian collected 1st Star honors in the matchup after scoring the game-winning goal for the Storm in the final five minutes of the matchup. Tanner Adams recorded three assists during the contest, and was named the 2nd Star of the Game. Sioux City’s Ben Poitras was named the 3rd Star of the Game after scoring the go-ahead goal for the Musketeers during the 1st period, and after recording an assist on the team’s game-tying goal in the 3rd period.
Tuesday’s game was played in front of a crowd of 1,253 at the Viaero Center. The Storm will move on in the Clark Cup Playoffs to face the Fargo Force in a Best-of-Three series this weekend at Scheels Arena. Game #1 is scheduled for Friday at 7:05pm CT, with Game #2 set for Saturday at 6:05pm CT. Game #3, if necessary, is scheduled for 4:05pm CT on Sunday. The Storm and the Force most recently met in the playoffs in the Conference Semifinal round of the 2021 Clark Cup Playoffs. The Force took the series two games to one at the Viaero Center, and advanced to the Clark Cup Final. Fargo won this year’s Anderson Cup Championship, finishing with a league-best 40-14-4-4 record during the regular season. The Storm won this year’s eight-game season series against the Force, finishing with a final record of 4-3-1-0 in head-to-head battles against Fargo.
Tri-City hits the ice again on Friday, April 28th, in a road game against the Fargo Force in the Conference Semifinal round of the Clark Cup Playoffs. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05pm CT.