Tri-City Storm Fall Despite Owen Nelson’s Record 55 Saves

The Tri-City Storm concluded their regular season on Saturday, April 4, 2026, with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Fargo Force at Scheels Arena in Fargo, North Dakota.

Despite the loss, the Storm secured sixth place in the Western Conference standings by earning one point in the contest. The team now prepares to face the third-place Sioux City team in a best-of-three Western Conference First Round series for the Clark Cup Playoffs, which begins on Friday, April 10, 2026, at 7:05 pm.

Game Summary and Key Performances

The game remained scoreless until the final five minutes of the second period, when Fargo’s Zac Zimmerman scored the opening goal. Zimmerman scored on a backdoor rebound following a shot by Kolin Sisson during a Fargo power play.

Fargo extended the lead to 2-0 later in the second period. Cullen McCrate scored his tenth goal of the season with a hard snapshot from the right circle, assisted by Graham Jones.

Tri-City responded before the second intermission when Braydon Sisco scored his first career USHL goal. Sisco collected a rebound from a shot by Gairin Michalski and scored with a backhand shot past Fargo goaltender Ajay White. The goal occurred during Sisco’s third career USHL game.

The Storm tied the game just over three minutes into the third period. Mason Jenson, an Ohio State commit, scored his 12th goal of the campaign by firing a shot from the slot after receiving a pass from Sisco.

The contest remained tied through regulation and overtime, eventually being decided by a shootout in favor of the Fargo Force.

Tri-City goaltender Owen Nelson delivered a franchise-record performance, making 55 saves to keep the Storm in the game after the initial two-goal deficit.

Seasonal Context and Standings

The Fargo Force finished the regular season with a record of 38-29-5 and 81 points, ending their campaign on a three-game winning streak.

The Tri-City Storm ended the regular season with a record of 26-29-7 and 59 points. The team struggled leading into the postseason, having dropped 12 of their previous 13 games.

This difficult stretch followed a period of significant instability for the franchise. On March 28, 2026, the Storm suffered a 5-2 loss to the Green Bay Gamblers in Kearney, Nebraska, which marked the tenth consecutive loss for Tri-City. At that time, the streak was the second-longest losing streak in franchise history.

During that March 28 game, the Green Bay Gamblers, who held a record of 36-18-6 and 78 points, saw goals from Chase Jette, Nate Bienstock, Elliot Gulley, and Landon Hafele. Tri-City’s lone response in the second period of that game came via a goal from Oliver Ozogany.