The Quad City Storm inches closer to a playoff berth with 3 games left in the regular season.
The Quad City Storm took a major step toward securing a postseason spot by sweeping the Evansville Thunderbolts in a thrilling home-and-home weekend series. With the pair of victories, the Storm improved to 23-25-2-2, moving within striking distance of the final spot in the President’s Cup playoffs. The team now needs either two more wins or a combination of one victory and a Macon Mayhem loss in the final four regular-season games to clinch their playoff berth.
The series kicked off Thursday night at Vibrant Arena, where the Storm stormed ahead early, building a commanding 4-1 lead in the first period. The physicality of the game intensified with four fights, adding to the electric atmosphere of the 3,205-strong home crowd. By the final buzzer, the Storm secured a decisive 5-2 victory over Evansville.
The action shifted to Evansville on Saturday, where the Storm found themselves locked in a defensive showdown. Veteran goaltender Brent Moran delivered a stellar performance, stopping 43 of 45 shots and turning aside all but one of the Thunderbolts’ shootout attempts.
Rookies Noah Massie and Brodie Girod each found the back of the net, with Massie recording his first professional goal. With the game tied 2-2 after regulation and overtime, the Storm turned to Leif Mattson and Brandon Stojcevski, both of whom converted in the shootout to seal a hard-fought 3-2 victory.
With momentum on their side, the Storm returns home this weekend for two critical games against the Knoxville Ice Bears. Quad City has dominated Knoxville this season, boasting a 4-0 record against them, and now sits just three points behind them in the SPHL standings.
Friday night marks Birdies for Charity Night, presented by John Deere. All kids in attendance will receive a Radar & Birdie t-shirt, while John Deere employees can claim two free tickets by presenting their work ID at the arena box office.
Saturday is HockeyTownQC Night, celebrating Quad Cities’ rich hockey history with special guests including Peter Di Salvo, Steve Gibson, and Kerry Toporowski. Fans can enjoy pregame autograph signings, a free team poster for the first 1,000 attendees, and a postgame meet-and-greet, autograph session, and jersey auction with current Storm players.
Tickets for all upcoming games are available at QuadCityStorm.com, Ticketmaster.com, and the Vibrant Arena box office. For special group packages, suites, party areas, or season ticket memberships, fans can contact Matt@quadcitystorm.com or call the Storm front office at 309-277-1364.
Gallery Credit: Connor Kenney/Townsquare Media Quad Cities
