After dropping a wild 7-6 game to Fayetteville on Friday, the Quad City Storm played an equally exciting, if lower scoring, game on Saturday at Vibrant Arena at The Mark, with Matt Ustaski embracing the hero’s role in a 3-2 overtime win.

Leif Mattson put the Storm up 1-0 early in the 1st period with a wraparound shot for his 4th goal in the last two games.  But Fayetteville tied it in the 1st and took the lead early in the 2nd.

Early in the third, Ustaski, who along with Mattson had a hat trick Friday, scored 1:42 into the 3rd to tie it.  Then late in the OT, Ustaski was pulled down for a delayed penalty.  The Storm maintained possession as goaltender Kevin Resop (28 saves) left for the extra attacker.  Ustaski ended up with the puck at short range, and set up his wrist shot perfectly to get it underneath goaltender Ryan Kenny (46 saves) for the game-winner with just 8.9 seconds left.

Ustaski, with the two goals, has five in his last two games and eight on the season.  He was named the game’s first star.  The Storm (3-4) play at Evansville next Saturday, before coming home to play the Thunderbolts Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of Thanksgiving Week.  All games 7:00 p.m., live in your seats on 100.1 FM, also heard on the concourse, in suites, on smoking decks, in restrooms, and on QCSportsNet.com.

This is the link to the FULL COURT PRESS live stream.

Steve Tappa enters the circus for the latest Wednesday night edition of Full Court Press.  AND, KWQC Sports Director Joey Donia joins as special guest co-host in the second half of our show, to talk Hawkeyes hoops.  We’ll cover the Cubs’ managerial change and the latest on the Bears.  It’s live, local sports talk for the Quad Cities, with more knowledge, experience, and fun than you’ll find anywhere else.  Join us live at Riverfront Grille in Rock Island, or live on QCSportsNet.com.
PRESENTED BY charter sponsors Godfather’s Pizza in Silvis, Crawford Company, Neil Ferrari State Farm Insurance, and Hungry Hobo.  Limited additional sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Ken Jacoby at (309) 912-5135 or ken@qcsportsnet.com.

This is the link to the FULL COURT PRESS live stream.

Wednesday nights starting November 1st, four of the Quad Cities’ best known figures in sports and journalism – John Marx, Jim Meenan, Steve Tappa, and Jeff Wendland – will bring back live, local sports talk to the Quad Cities, with the premiere of Full Court Press on QCSportsNet.com.
These veterans of the QC sports scene – and we mean veterans – have spent decades often confined to a format of needing to be fair and impartial. But take our word for it, they’re as opinionated as can be, and always have a great time when they get together to talk sports! You can join in the fun, with most shows broadcasting live from Riverfront Grille in Rock Island.
Every Wednesday night, your hosts, with Ken Jacoby attempting to moderate, will tell stories from their rich and varied sports media careers, and delve into current topics ranging from high schools, to the Hawkeyes and Illini, to the Cubs, Cards, Bears, Packers, and beyond. Believe us, it’ll be beyond!  Plus, we’ll have a rotation of guest hosts join from time to time to try to talk some sense into them.
John Marx – Began writing sports in 1985, became lead columnist for the Dispatch/Argus in 1994, won 46 regional, state and national writing awards, now in 18th year as color analyst for MC22 sports.
Jim Meenan – Sports editor at the Dispatch/Argus (7 years), started the Pacesetter features, more than 40 years in newspapers, including covering Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune.
Steve Tappa – St. Ambrose TV & radio sports director 1991-95, “Only” 30 years in sports at the Dispatch/Argus, now coordinates Illinois AP high school polls and is part of the MC22 sports crew.
Jeff Wendland – Started writing for the Crimson Crier at Rock Island High School, sports writer and radio/TV student at NIU, joined the Rock Island Argus in 1984, was with Dispatch/Argus until 2019.
QCSportsNet would like to thank our charter sponsors for helping launch Full Court Press:  Godfather’s Pizza in Silvis, Crawford Company, Neil Ferrari State Farm Insurance, and Hungry Hobo.  Limited additional sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Ken Jacoby at (309) 912-5135 or ken@qcsportsnet.com.

Mike Moran scored 1:59 into overtime to give the Storm their first win of the season, 2-1 over defending SPHL champion Roanoke, Saturday night at Vibrant Arena at The Mark.  The happy ending came shortly after the Rail Yard Dawgs scored a power play goal with 1:25 left in regulation, erasing a 1-0 Quad City lead that had stood since early in the first period.

Matt Ustaski picked up a loose puck in the right circle and scored for the second time in three games on a wrist shot 7:50 into the first period for an unassisted goal that gave the Storm that 1-0 advantage.  With 34 saves, goaltender Brent Moran made it stand up until the Dawgs cashed in with 6 seconds left in the last of their five power plays on the night.  

In the OT, which is played 3-on-3, Mike Moran stepped into the offensive zone and let go a wrist shot that Roanoke goaltender Brody Claeys made contact with but did not fully stop, with the puck rolling between his leg pads and into the net.  In his third season with the Storm, it was his 28th career goal for Quad City.

The Storm take on the Peoria Rivermen at 2:10 p.m. Sunday at Vibrant Arena, with live play-by-play at 2:00 p.m., presented by Blackhawk Electric.  It marks the fourth of a five-game season-opening stretch against the last two SPHL champions.

After a seesaw first half that saw UT lead 28-27 at the break, the Panthers piled on five more touchdowns in the second half and ran away with a 63-46 season-ending win at Galesburg on Friday night.  The last of five first-half lead changes was a 53-yard pass from QB Matthew Kelley to Korey Randle to put the Panthers ahead.  It was Randle’s 2nd TD of the half, following two scores by RB Isaiah Navarrete.

In the second half, Navarrete ran for two more scores, and Kelley dashed for three TDs, from 22, 33, and finally 69 yards out to seal the win with 3:39 left in the 4th quarter.  Kelley wound up with 247 yards rushing and another 135 through the air.  Navarrete totaled 110 yards and the four scores on just eight carries. For Galesburg, Amarie Richardson ran for 192 yards and scored three times, including 90 yards with the game’s opening kickoff.

The Panthers finish the season 4-5, 2-4 in Western Big Six play.  The Silver Streaks end up at 2-7, 1-5.