Quad City Storm Outlast Carolina Reapers in Shootout After Back-and-Forth (3-14-26)
By: Joey Raymond
Headline Photo Credit: 3780 Media-LMS Network
Fayetteville, NC –For one night, the Fayetteville Marksmen transformed into the Carolina Reapers, complete with a striking alternate identity and some equally dramatic hockey. Unfortunately for the home side, the result slipped away late as the Quad City Storm escaped with a shootout victory.
Both teams entered the night needing points. Quad City is battling to climb the standings in the tightly contested SPHL playoff race, while Carolina continues trying to claw its way out of last place. With the league as close as it is, a short winning streak can change everything — and once the SPHL playoffs begin, the slate essentially resets.
Saturday night’s contest felt like a playoff-style battle from the opening puck drop.
First Period
Carolina struck first midway through the opening frame.
With 10:39 remaining in the period, Colton Wilkie found himself with space in front of the net and buried a shot into the top shelf past Storm goaltender Zane Steeves, giving the Reapers an early 1-0 lead.
Quad City answered quickly.
After Carolina netminder Mason Beaupit made an impressive save that carried him out of position, the rebound found Jack Lee, who capitalized on the open net to even the score at 1-1.
The back-and-forth nature of the game continued moments later when Sam Dabrowski slipped a puck underneath Steeves to restore the Carolina lead at 2-1.
Once again, the Storm had a response ready. Racing up the ice, Stepan Steshenko beat Beaupit to tie the game again at 2-2, capping a wild stretch of scoring in the first period.
Despite both teams featuring strong goaltenders on paper, the early pace made for a challenging opening frame in the crease.
Quad City took the game’s first penalty late in the period when Jake MacDonald was called for tripping with four minutes remaining, but the Storm penalty kill handled the Carolina power play without trouble.
The Storm received a prime scoring opportunity with just over a minute remaining when a hooking penalty by John Woernler resulted in a penalty shot for Quad City. The chance went unanswered, however, keeping the score locked at 2-2 heading into the first intermission.
Second Period
Quad City grabbed its first lead of the night early in the second.
After a slick setup from Nick Pennucci, Leif Mattson found himself alone in front and slid the puck underneath Beaupit to give the Storm a 3-2 advantage.
Penalties soon began to shape the middle frame.
With 6:18 remaining, MacDonald was called for an illegal check to the head, sending Carolina to the power play. Quad City killed the penalty, but their discipline continued to slip as another MacDonald tripping penalty gave Carolina yet another opportunity.
Moments later, Dmitri Toporowski added a slashing penalty, putting the Reapers on a 5-on-3 power play — a golden opportunity to get back into the game.
Carolina took advantage.
After the Storm killed the first portion of the penalties, Sam Dabrowski struck again, finding the back of the net to tie the game 3-3.
Late in the period, Carolina took its first penalty of the night when Ayodele Adeniye was called for boarding with just over a minute remaining. Quad City was unable to capitalize before the horn, and the teams headed to the second intermission tied 3-3.
Third Period
Carolina successfully killed the remaining penalty from the previous period to start the third, but discipline soon became an issue.
With 14:41 remaining, Graeme McCrory was called for holding, giving Quad City another power play. Carolina’s penalty kill held strong.
Tempers began to rise midway through the period.
A scrum broke out with 11:07 remaining, resulting in a tripping penalty for Colton Wilkie, the player whose earlier infraction helped spark the altercation.
The Reapers once again killed the penalty, but Wilkie returned to the box shortly afterward for slashing, putting the Storm on yet another man advantage.
Carolina’s penalty kill continued to stand tall, keeping the Storm off the scoreboard despite the steady parade to the box.
Neither side was able to break the tie before the end of regulation, sending the game to overtime tied at 3-3.
Overtime & Shootout
Overtime solved nothing as both teams traded chances but failed to find the decisive goal.
The contest moved to a shootout, where Quad City ultimately came out on top.
After Carolina converted once in the early rounds, Quad City responded late and sealed the win in the sixth round of the shootout to claim the shootout victory.
Final Thoughts
While the Quad City Storm skated away with the extra point, the Carolina Reapers still earned a valuable point in the standings after a hard-fought battle.
For Carolina, the biggest takeaway may be the resilience shown throughout the night. The Reapers battled back multiple times and leaned heavily on their penalty kill in the third period to force overtime.
In a league as tight as the SPHL, even single points can make a difference — and if Carolina can string together a few strong performances like this one, they could still find themselves right back in the playoff conversation.
