SIOUX FALLS, S.D.— The Sioux Falls Stampede took down the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders by a score of five to two on Superhero Night in Sioux Falls. Gennadi Chaly found two goals for the Stampede while Hayden Reid, JJ Wiebusch and John McNelis each added their own. Caleb Heil backstopped the Herd's win, sending the team to 15-2-1-1 this season and adding two more points to their third-place position in the Western Conference.
Cedar Rapids found the back of Heil's net quickly in the first period, gaining the 1-0 advantage 4:25 into the game. Not allowing the RoughRiders to hold their lead for long, Hayden Reid stole the puck at the Stampede's blue line, chasing it down the ice and hitting the back of the net from the stick-side faceoff dot of Cedar Rapids. The Herd would be tabbed with the first penalty of the night at the 10:05 mark, but was able to kill it off. With under five minutes to play, defenseman Gennadi Chaly found the back of the net with help from Egor Barabanov, putting the Herd up 2-1 to close the first frame.
The second period played out similarly to the first, one Cedar Rapids goal and two for the Stampede. Chaly earned his second goal of the night just 1:57 into the period, around one minute after the RoughRiders tied it at two goals each. His tenth goal of the season was assisted by JJ Wiebusch and Beckett Hendrickson. Wiebusch went on to earn his own goal, his second of the weekend, on a powerplay, assisted by Tyler Borgula and Beckett Hendrickson.
The third frame proved to be eventful for the penalty box side of the ice. The Herd was served with three minor penalties and a 10-minute misconduct, two minors and the misconduct on Will McDonough and one minor on newcomer Dean Letourneau. Cedar Rapids also earned two penalties, a minor and a misconduct. The Stampede's John McNelis was the only one to change the scoreboard as he backhanded an empty netter with 1:09 left to play in the game, sealing the deal.
Caleb Heil's 26-save performance landed him the second Star of the Night nod in his first start since returning from the World Jr. A Challenge in Nova Scotia. Allowing just two goals off 28 shots, he tallied a .929 save percentage and found his sixth win of the season, now 6-6-0. He holds a cumulative save percentage of .869 and goals-against average of 3.48.
The fun continues into Sunday evening for the Stampede's New Year's Eve Bash against the Des Moines Buccaneers. Another 6:05 p.m. puck drop, the Herd will also host a skating party following the game for fans in attendance. More information on the game is available on the Stampede website. Tickets for all Stampede home games are available now through the KELOLAND box office, Stampede office, or any Ticketmaster outlets.
