SIOUX FALLS, S.D.— The Sioux Falls Stampede fell, 6-1, to the Fargo Force in night two of a two-game homestand on Saturday night. Hayden Reid tallied the only goal for the Stampede while Caleb Heil stopped 33 shots while in net.
Former Stampede player turned Fargo Force forward Michael LaStarza started the scoring off very early in the first period, just 34 seconds in. The Herd's Hayden Reid answered back around six minutes later with his sixth goal of the season, assisted by Zach Nehring and Will McDonough. The Force went on to score three more goals prior to the end of the first period, making it 4-1 in favor of the Force.
A scoreless second period did see action in the penalty box as the Herd and Force would both be served with two penalties each. Following a solo minor penalty on Fargo, at the 11:32 mark Will McDonough went into battle against former teammate Michael LaStarza. Both players, along with the Herd's Zach Nehring, were all served with two-minute minor penalties.
The final frame was looking to be equally as uneventful for the scoreboard until Fargo found two goals in one minute with just over five minutes remaining. This opened the floodgates for fighting and penalties to happen, at one point even pulling Fargo goaltender Anton Castro into the mix. Iiro Hakkarainen and Grant Dillard were each given 10-minute misconducts for continuing altercations with just over a minute remaining.
Caleb Heil found his first start in almost a month during tonight's matchup and was served with his ninth loss of the season, moving his record to 6-9-1-0. Heil saw 39 shots on his net and was able to stop 33 of those. In the end, Heil marked a .846 save percentage, moving his season statistics to a 4.03 goals-against average and .860 save percentage.
The Herd and Force will meet again next week on Friday in Fargo for a single game before the Herd comes back and changes into the Sioux Falls Fighting Wiener Dogs. The 17th Annual Sioux Nation Pet Clinic Wiener Dog Night is set for Saturday and the team has a full lineup of fun and entertainment planned for the biggest night of the year. More information will come next week. Tickets for all Stampede home games are available now through the KELOLAND box office, Stampede office, or any Ticketmaster outlets.
