FARGO, N.D.— The Sioux Falls Stampede was defeated by the Fargo Force, 12-4, in Fargo on Friday night. Joe Belisle earned his first career United States Hockey League goal while newcomer Hunter Anderson found his first goal in a Stampede jersey. Adding tallies for the Stampede were JJ Wiebusch and Jaksen Panzer while Michael Chambre and Caleb Heil split time in the net.
The Force came out swinging in the first period, scoring three unanswered goals within the first nine minutes. The Herd answered back when passes from Noah Eyre and Egor Barabanov found newcomer Hunter Anderson's stick and he was able to capitalize on his chance at the 8:59 mark. The Force outshot the Herd 20-9 in the first period.
Scoring for both teams picked up in the second period with a total of seven goals between the two teams. Fargo's Mac Swanson tabbed two goals in the first half of the period, adding to his one in the first and earning a hat trick before the halfway point of the game. JJ Wiebusch was able to answer back with help from linemate Beckett Hendrickson and the newest addition to the Herd, defenseman Jake Delaney. Just 29 seconds later, Jaksen Panzer grabbed a turnover and was able to find the back of the net, unassisted. Fargo went on to score three more before the end of the period, sending the game to the third with a score of 8-3 in favor of the Force.
The last frame saw more domination from the Force. Four goals in the period for Fargo, including two from former Stampede forward Michael LaStarza which, combined with his first period goal, gave Fargo the second hat trick of the night. Stampede defenseman Joe Belisle earned his first career USHL goal off helpers from Matthew Grimes and Hunter Anderson at the 8:25 mark in the period.
Michael Chambre had the start in net for the Herd and was relieved of his duties by Caleb Heil midway through the second period. Chambre made 22 saves off of 27 shots on his net during his 27 minutes and 56 seconds in net and was tabbed with his seventh loss of the season. Heil earned just 10 saves off 17 shots on net during his 32 minutes and four seconds. The Stampede's penalty kill unit allowed all four Force powerplays to add goals to the Force's scoreboard. Meanwhile, the Herd did not earn a single powerplay during the game.
The Herd now transforms into the Fighting Wiener Dogs for the 17th Annual Wiener Dog Night, presented by Sioux Nation Pet Clinic, tomorrow evening. Information on the game is available on the Stampede website. There are limited tickets available for this game, so fans are encouraged to get theirs as soon as possible. Tickets for all Stampede home games are available now through the KELOLAND box office, Stampede office, or any Ticketmaster outlets.
