Fargo, N.D. – The Sioux Falls Stampede earned a 5-2 win against the Force on their Star Wars Night. Cooper Soller and Joey Macrina netted goals, while three empty-net goals sealed the victory. Linards Feldbergs stayed steady between the pipes with a 30-save performance.

The first period produced nothing notable for the scoresheet but brought plenty of opportunities for both teams. The back-and-forth between both sides was reflected in the shots on goal, with the Force edging out the Herd 12-11 after a late-period push. Feldbergs was able to fend off the Force's late surge to keep them off the board.

The action picked up in the second period, with the Herd earning the first power play of the night at 2:41. Sioux Falls was unable to convert on the power play and even gave up a shorthanded opportunity that Feldbergs saved. Just before the penalty expired, the Stampede were on a push that led to contact with the Fargo goaltender and the net coming off. The Force challenged the play for a major penalty on Monteiro for goaltender interference, but after review, the referees ruled no penalty on the play. Fargo lost their challenge and timeout. Tensions between the two teams continued to rise when Thomas Holtby and Arseni Marchenko dropped the gloves, earning themselves five-minute and ten-minute penalties.

The action between the two teams settled down until the Herd netted the first goal of the game. Cooper Soller earned his sixth of the season with a quick bar-down wrister, assisted by Thomas Zocco and JJ Monteiro. Shortly after, Soller took a penalty for delay of game to put Sioux Falls on their first penalty kill of the night. They killed off the penalty, and at 18:02, the Force took an extra shot at goaltender Linards Feldbergs, which the Herd took exception to. A brawl between the two teams ensued, but no penalties were handed out on the play.

Sioux Falls extended their lead with a top-shelf goal from Joey Macrina at 8:53. Macrina received a smooth pass from Brent Solomon, after Logan Renkowski won a board battle, and sent the puck over Lendak's stick side. The game slowed down until 17:21, when Logan Renkowski netted the Herd's first empty-net goal with a shot from the defensive-zone faceoff dot. Sioux Falls appeared to be comfortable with a 3-0 lead, but the Force scored just nine seconds later after Zac Zimmerman was left alone in front of the net. The Stampede looked to have a perfect opportunity to close out the game when the Force took a tripping penalty. Fargo pulled goaltender Alan Lendak to move back to 5-on-5 action, and the move worked as Cullen McCrate put the Force within one. The Herd closed out the win with empty-net goals from Joey Macrina and JJ Monteiro. The Herd earned the weekend split with a 5-2 win after outshooting the Force 37-32.

Linards Feldbergs moves to 7-3-1-0 on the season after a 30-save performance. He now holds a .913 save percentage and a 2.26 goals-against average.

The Stampede will now head to Ohio to take on the Youngstown Phantoms next Friday and Saturday. The group does not return home until November 26, when they will take on the Force for the inaugural Sioux Falls Stampede Corgi Races.