The Herd Sweep the Stars with Five Power Play Goals in a 6–2 Win
Lincoln, N.E. – The Herd completed the sweep over the Lincoln Stars with a commanding 6–2 victory, powered by five power play goals and a hat trick from
Logan Renkowski. Sioux Falls also saw goals from Joseph McGraw,
Cooper Soller, and
Brock Schultz in the win.
The first period opened on a tough note for the Herd as
Brock Schultz was called for slashing less than a minute into the game. The Stars capitalized, taking an early 1–0 lead. Sioux Falls responded quickly when they earned their first power play and Renkowski buried a one-timer from the high slot to tie the game. Assists went to
Jake Prunty and
Brent Solomon.
The period remained largely quiet until 15:04, when
Dane Sorensen was assessed a five-minute major for head contact. The Herd killed off the entire major, backed by several strong stops from goaltender
Linards Feldbergs. Sioux Falls outshot Lincoln 16–13 in the opening frame.
The Herd killed off the remaining four seconds of Sorensen's major to start the second period, then immediately went back to the power play.
Joe McGraw slipped a shot through the five-hole to give the Herd their first lead of the night, assisted by
Thomas Zocco and
JJ Monteiro.
Tensions rose as
Nick Snyder and Alex Pelletier were given matching roughing minors, with Pelletier also receiving a five-minute major for checking. Minutes later, more roughing penalties sent
Jake Prunty to the box with a double minor, giving Lincoln a shortened power play that the Herd successfully killed.
After both teams traded unsuccessful power plays, the Stars tied the game 2–2 with a goal following a holding call on Solomon. Sioux Falls answered quickly. On their fifth power play of the night,
Cooper Soller buried a low-slot rebound to regain the lead, assisted by McGraw and Zocco.
At 18:50,
Brock Schultz extended the Herd's lead to 4–2 with a shot placed just under the crossbar and into the upper-left corner. Sioux Falls dominated the period, outshooting Lincoln 22–5.
The third period saw emotions continue to escalate, with multiple major and minor penalties assessed to the Stars. The Herd were unable to convert early in the period, but at 10:17,
Logan Renkowski struck again, ripping a one-timer from the low slot on the power play. Assists went to
Brock Schultz and
Joey Macrina.
Sioux Falls stayed on the power play, and
Logan Renkowski completed the hat trick with a wrister from the high slot—his third of the night and the Herd's fifth power play goal.
Penalties continued to pile up for Lincoln. At 12:58,
Brent Solomon received a five-minute major and a ten-minute misconduct for fighting, while Stars forward Drew DellaSalla was also given five minutes. Another five-minute penalty on Lincoln followed shortly after, and Stars head coach Rocky Russo was eventually ejected from the game. The Herd outshot the Stars 13–5 in the third.
Linards Feldbergs made several impressive stops tonight, finishing with 21 saves. He now moves to a 9-4-1-0 record with a .911 save percentage and a 2.34 goals-against average.
Sioux Falls now heads to Chicago next weekend for a back-to-back series against the Steel. The Herd return to the PREMIER Center on the 26th for the inaugural Corgi Race, presented by Tito's Vodka for Dog People.
