SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The Sioux Falls Stampede will travel to Middleton, Wis., to take on the Capitols following the postponement of Tuesday's game against the Des Moines Buccaneers.

The Stampede head to Madison after collecting four points against the USA NTDP U17s. Sioux Falls delivered a dominant performance Friday night, scoring 11 goals with 10 different goal scorers. Juho Keianen led the way with two goals, while rookies Cade Strom and Jake Prunty both netted their first of the season. Cooper Soller paced the Herd with a five-point night. Sioux Falls outshot NTDP 52–29, with goaltender Waylon Esche making 26 saves.

The Herd followed up with another win on Saturday. Four players contributed to the team's five-goal effort, including newly added defenseman Markus Jakobsen, who recorded his first goal. After a feisty finish, the Stampede came away with a 5–2 victory. With three games completed last week, Sioux Falls sits three points ahead of the Fargo Force in the Western Conference with 31 points.

The Madison Capitols return to action after having last weekend off. The Caps last played on Nov. 21–22, facing the USA Hockey NTDP U17s in Plymouth, Mich. They earned a 5–2 win on Friday after a two-goal second period broke the game open. Star goaltender—and former Herd netminder—Caleb Heil made 12 saves in the win. On Saturday, Heil stopped all 16 shots he faced in an 8–0 shutout. Stephen Cover led the team with three points (2g, 1a), while Gustavs Griva added two goals. With the sweep, Madison improved to 12-6-0-2 and now sits sixth in the Eastern Conference with 26 points.

Both teams will be without their head coaches and several players due to the World Junior A Challenge in Quebec. The Herd will be missing rookie defenseman Jake Prunty, who is currently tied for second in rookie scoring with 15 points and ranks seventh among USHL defensemen. Sioux Falls will also be without leading scorer Brent Solomon, who is sixth in USHL scoring with 26 points and has been a major contributor on the power play with 15 power-play points.

The Stampede will still rely on key players such as Thomas Zocco, Logan Renkowski, Cooper Soller, and Lindards Feldbergs. Zocco sits fifth in the league with 17 assists and has 24 points. Renkowski is a major power-play threat, scoring nine power-play goals—second most in the USHL. Feldbergs is tied for second in minutes played and wins and ranks sixth in goals-against average at 2.40. The group will need a "next-man-up" mentality while their top contributors are unavailable.

The Capitols will be without their number-one goaltender, Caleb Heil, who holds a 10-4-1 record with a 2.70 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage. They are also missing defenseman John Stout, who has a +10 rating and six points this season. Backup goaltender Cash Cruitt has appeared in three games, posting a 2-1-0 record with a 2.67 GAA and a .887 save percentage. Madison's additional backup for the weekend will be Brady Krey, who has played just one game this season, taking a loss after allowing four goals. The Capitols will look to team leaders Gavin Uhlenkamp and Gustavs Griva—each with 17 points—to maintain offensive production.

The special-teams battle will be one to watch. The Herd rank fourth in road power-play percentage, converting on 22 of 73 opportunities (30.1%). Madison ranks third on the penalty kill at 83.8% but holds just a 76.7% kill rate at home.

With only five points separating the two teams, this weekend's series should be an entertaining one for fans.

Following the series, the Herd will host the Lincoln Stars on Tuesday night before traveling to Fargo on Friday. They will wrap up the unofficial first half of the season on Saturday against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders for Pink in the Rink Night presented by Sioux Falls Specialty Hospital. Tickets for both home games are available here.