Sioux Falls, S.D. — The Sioux Falls Stampede kicked off the New Year in dominant fashion, earning a 6–1 victory over the Omaha Lancers. The Herd saw goals from Brent Solomon, Anthony Bongo, Ryder Betzold, Cooper Soller, Thomas Zocco, and Logan Renkowski, while goaltender Linards Feldbergs continued his strong play between the pipes.

The first period began at a slower pace, but momentum quickly shifted after Brent Solomon opened the scoring with a one-timer that beat Lancers goaltender Devin Shakar stick side. Shortly after, Anthony Bongo found the back of the net with a shot from his knees, assisted by Jack Brauti and Solomon.

At 9:42, Omaha took its first penalty of the night on a tripping call. With just one second remaining on the power play, Ryder Betzold buried a shot from the low slot to extend the Herd's lead, with an assist from JJ Monteiro.

At 13:05, the puck became tangled in front of the net, leading to a stoppage in play. After a successful Stampede challenge, the goal was awarded to Cooper Soller, assisted by Juho Keinanen. Omaha challenged the play for goaltender interference, but after review, the call stood. Shortly after, Soller was whistled for goalie interference, but the Herd successfully killed the penalty.

The Stampede closed out the period strong when Thomas Zocco carried the puck the length of the ice and scored off the crossbar at 18:21, giving Sioux Falls a commanding lead heading into the first intermission.
The second period got underway with an early power-play opportunity for the Herd at 3:22, but they were unable to convert. Soon after, Sioux Falls earned another power play, and Logan Renkowski capitalized, finishing on a wide-open net after the Omaha goaltender was knocked out of the crease. Assists on the goal went to Brent Solomon and Thomas Zocco.

The Lancers got on the board at 8:12 with their lone goal of the night. Tensions rose later in the period as Logan Renkowski and Charlie Vig received matching roughing penalties.

Scoring slowed in the third period, but physical play and penalties picked up significantly. The Herd was called for their first penalty of the period just 11 seconds in. At 3:12, a scrum broke out, resulting in Jack Brauti receiving a double minor for roughing, George Lovell being assessed a minor for roughing, and Charlie Vig picking up a total of 24 penalty minutes for various infractions. Despite earning a power play, the Stampede were unable to add to their total.

The physicality continued at 5:53 when Wade Weil received a minor for unsportsmanlike conduct, followed by a slashing penalty to Omaha's Ryan Reynolds. Shortly after, Joe McGraw was sent off for high-sticking, and the Lancers took three additional penalties over the remainder of the period.

Sioux Falls outshot Omaha 44–30 on the night. Feldbergs stopped 29 shots, improving his record to 15-7-1-0 while posting a .914 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average.

The Herd will travel to Des Moines for a matchup against the Buccaneers on Friday before returning home to the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center to face the Omaha Lancers once again. Fans can look forward to Hockey Day presented by Lift Pro Equipment, where the first 1,000 fans will receive a Stampede bucket hat. Tickets for both games can be found here.