Sioux Falls, S.D. – The Sioux Falls Stampede will play three games in five days, with a chance to clinch a Clark Cup Playoff spot on the line. On Tuesday, they will host the Des Moines Buccaneers before traveling to Iowa on Friday to take on the Buccaneers again. The team will then return home to face their 1-29 rival, the Sioux City Musketeers, on Saturday. With a magic number of 7, the Stampede have the opportunity to clinch a Clark Cup Playoff berth at the earliest date in over a decade.
The Herd entered this week after splitting their series last weekend. On Friday, stellar goaltending on both ends of the ice resulted in a 2-1 victory against the Lincoln Stars.
Logan Renkowski scored the team's lone goal in the third period. They followed the performance up with a dominant 5-1 win over the Tri-City Storm on Saturday. Sioux Falls had one of their slowest starts of the season, conceding a goal just 4:09 into the contest. However, they responded with three goals before the end of the first period.
Ritter Coombs scored his first goal in blue and gold with a snipe from the high slot.
Ben Wilmott gave the Herd the lead at 16:29 with a tip-in off a
Javon Moore shot. To close the period, the Stampede were awarded a penalty shot after Tri-City's McEwen covered the puck on a scoring opportunity.
Gennadi Chaly capitalized on the opportunity, giving his team a two-goal lead heading into the first intermission.
Sam Spehar added a goal at the end of the second period with a tip-in from a
JJ Monteiro shot. Wilmott sealed the game for the Herd with a power-play goal in the final frame. The Stampede will look to build on this momentum in the coming week.
The Des Moines Buccaneers remain in contention for the final Clark Cup Playoff spot, trailing the Tri-City Storm by just six points. However, they enter the weekend on a five-game losing streak. Last weekend, they were shutout by the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Friday before traveling to Sioux City. On Saturday, they suffered a 6-1 loss to the Musketeers after conceding three goals in the first half of the third period. Following Friday's game, the Buccaneers will host the Tri-City Storm as the two teams battle for a playoff spot.
Sioux Falls and Des Moines have faced off twice this season. Their first matchup was on October 26 in Des Moines, where the Stampede mounted a comeback to secure a 6-4 victory. After conceding three goals in the first half of the game, Captain
Brock James sparked the rally before
Austin Baker and
Alexei Vlasov each netted two goals in the final frame. The Stampede hosted the Buccaneers for the first time on New Year's Eve, securing a tight 3-2 victory thanks to a late goal from
Sam Spehar. This week's games will conclude the season series between the two teams.
The Sioux City Musketeers enter the weekend in a strong position for a Clark Cup Playoff spot. Sitting fourth in the Western Conference standings, they are four points behind the Waterloo Black Hawks and one point ahead of the fifth-place Fargo Force. Last weekend, they earned a 6-1 win over the Des Moines Buccaneers but suffered a 5-1 loss to the Tri-City Storm. In that game, Sioux City conceded three goals in the second period and scored their lone goal nearly halfway through the third, only to give up another goal 13 seconds later. Before the final buzzer, the Musketeers allowed one more goal, sealing their 5-1 defeat. Before Saturday's matchup, the Musketeers will host the Storm once again.
Tuesday is
Marines Night for the Stampede, featuring a special pregame ceremony and a mock swearing-in during the second intermission. The Groove Drumline will perform during the first intermission.
Saturday marks the Stampede's first-ever
Non-Profit Night presented by Bluestone Federal Credit Union. Several local non-profits will be present with informational tables throughout the concourse. Additionally, on Tuesday, the Stampede will launch their From The Vault Non-Profit Night Auction, allowing fans to bid on specialty jerseys from the past five seasons, with proceeds benefiting non-profits at the game. The auction will go live on DASH at 2:00pm. During the first intermission, the Sioux Falls Figure Skating Club will perform their Theatre on Ice show. The second intermission will feature Worthington Youth Hockey and Chuck-A-Puck. Proceeds from Chuck-A-Puck will go to Sioux Falls Flash Softball.
Tickets to both games can be purchased by calling the Stampede office at (605) 275-4625 or by clicking
here.
