Sioux Falls, S.D. – The Sioux Falls Stampede will hit the road for games on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, marking their first matchups since clinching a playoff spot last Saturday. On Saturday, the Stampede will travel down I-29 to face the Musketeers in a 6:05 p.m. game before heading to Omaha to take on the Lancers at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday.

The Stampede enter the twenty-third weekend of the season with a guaranteed spot in the Clark Cup Playoffs. Holding second place in the Western Conference standings, the Herd have a nine-point cushion over the third-place Waterloo Black Hawks and trail the first-place Lincoln Stars by seven points. Last weekend, the Stampede secured their playoff berth after earning two points in two games. On Friday night, they suffered a tough loss after surrendering a 2-0 lead to ultimately fall to the Buccaneers 4-3. The loss delayed the team's clinching opportunity. However, the disappointment fueled their performance on Saturday. Goals from Adyn Merrick and Logan Renkowski sent the Stampede into the locker room with a 2-0 lead. Noah Urness added another tally just a minute into the second period, but a Musketeers power play allowed Sioux City to get on the board before adding two more goals early in the second period. The Stampede regained the lead when Ben Wilmott buried a slick shot from just outside the low slot. The victory was sealed moments later when Gennadi Chaly converted his second penalty shot in as many weeks. The 5-3 win, combined with a Des Moines Buccaneers loss, secured the Stampede's playoff spot at the earliest point in franchise history.

Before Saturday's loss, the Sioux City Musketeers hosted the Tri-City Storm on Friday night. A late goal in the first period put Sioux City behind at the first intermission. The Tri-City Storm extended their lead in the second period, but two Musketeers goals in the final three minutes of the frame evened the score heading into the third. However, the Storm reclaimed the lead just 1:05 into the period, and an empty-net goal with 1:02 left in regulation secured a 4-2 defeat for Sioux City. The Musketeers are now on a three-game losing streak and hold just a two-point advantage over the Tri-City Storm for sixth place in the Western Conference. Before facing the Stampede, Sioux City will play a home-and-home series against the Lincoln Stars, beginning Thursday night in Lincoln before returning home for the rematch.

The Omaha Lancers sit at the bottom of the USHL standings with just 18 points this season. Their last win came on November 16th in an overtime victory against the Stampede. Since then, they have gone 0-26-3-1. Last weekend, the Lancers traveled to Plymouth, M.I., to take on the USA NTDP U17s. Despite taking a two-goal lead in the first period, Omaha surrendered a goal less than two minutes later. Team USA tied the game just two minutes into the second period and then took their first lead of the night at 14:53, which proved to be the game-winner. The Lancers fell 6-3 on Saturday as well, despite leading 2-1 after the first period. Four second-period goals from the U17s sealed Omaha's loss. Before Sunday's game against Sioux Falls, the Lancers will host the Tri-City Storm on Saturday in hopes of breaking their 30-game losing streak.

Following this weekend, the Stampede will host the Youngstown Phantoms at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center on March 14th and 15th. Friday night is Hockey Talks Night, presented by Two Men and a Truck. The Stampede will wear special warm-up jerseys, which will be available for auction starting Monday. The organization will also host its first-ever Crazy Sock Toss, where fans can bring new, fun socks to throw onto the ice after the first goal. All donated socks will go to a local mental health organization.

On Saturday, March 15th, the Stampede will celebrate Stomp's Birthday! The first 500 fans will receive the third set in the 2024-25 Stampede trading card series, courtesy of Midwestern Mechanical. Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. for the biggest birthday party of the year!

Tickets for both games can be purchased here.