SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The Sioux Falls Stampede needed to come back with a bit of bite to their game after a shutout loss to the Fargo Force on Saturday night, and boy, did they do just that against the Lincoln Stars on Monday.
Lincoln would hand Sioux Falls its first of seven power plays of the night just 45 seconds into the game, but it would take 3:51 for the Herd to score their first goal of the night off the stick of Anthony Bongo, his second of the season. It would only take 31 seconds for Cooper Soller to double the lead with his fifth of the year. Soller would stand up for himself at 15:42, dropping the gloves with Lincoln's Will Kortan; both would receive a five for fighting and a ten-minute misconduct, but the Herd would pick up a power play as Lincoln's Brady Sloper would also be sent off for five (head-contact) and a ten-minute head-contact misconduct. While the Stampede power play has been struggling to get going this season, it clicked Monday night, with Ryder Betzold picking up a goal at 16:04.
The second period saw a goal from Vojtech Švancar with 1:21 remaining in the period, and Will Kortan taking a high-sticking double minor at the buzzer for the Stars.
Jackson Rudh would pick up a goal while shorthanded 2:11 into the third period, as the Stampede remained on the power play from Kortan's double major, and Švancar would restore the four-goal lead with his second of the night with 21 seconds remaining on the power play. Švancar's goal would come with Joey Macrina's fourth assist of the night. 12:51 into the final frame, Stars captain Evan Malkhassian would net his first goal of the season, trying to spark a late comeback for Lincoln. It would be too little too late, however, and Švancar would put the final nail in the coffin, completing his first USHL hat trick with 1:45 to remain in the game.
Stars netminder Lukas Stuhrmann would finish the night with 32 saves on 38 shots while, in his first game back from injury, Ilya Nikitins would stop 28-of-30 in the Stampede. Nikitins improves to 2-0-0-0 and a .938 SV% on the season.
The Stampede hit the road for a pair of cross-conference games against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Friday and Saturday before returning home for a Tuesday night puck drop against the Lincoln Stars once again. Get your tickets for Tuesday's game now and get ready for Wizards Night!
About The Sioux Falls Stampede
Established in 1999, the Sioux Falls Stampede is a proud member of the United States Hockey League (USHL), the nation's only Tier I junior hockey league and leading producer of both NCAA players and National Hockey League draft picks in the United States. The organization has set out to achieve excellence in on- and off-ice performance since its inception. The Sioux Falls Stampede plays home games out of the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, providing players with a taste of high-stakes, high-adrenaline hockey in front of sold-out crowds of over 11,000 fans.
