LINCOLN, N.E. — Three first-period goals in rapid succession set the tone for the Sioux Falls Stampede against the Lincoln Stars on Saturday night, en route to a 5-1 Herd win.
Ethan Sung (2027) would kick things off at the 8:11 mark, netting his sixth of the season on the rebound. 1:58 later, Noah Mannausau continued his hot play from the blue line, picking up his fourth of the year. 80 seconds later, Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Cooper Soller would pick up his 11th of the year on a partial breakaway, ending the first period scoring. After a short delay due to a clock issue, the first period would head to intermission with 1:40 remaining on the clock.
Following the intermission, the final 1:40 was played before the netminders switched sides for the second period puck drop. After out shooting the Starts 20-5 in the first period, the Stampede would be outshot 11-7 in the middle frame, but neither team would find any names on the scoresheet outside of the penalty section.
6:20 into the final 20 minutes, Pavel Martinu would get off a shot, despite being surrounded by four Stars skaters, and find the back of the net for his third of the season. 6:01 later, Gavin Clark would slide one past the left pad of Prowse while shorthanded to make it a 5-0 Stampede lead. With 53.3 seconds remaining in regulation, the Stars would break the Herd's shutout bid while on the power play, with a goal from Griffin Sturm.
Ilya Nikitins picked up his fifth win of the season, stopping 21-of-22 Lincoln shots, while in the Stars net, Will Prowse stopped 31 of the 36 Sioux Falls shots in the loss.
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.
