Kearney, NE — The Sioux Falls Stampede extended their lead atop the Western Conference with a 6–3 win over the Tri-City Storm on Friday night. JJ Monteiro led the way with two goals and two assists, while Brock Schultz scored the game-winning goal in the third period. Goaltender Linards Feldbergs made several key stops to earn his 28th win of the season.

The game opened with a calm first period as both teams traded limited offensive chances. At 14:13, the Herd received their first power play opportunity when Tri-City's Bode Laylin was called for interference. Just 40 seconds into the advantage, defenseman Jake Prunty got Sioux Falls on the board with a quick one-timer from the high slot after a pass from Tobias Öhman.

Despite outshooting the Storm 15–5 in the opening frame, the Stampede carried only a 1–0 lead into the intermission.

Sioux Falls extended its lead four minutes into the second period. The play began when Brent Solomon kept the puck in the offensive zone before Thomas Zocco sent a pass toward the front of the net. Monteiro finished the play by slipping the puck past the Tri-City goaltender.

The momentum shifted at 12:03 when Connor Brown was assessed a major penalty for slew-footing. Tri-City capitalized quickly, scoring a shorthanded goal after winning the ensuing faceoff. In a surprising sequence, the Storm struck again just 37 seconds later with another shorthanded tally to tie the game. Despite outshooting Tri-City 14–7 in the period, Sioux Falls headed into the second intermission tied.

The action intensified in the third period. At 6:03, the Storm grabbed their first lead of the night on a goal from Cameron Springer.

Sioux Falls responded just over a minute later. Thomas Zocco scored his 17th goal of the season with a quick shot to the stick side, with Monteiro picking up the assist.

After successfully killing off a minor penalty, the Stampede regained the lead when Brock Schultz buried a rebound, backhanding the puck past the goaltender on the stick side.

With 2:02 remaining, Tri-City pulled its goaltender in an attempt to rally, but Sioux Falls sealed the game with empty-net goals from Monteiro and Christian Chouha.

The Stampede finished with a commanding 41–19 edge in shots on goal in the 6–3 victory. Combined with a Fargo Force loss, Sioux Falls now holds a five-point lead in the Western Conference.

The Stampede and Storm return to action Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. The game will be available on FloHockey and on KELO Radio.