KEARNEY, N.E. —
There's a reason you play a full 60 minutes of hockey in regulation, and it's for moments like what happened for the Sioux Falls Stampede tonight, overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the third period to beat the Tri-City Storm, 6-3.
Ivans Kufterins saw his first start in the USHL, picking up his first win, while forward Vojtech Švancar scored his first goal in the league on the power play.
The first period started similarly to Friday night, with the Stampede coming out of the gate a little stronger, but unable to find the back of the net. Tri-City would get goals from Adam Obusek at the 12:37 mark, while Dylan Krayer would add one of his own at 14:14.
Things would start to shift in the second period, albeit slowly, with forward
Matteo Alvarez picking up his second goal of the season at 3:23 into the frame, going five-hole on the rush with
Leon Buzek. Aleksandr Sokolov would restore the two-goal lead for the Storm just 78 seconds later.
Tri-City would take a penalty 1:47 into the third period, and Vojtech Švancar would only need five seconds on the advantage to stuff one home from directly in front of the Storm net. The floodgates would open after that, with
Ryland Rooney firing a quick shot over the shoulder of Denes to even the score 8:30 into the final frame. 58 seconds later,
Ryder Betzold would send one from the right circle to give the Stampede its first lead of the night.
Max Davis would make an unselfish play, passing to
Ryland Rooney with some open ice, and Rooney would pick up his second of the night just in front of the crease to double the lead for the Herd at 16:38. Once again, with the quick addition, Betzold would make a play from one knee and find the empty net, putting the game to bed with a 6-3 score 50 seconds later.
In his USHL debut,
Ivans Kufterins would stop 25-of-28, securing his first win. Across the ice, Tri-City's Ryan Denes would stop 39-of-44 in the loss.
The Sioux Falls Stampede are back in action tomorrow night, with a rematch against the Tri-City Storm back at the Viaero Center, with puck drop scheduled for 6:05 PM CT.
