Stampede Roll over Muskegon 6-1 to Take 2-0 Series Lead
May 10, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Sioux Falls Stampede News Release
Muskegon, MI-Just one win away. The Sioux Falls Stampede scored five times in the second period on their way to a 6-1 rout of the Muskegon Lumberjacks in Game 2 of the Clark Cup Final Saturday night at L.C. Walker Arena. The Stampede now lead the best-of-five series 2-0 and can capture their second Clark Cup title in team history on Friday night at the PREMIER Center when they host Muskegon in Game 3. Tickets are on sale now through the PREMIER Center Box Office or any Ticketmaster outlet.
Kieffer Bellows tallied two goals and an assist while Joey Raats, Troy Loggins, Lawton Courtnall and Collin Peters all scored in the victory for the Stampede who have won five straight playoff games. Stefanos Lekkas improved to 8-3 in the playoffs, stopping 29 of 30 shots in goal for the Herd who swept the weekend series in Muskegon.
For the second straight night, neither team scored in the first period, but the second period provided plenty of excitement. Mikey Eyssimont took the puck behind the Muskegon goal line and sent a perfect pass in front of the net where defenseman Joey Raats slid and one-timed the puck into the back of the net just 1:09 into the period for his first of the playoffs. 10 seconds later, Kieffer Bellows intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, brought the puck over the Muskegon blue line and blasted a shot into the upper left hand corner of the net past Eric Schierhorn and just like that, it was 2-0 Sioux Falls. Muskegon nearly got on the board over the next five minutes, but Lekkas was on top of his game once again and shut down the Lumberjack offense to keep it 2-0.
Later in the period, the Lumberjacks would commit some penalties and the Herd would make them pay on the scoreboard. Kieffer Bellows blasted a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced back inside the crease where Troy Loggins dove in and knocked in the loose puck on the power play at 10:02 to increase the lead to 3-0. It was Loggins 9th of the playoffs and league leading 14th point. Two minutes later the Herd were back on the power play and converted again, this time Dakota Joshua's shot was blocked and redirected to Collin Peters who slapped home the puck for his first of the playoffs to make it a 4-0 game. The assist for Joshua extend his point scoring streak to six games and he now ranks second in USHL playoff scoring with 13 points. The Herd were done yet though, Lawton Courtnall picked up a loose puck off a face-off draw and wristed the shot past Schierhorn's glove side to give Sioux Falls a commanding 5-0 lead after two periods. The game did get chippy towards the end of the period when Mark Petaccio was given a major penalty and game misconduct for head contact. Sioux Falls outshot Muskegon 20-11 in the period and began the third on the power play.
The Stampede were unable to convert on the power play, but the game remained 5-0 until Mattheson Iacopelli broke Stefanos Lekkas shutout bid with a goal at 13:25 with the goalie pulled. Any chance of a comeback was squashed just seconds later when Bellows scored on an empty net for his second of the night and 8th of the playoffs. The Herd would take the game 6-1 and take a 2-0 series lead.
The Herd now return home for Game 3 of the series this Friday. Fans can purchase tickets through the PREMIER Center Box Office, Ticketmaster or by calling the Stampede office at 336-6060. Friday will also be a "Blue Out" where fans are encouraged to wear Stampede blue to the game. Everyone sitting in the lower bowl will receive a free blue Stampede playoff tee-shirt, courtesy of Sioux Falls Specialty Hospital. If necessary, Game 4 will be Sunday at 6:05 PM at the PREMIER Center. Details on pre-game festivities will be announced in the coming days.
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United States Hockey League Stories from May 10, 2015
- Stampede Roll over Muskegon 6-1 to Take 2-0 Series Lead - Sioux Falls Stampede
- Matheson Iacopelli Nets a Single, Sioux Falls Grabs 2-0 Clark Cup Final Series Lead - Muskegon Lumberjacks
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