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 Sioux Falls Stampede

Stampede Rout Black Hawks 6-0 in Final Game Before Holiday Break

December 18, 2016 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Sioux Falls Stampede News Release


Sioux Falls, SD-Jack Becker and Josh Passolt both tallied two goals each and Mikhali (ME-kale) Berdin (BERD-IN) stopped all 40 shots faced for his second shutout of the season as the Stampede routed the Waterloo Black Hawks 6-0 Sunday night before 4,447 fans at the PREMIER Center. The Stampede closed out their three games in three day weekend with five of a possible six points to improve to 11-12-2 and into sixth place in the West as they head into a week break for the holidays. There are no USHL games this week and the Herd return to practice on December 27th. With the win the Herd are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.

The Stampede were hoping to carry some of that momentum over from the previous night at Sioux City and did just that with a three goal first period. Sioux Falls wasted no time getting things going scoring just 1:09 into the period when Jack Doremus deflected in a blast from Paul DeNaples to give Sioux Falls a 1-0 lead. It stayed that way until the midway point of the period when the Herd found themselves on the penalty kill, but they were the ones taking advantage scoring their fifth shorthanded goal of the year at 10:35. Jason O'Neill fought past a check along the left wing boards and into the Waterloo zone on a 2-on-1 where he sent a perfect pass into the slot or Josh Passolt who quickly one-timed the pass into the back of the net to give Sioux Falls a 2-0 lead.

Less than four minutes later the Herd added to their lead when Passolt scored his second of the night. This time Max Johnson broke into the offensive zone and sent a pass into the slot for Passolt who quickly moved in and faked out goaltender Severi Isokangas and lifted the puck over his stick and into the net for a 3-0 advantage. That would be it for Iskokangas who was sent to the bench for Robbie Beydoun. The Herd would take that lead into the locker room, outshooting the Hawks 14-7.

The second period hasn't always been friendly for the Herd this season, but the Stampede made sure that they wouldn't let this lead slip away. With the Herd still holding a 3-0 lead, Sioux Falls added to their lead at 13:41 when Nathan Dingman found Jack Becker open in front of the net and Becker slipped the puck under the pads of Beydoun to extend their lead to four goals. The Stampede took a 5-0 lead during 4-on-4 hockey with just 33 seconds remaining when Will Garin knocked home his own rebound for his third of the season with assists coming from AJ Villella and Alex Stevens.

Mikhali Berdin was the star of the third period as he made sure to the Black Hawks would get nothing and like it as his Christmas gift, stopping all 20 shots in goal. The Stampede would add one more goal for good measure at 6:27 of the third when Becker tallied his second of the night when he took the puck to the bottom of the left circle and tucked the puck just under the crossbar and past Beydoun to give the Herd a 6-0 advantage. That would be more than enough on this night for the Herd who earned their 11th win of the season and 8th win on home ice.

Sioux Falls outshot Waterloo 43-40 and went 0-for-4 on the power play while going 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.

The Stampede are now off until December 30th when they travel up I-29 to face the Fargo Force at 7:05 PM. The Herd will return home on New Year's Eve to host the Force at 6:05 PM. Fans can ring in the New Year a little early with the Herd then stick around for a post-game skating party after the game. Tickets are available through the KELOLAND Box Office inside the PREMIER Center or any Ticketmaster outlet.

Tickets for the USHL/NHL Top Prospects Luncheon and game on January 10th are on sale now through the Stampede office. The luncheon features keynote speaker Matt Majka, the Chief Operating Officer of the Minnesota Wild along with the top 40 NHL draft eligible players form the USHL. Fans are invited to a skills competition at 6:45 PM that night and the game shortly after. For more information on both call 336-6060 or visit sfstampede.com.


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