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USHL Sioux Falls Stampede

Courtnall's Goal Lifts Herd Past Bucs 3-2

April 1, 2016 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Sioux Falls Stampede News Release


Urbandale, IA-Lawton Courtnall's goal with just under eight minutes remaining in regulation proved to be the game winner as the Sioux Falls Stampede held off the Des Moines Buccaneers 3-2 Friday night at Buccaneer Arena. The win kept the Herd (28-24-4) just two points back of Fargo for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with four games remaining.

Parker Tuomie and Carson Gicewicz also tallied goals in the game while Stefanos Lekkas continued his dominance between the pipes, stopping 37 of 39 shots for his 22nd win of the season. The win was the Herd's 10th on the road this season and fifth in their last six games.

In a back-and-forth first period, the Bucs would tally the only goal at 7:01 when Georgy Gorodetsky wristed as shot from the right circle into the upper right hand corner of the net to give the Bucs a 1-0 lead. They would take that lead into the locker room, outshooting the Herd 12-10.

The Herd tied the game just 3:35 into the second period when Parker Tuomie tucked in a goal for his team leading 28th goal of the season. Tuomie won a puck battle behind the net from Des Moines goaltender Jan Ruzicka and wrapped the puck into the net before Ruzicka could get back to stop it. That gave the Herd a boost and help lead to their first lead of the night at 9:29 when Carson Gicewicz tallied his seventh goal of the year. Jack Becker and Jack Doremus helped work the puck in front of the net and got a shot off that was stopped, but Gicewicz was there for the rebound and squeaked it past Ruzicka and the goal line to give Sioux Falls a 2-1 lead after two periods.

The Bucs would tie the game 4:35 into the third period when Brendan Demler deflected a shot from Ty Pelton-Byce past Lekkas to make it a 2-2 game. The shot came from the high slot and Demler was able to get his stick on it to redirect the shot past the pads of Lekkas. It remained tied until the 12:17 mark when Nolan Nicholas chipped the puck off the glass to Lawton Courtnall who used his speed to beat out the Bucs defense and then cut in front of the net before wristed a shot past the stick side of Ruzikca to give the Stampede a 3-2 advantage.

Things got interesting late as the only penalty of the game came with 1:45 left in regulation when Stefanos Lekkas was flagged for tripping, giving the Bucs a power play, Des Moines pulled their goaltender to create a 6-on-4 advantage, but Lekkas and the Stampede defense held off the Bucs attack and held on for a huge victory.

Des Moines outshot the Herd 39-26 on the night and went 0-for-1 while not committing one penalty in the game. The Stampede return to action Saturday night when they travel to Lincoln for another big Western Conference showdown with the Stars at 7:05 PM. Fans can catch the game live on KELO News Talk 1320-AM, 107.9-FM and KELO.com starting at 6:40 PM.

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