USHL Sioux Falls Stampede

Stampede Clinch Playoff Berth in Front over 10,000 Fans

Published on April 8, 2016 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Sioux Falls Stampede News Release


Sioux Falls, SD-With a spot in the playoffs on the line, the Sioux Falls Stampede rallied from a 1-0 deficit to score two goals in the third and top the Fargo Force 2-1 before a boisterous crowd of 10,357 fans at the PREMIER Center. The win was the Herd's sixth straight and clinched the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with one game remaining in the regular season. It marks the fourth straight season the Herd have qualified for postseason play. Sioux Falls will face either Tri-City or Lincoln beginning next week on the road. The Herd will host Game 3 of their playoff series on Friday, April 22nd and, if necessary, Game 4 on April 24th. A complete playoff schedule and ticket information will be available after the game tomorrow night.

It marked the third time this season the Herd have had a crowd of over 10,000 fans and pushed the Stampede to a USHL record 200,597 fans for the season, surpassing last year's record of 191,280 in 30 games. Sioux Falls finished not only first in attendance in the USHL with an average of 6,687 fans which ranks amongst some of the highest in collegiate and professional hockey.

Sioux Falls was led by "Mr. April" Alex Stevens who tallied the eventual game-winning goal in the third period. Stevens recorded the game-tying goal on Tuesday versus Des Moines and now has five goals on the season. Parker Tuomie also scored for the Herd and Stefanos Lekkas earned his 25th win of the season with another remarkable game between the pipes, stopping 39 of 40 shots.

The Stampede came out with energy in the first and controlled play for the first five minutes, but couldn't find a way to get past Fargo netminder Ryan Wischow and the game remained scoreless. Fargo would strike first blood when leading scorer Denis Smirnov tallied his 29th goal of the season. Blake Lizotte sent a perfect pass through the slot to Smirnov who skated in and wristed a shot into the upper left hand corner of the net to give the Force a 1-0 lead. That gave the Force some energy, but they were unable to convert on a power play try and the game remained 1-0 after one period with the Stampede outshooting the Force 10-9.

Neither team scored in the second setting up a dramatic third period. The Stampede finally found a way to score on Wischow at 7:52 of the third period when Parker Tuomie tallied his team leading 30th goal of the season. Jack Suter dropped a pass in the slot for Tuomie who then drove in and blasted a shot into the upper right hand corner of the net to tie the game 1-1. From there it was a different game as the Herd picked up their play and put the pressure on Fargo for the remainder of the period. Sioux Falls took their first lead of the night at the 13:30 mark when Tuomie found defenseman Alex Stevens to the right of the goal, Stevens quickly cut across the slot and backhanded a shot past the pads Wischow to send all 10, 357 fans into frenzy at the PREMIER Center. From there the Herd had to hold off an attack from the Force in the final minutes and with the goaltender pulled Fargo threw everything they had at the Herd, but Lekkas was once again outstanding stopping all 14 third period shots and secured the victory and a spot in the playoffs for the Stampede.

Fargo outshot the Stampede 40-28 and went 0-for-2 on the power play while the Herd finished the night 0-for-1.

The Stampede will close out the regular season Saturday night in Fargo against the Force at 7:05 PM. Fans can catch the game live on KELO News Talk 1320-AM and online at KELO.com starting at 6:40 PM. The game is also available to watch online at FASTHockey.com.

Check out the Sioux Falls Stampede Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from April 8, 2016


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