Stampede Fall in Shootout to Waterloo
March 19, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Sioux Falls Stampede News Release
Sioux Falls, SD - The Stampede fell to the Waterloo Blackhawks in a shootout Tuesday night. The Herd would start the game off strong getting a four-goal lead before letting the Blackhawks come back and send the game to a shootout. Gennadi Chaly started the game strong for the Herd, scoring quickly, and Noah Urness would add on. After 4 minutes into the second period, the Herd would not be able to score again and allow the Blackhawks to make the comeback.
The Herd started their Tuesday hot, taking over the first period. Gennadi Chaly got the game started at just 3:42 sending the puck through from the right faceoff circle. JJ Monteiro and Javon Moore were credited with assists on the goal. The period after that was back and forth, with Stampede maintaining control of the puck. Later in the period, Joe Belisle worked the puck off the boards and was able to set Joe McGraw. After his attempt was stopped, Noah Urness capitalized on the rebound, scoring at 16:03. The Stampede would get 14 shots on goal and goaltender Waylon Esche shut down all six of the Blackhawk's attempts.
The momentum continued for the Herd, striking fast. Just 1:57 Reid Varkonyi buried the rebound with the assist from Joe McGraw. Minutes later, Waterloo's Brock Schultz headed to the penalty box at 3:36, and the Stampede quickly capitalized as Joe McGraw scored a power-play goal off passes from JJ Monteiro and Noah Urness at 4:01, giving the Herd a four-goal lead. Shortly after, Kaedon Hawkins took a tripping penalty for the Blackhawks, but the Herd would struggle to convert. The Blackhawks would respond this period, after Ritter Coombs was called for tripping, they got the power-play goal at 11:15. Later in the period the Blackhawks would strike again at 18:51 with a goal from Teddy Mallgrave. The Blackhawks would take a late high sticking call, sending them to the penalty kill with 57 seconds left in the period. Despite the late push, the Stampede entered the locker room with the lead, outshooting the Blackhawks 11-8 in the period.
The third period saw a change in pace from the previous two periods. At just 0:29 Brock Schultz would score on a shorthanded goal, cutting the Stampede lead to one. Later at 5:24 the Herd would get called for too many men on the ice but were able to kill it off. The rest of the period was back and forth between the two teams. Waterloo's Brendan McMorrow would keep them alive at 18:37 scoring to tie the game and send them to overtime. Both teams found themselves spending time in the neutral zone, limiting the shots on goal. The game would head to a shootout. Blackhawk's Hunter Ramos would take the first shot and score. Gennadi Chaly would follow, getting stopped. Teddy Townsend would score in the second round of the shootout. Their goaltender Calvin Vachon would secure the win by stopping JJ Monteiro's attempt.
Esche made 24 saves in his eighth start of the season, moving his record to 5-2-0-1 with a .857 save percentage. His overall save percentage now stands at .880.
The Stampede will be on the road to take on the Stars in Lincoln on Friday and Saturday night. They return home on Sunday to take on the Fargo Force at 4:05 pm. The first 500 fans will receive the next set of Stampede trading cards and a special Clark Cup Playoffs poster. Following Sunday's game, the entire team will be signing autographs in the Veterans' Concourse off of the main lobby of the PREMIER Center. Tickets for Sunday's game can be purchased.
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