Stampede prepare for final two weeks of season
March 15, 2004 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Sioux Falls Stampede News Release
STAMPEDE UPDATE: The Stampede earned a weekend split of opponents, defeating the Chicago Steel on Friday and falling to the Green Bay Gamblers on Saturday.
Friday, March 12th at Chicago: The Stampede got on the board at 10:47 of the first period on Jim McKenzie's 26th goal of the season. In the second, the Stampede increased their lead to 2-0 on Justin White's 17th goal of the season at 18:35. Chicago responded with a late goal by Sean Hurley to make it 2-1 after two periods. In the third, Brandon Harrington put the Stampede up for good on his 7th goal of the year at 3:58 and the Stampede went on to defeat the first place Steel 3-2 in Chicago. The win was the Stampede's third straight. Kasey Moreland played in goal, stopping 36 shots.
Saturday, March 13th at Green Bay: The Gamblers got the first goal of the game at 7:16 of the first period on a goal by Nate Dey. Down 2-0 in the second, the Stampede got back in the game on a goal by Justin White at 18:00. Stewart Carlin would score in the third period for the Stampede, but Green Bay scored twice more in the third to take the contest 4-2. Kasey Moreland played a period and a half making 18 saves on 20 shots before being injured after a collision with Corey Couturier in the Stampede goal. Craig Vardy replaced Moreland and knocked away 17 of 19 shots.
UP NEXT: The Stampede will play three games in three days this weekend. On Friday the Stampede will play in Waterloo and travel to Cedar Rapids for a Saturday match before returning home Sunday against River City. Friday and Saturday's games start at 7:05 PM with Sunday's game starting at 6:05 PM.
BLACK HAWKS UPDATE: The Waterloo Black Hawks have lost two games in a row and host Cedar Rapids on Wednesday night before playing the Stampede on Friday. Last Friday, the Hawks fell 2-1 to St. Louis and on Saturday dropped a 4-2 decision to Danville. The Hawks are currently 26-25-3 with 55 points and reside in fourth place in the East Division. They hold a one-point lead over Green Bay for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East with a game in hand on the Gamblers. Waterloo is lead by Joel Hanson who has 50 points (14g, 36a) on the year. Joe Pavelski is second with 43 points (17g, 26a). Kevin Regan has been steady between the pipes, collaborating a 24-18-1 record and a 2.46 GAA.
ROUGH RIDERS UPDATE: The Rough Riders won a pair of games last weekend with a 6-3 win over Tri-City on Friday and a 4-0 blanking of Lincoln on Saturday. Overall, the Rough Riders are 31-21-3 and in second place in the East with 65 points. The Rough Riders trail first place Chicago by five points with five games remaining. Their 65 points has earned them a playoff birth. Jon Grabarek leads Cedar Rapids in scoring with 50 points on 18 goals and 32 assists. Joe Fallon has been the mainstay between the pipes for the Rough Riders; compiling a 24-11-2 record and a 2.61 GAA to go with a .910 saves percentage.
LANCERS UPDATE: River City took four of six possible points over the weekend. On Friday, the Lancers fell 3-2 in a shootout to Green Bay. On Saturday, the Lancers defeated Chicago 5-0 and on Sunday the Lancers dropped a 4-3 overtime game to the Danville Wings. The Lancers are 35-14-6 with 76 points and in second place in the West Division. The Lancers have the top two scorers in the USHL in Paul Stastny (27g, 44a;71pts) and Mike Howe (33g, 37a;70pts). Jeff Lerg is starting to see more time between the pipes, recording a 23-4-2 record, and a 2.24GAA and a .910 saves percentage. The Lancers have already clinched a "West Division" playoff spot with 76 points. This will be the last meeting of the season between the Stampede and River City.
TEAM LEADERS: Matt Ford leads the Stampede in points (63) and goals scored (32) while Jim McKenzie currently leads the Stampede in assists (35), plus/minus (plus-14) and shots (181).
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Matt Ford and Jim McKenzie each currently rank among the top five in the USHL scoring race. Paul Stastny of River City leads the league in scoring with 71 points. Ford is third with 63 and McKenzie fifth with 61.
THANK YOU! Last Wednesday night was Tip-A-Stampede night at Granite City Food & Brewery. Stampede players were present to help the wait staff serve food and collect tips to benefit the all new "Jakob L. Beier Stampede Scholarship Award for Courage" and the National MS Society Dakota Chapter "Kids Club." In all, the Stampede collected $2, 418.00 in the event for charities. The entire Stampede organization would like to thank all the fans who helped out with the event.
POSTER SIGNING: Stampede players will be on hand at The Empire Mall tomorrow (Tuesday) night to sign the new team posters. The event will take place from 5:30PM to 7:00 PM and will be in front of Younkers.
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United States Hockey League Stories from March 15, 2004
- USHL weekly - USHL
- Stampede prepare for final two weeks of season - Sioux Falls Stampede
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- Black Hawks Drop a Pair - Waterloo Black Hawks
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