USHL Sioux Falls Stampede

Stampede Rally, But Fall in a Shootout in Fargo

Published on December 3, 2015 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Sioux Falls Stampede News Release


Fargo, ND - A late goal by A.J. Vanderbeck earned the Stampede a standings point in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Fargo Force Thursday night at Scheels Arena. Trailing 2-1, Vanderbeck deflected in a loose puck with 25 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime and eventually a shootout, but Fargo prevailed 2-1 in the shootout to improve to 8-10-1 while the Herd are now 12-9-1 and in third place in the West. Lawton Courtnall tallied the other goal for the Herd while Stefanos Lekkas put on another show with 42 saves on the night.

For the fifth straight game the Herd and their opponents went scoreless in the first period. Sioux Falls got on the board at 10:06 of the second when Eric MacAdams sent a perfect pass from the right circle across the ice to the left side where Lawton Courtnall quickly wristed a shot past Fargo goaltender Ryan Wischow to take a 1-0 lead. The Force responded at 17:55 when Hank Crone had his first shot poked checked away by Lekkas, but picked up the rebound and backhanded it into the back of the net to make it a 1-1 game. Fargo outshot the Herd 21-11 in the period.

Lekkas was the story of most of the second and again in the third, keeping the Herd in the game with save after save. The Force finally broke through again at 16:54 of the third when Crone found Jack Adams all alone in front of the net who quickly one-timed the puck past Lekkas to give Fargo a 2-1 lead. The Stampede were awarded a power play late in the game, but could not convert. With just over 30 seconds remaining the Herd had a face-off in their defensive zone that they would win and eventually get the puck up to Courtnall who sent a pass to Jack Becker. Becker's shot rolled off Wischow and into the air where Vanderbeck was able to bat it into the net to tie the game and force overtime. Fargo outshot the Herd 13-7 in the period.

Both teams exchanged some good scoring chances in overtime, but the game eventually went into a shootout. Down 1-0 in round 2, A.J. Vanderbeck would score to keep the game alive, but Zach Yon wristed a shot past Lekkas in round 3 to earn the victory for the Force. It was just the second home win of the season for Fargo and both have come against the Stampede.

The Herd return to action Friday night at the PREMIER Center when they host the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders at 7:05 PM. Sioux Falls will also be home on Saturday for The Man Salon Teddy Bear Toss night at 7:05 PM against Chicago. Tickets for both games are available through the KELOLAND Box Office or any Ticketmaster outlet.

Check out the Sioux Falls Stampede Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from December 3, 2015


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