USHL Sioux Falls Stampede

Stampede Stunned by Dubuque in Final Minutes

Published on January 14, 2012 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Sioux Falls Stampede News Release


Sioux Falls, SD -- For the first 55 minutes Saturday night it looked like the Sioux Falls Stampede would rebound versus a tough Dubuque Fighting Saints squad after a wild loss Friday against the Omaha Lancers. However, the Fighting Saints stunned the Herd by scoring four goals in the final five minutes of play to prevail with a 4-1 victory over the Herd at the Arena. Max Gardiner led the way with a goal and an assist for Dubuque (19-9-2) while three other Fighting Saints scored. Matt Morris had a stellar night in net, stopping 27 of 28 Sioux Falls shots. Todd Skirving had the lone goal for the Herd, while goaltender Charlie Lindgren allowed three goals on 29 attempts as the Stampede fell to 11-17-1 on the season.

"We played a very good team today and they got desperate at the end," said head coach Kevin Hartzell. "When they picked the intensity up we didn't respond very well."

Both teams went scoreless in a physical, fast-paced first period. Dubuque had two chances to get on the board first with a couple Stampede penalties, one an Evan Moore holding call at 1:47 and the other an Evan Moore hooking call with 3:30 left. However, the Herd dominated the puck in the opening period, keeping the puck in the Dubuque zone and outshooting the Fighting Saints 10-6.

The second period began with yet another Dubuque power play only 29 seconds in, but they were able to kill it off with little trouble. Sioux Falls finally got on the board at 3:50 when Todd Skirving nailed a wrist shot on a rush from the left circle, for his team-leading 10th goal of the season. The Herd finished the period on a power play resulting from a Dubuque interference call and felt confident heading into the third knowing Dubuque was 0-7-0 when trailing after two periods. Charlie Lindgren stayed hot in the second, denying all 11 Fighting Saint shots that went his way.

The Stampede had the Dubuque offense completely suffocated until the 15:01 mark of the final period when the Saints went on the powerplay and Cody Bradley one-timed the puck past Lindgren from the right circle.

"We took a retaliation penalty and it changed the whole game," said coach Hartzell.

It took less than a minute for the Fighting Saints to seize the lead, as center Shane Sooth scored to give Dubuque a 2-1 advantage. A Max Gardiner goal with 2:53 remaining sealed the win for Dubuque, with an empty-netter at 18:05 from Kevin Morris only adding the icing to the cake.

"We have to learn what it takes to win a hockey game," said Hartzell. "It's not easy to do against good competition."

The Stampede finished the night 0 for 1 on the powerplay while Dubuque went 1 for 4. The Stampede will travel to Fargo Monday to face the Force 7:05 pm. Fans can catch the game live at both Buffalo Wild Wings locations in Sioux Falls starting at 7 PM. You can also hear it live on News Talk 1320 KELO-AM starting at 6:40 PM.

Check out the Sioux Falls Stampede Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from January 14, 2012


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