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USHL Sioux Falls Stampede

Stampede's Comeback Comes up Just Short in Bloomington

October 24, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Sioux Falls Stampede News Release


Bloomington, IL-The Sioux Falls Stampede fell behind 4-1 and nearly mounted another classic third period comeback, but came up just short Friday night, falling 4-3 to the Bloomington Thunder at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum. With the game tied 1-1 into the third, Bloomington scored three goals in the first six minutes to gain a three goal edge, but the Herd rallied for two of their own to pull back within a goal late in the game. Parker Tuomie extended his goal scoring streak to four games while Josh Passolt and Lawton Courtnall also tallied goals for the Herd. Stefanos Lekkas took the loss in goal, stopping 35 shots, including 21 in the second period alone.

It was a back-and-forth first period as both teams were trying to get a feel for each other in their first meeting of the season. Neither team created many quality scoring chances until the Herd's Josh Passolt tallied his first career USHL goal. Garrett Cecere brought the puck through the neutral zone and into the Bloomington blue line before sending a pass into the slot for Passolt who wristed a shot that deflected off Thunder goaltender Hayden Lavigne and into the back of the net to give Sioux Falls a 1-0 edge. The Herd outshot the Thunder 7-6 in the period.

The second period belonged to the Bloomington Thunder who outshot the Herd 22-10 in the period. Stefanos Lekkas was outstanding between the pipes, frustrating the Thunder offense. The only puck to get past him came at the 9:56 mark when Bloomington caught the Herd on a line change. Matt Foley sent a pass from behind his own net to the Stampede blue line where Alec Mehr brought the puck over the line and sent a pass in the slot to Jake Slaker who was all alone and wristed a shot past the stick side of Lekkas to tie the game 1-1. That would be the only goal the Thunder would get and both teams skated into the locker room tied at one.

The Thunder would continue their dominance into the third period as the began the period on the power play and cashed in 1:26 when Butrus Ghafari blasted a shot from the high slot into the back of the net to give Bloomington their first lead of the night at 2-1. Less than two minutes later they struck again, this time Tarek Baker picked up a loose puck in front of the Stampede net and backhanded a shot through the pads of Lekkas to extend their lead. Just over two minutes later the Thunder made it a 4-1 game, on the power play, when Mitchell Chaffee capitalized on a Stampede turnover in the slot, spinning around before wristing the shot into the upper right hand corner of the net to make it a 4-1 game.

The Herd got back into the game at 7:23 when Parker Tuomie took a pass from Collin Peters and knocked the puck through the pads of Lavigne for his team leading seventh goal of the season to make it a 4-2 game. The Herd would then be granted a five minute power play when Blake Gober kneed Stampede forward Eric MacAdams at the 12:07 mark. The Herd struggled for the first four minutes of the advantage, but cashed in at 16:26 when Parker Tuomie's wrister from the right circle was stopped, but Lawton Courtnall pounced on the rebound and netted his fourth of the season to bring the Herd within a goal at 4-3. It looked like the Herd may pull off yet another early season comeback, going on another power play with just over two minutes remaining, but they were unable to find the back of the net and Bloomington held on for a 4-3 win.

The Thunder outshot the Herd 11-10 in the third and 39-27 in the game. Sioux Falls finished the night 1-for-4 on the power play while Bloomington was 2-for-3.

The Stampede close out the weekend with a trip to Cedar Rapids Saturday night. Game time is 7 PM and fans can catch all the action live on KELO News Talk 1320-AM, 107.9-FM and online at KELO.COM starting at 6:40 PM.

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United States Hockey League Stories from October 24, 2015


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