USHL Sioux Falls Stampede

Tri-City Rallies to Top Stampede 4-2 in Game 2

Published on April 15, 2016 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Sioux Falls Stampede News Release


Kearney, NE---The Sioux Falls Stampede jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the Tri-City Storm rallied for four unanswered goals and downed the Herd 4-2 at the Viaero Center Friday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. The Storm now lead the best-of-five series 2-0 with Game 3 taking place Friday, April 22nd at 7:05 PM inside the PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls. The Herd will need a win to extend the series.

Jack Becker and Lawton Courtnall scored for the Herd on Friday while Stefanos Lekkas kept the Herd in the game all night, stopping 41 shots in goal. Tri-City tallied four goals for the second straight night, getting goals from four different players. Jake Kielly stopped 23 of 25 shots in goal for Tri-City.

The Stampede knew they would need to come out firing in Game 2 to try to even the series and they did just that scoring just 5:31 into the contest when Jack Becker wristed a shot to the right of Storm goaltender Jake Kielly right on the goal line and was able to bank it off Kielley and into the net to make it a 1-0 game. Five minutes later the Herd added to their lead when Joseph Maguire backhanded a pass from his bench right down the middle of the ice to Lawton Courtnall who split the defense and lifted a shot into the upper left hand corner of the net to give Sioux Falls a 2-0 edge. Less than two minutes later the Storm came charging back when Wade Allison undressed the Stampede defense and skated into the slot where he slid the puck past Stefanos Lekkas to make it a 2-1 game. That's how the first period would end with Tri-City outshooting the Herd 14-6.

The second period would belong to the Storm who outshot the Herd 22-7. The Storm tied the game just 2:06 into the period when Tory Dello's blast from the left point found the back of the net on the power play. The Storm took their first lead of the night 5:41 of the second when Alex Limoges broke free and slapped a shot past Lekkas to give the Storm a 3-2 edge. The Storm had the Herd on the back of their heels for the rest of the period throwing shot after shot on the goal, but Lekkas stood on his head once again, making several highlight reel saves including one shot that was stopped when his stick was tossed into the air, but somehow managed to get a piece of the puck to knock it wide. The Herd were bending, but did not break and trailed by just one goal at the end of the second period.

Sioux Falls was hoping to tie the game early in the third, but instead found themselves down by two when Nico Sturm scored just 3:44 into the period. Brian Hawkinson brought the puck into the Stampede zone and dropped a pass for Sturm outside the left circle who quickly picked up the puck and wristed into the upper right hand corner of the net, past the glove of Lekkas to make it a 4-2 game. The Herd tried to battle back, but couldn't get much going offensively as the Storm played stingy defense and a late penalty on Jack Doremus put the Herd on the penalty kill to end the game as Tri-City took a 2-0 series lead.

Tri-City outshot the Herd 45-25 on the night and finished the contest 1-for-5 on the power play while the Herd were 0-for-4.

The series now shifts to Sioux Falls for Game 3 next Friday night. A tailgate party will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 PM outside the Birdcage across the street from the PREMIER Center. Doors open at 6 PM and the first 2,000 fans through the doors will receive a free Stampede rally towel. Tickets are available through the KELOLAND Box Office or any Ticketmaster outlet. Should the Stampede win, a Game 4 would take place on Sunday, April 22nd at 6:05 PM at the PREMIER Center.

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United States Hockey League Stories from April 15, 2016


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