URBANDALE, IA (KELO.com) — Blake Humphrey scored twice in the third period and the Sioux Falls Stampede rolled past the Des Moines Buccaneers, 4-1 for their third straight victory Saturday night at Buccaneer Arena. The win also completed a weekend sweep of Des Moines after Sioux Falls took the first game on Friday night, 3-2 in overtime.
Jack Smith tallied a goal and an assist while Isak Posch turned aside 18 of 19 shots in goal to earn his third win of the season in goal. After starting the season 1-5-0, the Herd are just a game below .500 at 4-5-0 and just one point out of sixth place in the Western Conference.
The Stampede came out flying in the first period, creating several scoring chances, but couldn’t solve Buccaneers goaltender Remmington Keopple. The Herd would get into penalty trouble midway through the period and found themselves down two-men. Sioux Falls defended well and got within 10 seconds of killing the first penalty off, but a shot from the left point was deflected in by Henry Bartle to give the Bucs a 1-0 edge. The Herd would kill off the second penalty, but still trailed 1-0 after one with the Bucs outshooting the Herd, 8-6.
Sioux Falls started the second period on the penalty kill and were able to successfully kill it off and built some momentum off of it. The Stampede would tie the game at 6:52 when Jack Smith tallied his second of the weekend. Adam Zlnka took the puck behind the Des Moines net and into the hands of Smith who cut into the slot and wristed a shot under the right arm of Keopple to tie the game at one. It remained that way until 14:07 in the period when the Bucs would provide the Herd with an early Halloween treat. Off a defensive zone face-off, the Bucs tried to take the puck behind the net, but the defenseman lost the puck and it trickled under the right pad of Keopple to give Sioux Falls a 2-1 edge. Dan Russell earned his second goal of the season on the play, unassisted. That would give the Herd the lead heading into the third frame, outshooting the Bucs 9-8 in the period.
It remained a one-goal game until the 12:48 when the Stampede would break out of their power play slump with a huge goal. Brandon Chabrier blasted a shot from the point that would bank off the back wall and to the left circle where Blake Humphrey quickly jumped on it and lifted it past an outstretched Keopple to make it 3-1. The Stampede would put the game away for good at 17:02 when Humphrey would strike again. Jack Smith took the puck into the zone on a 2-on-1 and sent a perfect pass to Humphrey who one-timed it into the back of the net to give Sioux Falls a commanding 4-1 lead.
The Herd outshot the Bucs 8-3 in the final frame and 23-19 on the night while finishing 1-for-3 on the power play, Des Moines went 1-for-5.
Sioux Falls returns to action next Friday when they travel to Lincoln to face the Stars at 7:05 PM. The Herd finally return home on Saturday to host the Waterloo Black Hawks for Pink in the Rink Night at 6:05 PM. The first 1,000 fans receive a FREE pink Stampede mini stick, compliments of Sioux Falls Specialty Hospital. The ice will be pink and the players will be wearing special pink jerseys to benefit the American Cancer Society. The club will honor those affected by breast cancer before and during the game and fans can take part in a post-game skating party after the game. Tickets are on sale now through the KELOLAND Box Office or Ticketmaster.
