KEARNEY, NE (KELO.com) — It was a tough weekend for the Sioux Falls Stampede as they dropped the second of a two-game weekend series against the Tri-City Storm 4-1 at Viaero Center on Saturday night. Will McDonough had the lone goal for the Herd while netminder Noah Grannan stopped 20 of 23 shots between the pipes.
Tri-City picked up right where they left off from last night, as Cole O’Hara went five-hole on the Stampede netminder at 5:18 in the first period of the contest to get the Storm’s scoring started. Sioux Falls had a stronger first period than the night before but were trailing 2-0 by 16:46 in the period after Dane Dowiak tallied a power play goal and Tri-City’s second of the night. The Storm outshot the Herd 8-5 in the period.
Chippy behavior between the two teams carried into tonight, with Easton Zueger dropping the gloves early in the second period in an attempt to energize the Stampede bench. Unfortunately, Tri-City would add to their lead a few minutes later, making it a 3-0 game after Joshua Eernisse netted his fifth of the year. The Herd were able to answer back at 5:05 in the period, with Will McDonough’s one-timer right in front of the net off a pass from Jack Reimann, tallying his second of the season. The remainder of the period would go scoreless, with shots 8-7 in favor of the Stampede.
A handful of penalties saw the Herd shorthanded three times in the third period, but they were able to keep the Storm from adding to their lead. It wasn’t until 18:38 in the period, with the Sioux Falls net empty for the extra attacker, did Tri-City make it 4-1with an empty net power play goal by Dane Dowiak, his second of the night.
The Herd outshot the Storm 10-9 in the third period, but were outshot 24-23 in the game. The Stampede went 0-for-5 on the power play while Tri-City went 2-for-6.
The Herd are on the road again next weekend with stops in both Fargo on Thursday night and Omaha on Friday. Both night’s have a 7:05 PM scheduled puck drop. Fans can tune into KELO News Talk 1320-AM, 105.1-FM, 107.9-FM, and KELO.com, or stream the action on HockeyTV.
