SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — The Sioux Falls Stampede weathered the storm on Saturday night at the PREMIER Center, putting on a show for the fans on Fan Appreciation Night as they put up eight goals from eight different goal scorers and rolled to an 8-2 victory against the Tri-City Storm. Merril Steenari and Kazimier Sobieski notched their first career USHL goals while Jaksen Panzer and Maddox Fleming each had a goal and an assist. Isak Posch stood solid between the pipes for the Herd, stopping 28 of 30 shots on net.
It was a close contest at the start of the first period, with Sioux Falls and Tri-City trading goals and swapping leads. By just 4:47 into the game, both teams had tallied two goals each. Jaksen Panzer put the Herd on the board at 3:24 and Michael LaStarza gave them a 2-1 lead at 4:18, his third goal in four games. The Stampede hopped into the driver’s seat for the rest of the night and would close out scoring in the first, with Clint Levens tallying a goal at 15:37 and Maddox Fleming netting the Herd’s fourth goal at 17:14. Panzer’s assist on Levens’ goal would be his fifth point in four games. Tri-City narrowly outshot Sioux Falls 14-13 in the period.
The next two periods were all Stampede. Merril Steenari kicked off scoring in the second period at 11:32, sending the puck top-shelf off a pass from Ryan Healey for his first career USHL goal. Kazimier Sobieski would then go on to net his own first career USHL goal at 14:10 in the period when he took a pass in the slot from Karsen Dorwart and fired it past the Tri-City netminder to make it a 6-2 game. The Herd outshot the Storm 10-4 in the period.
Sioux Falls wasn’t done yet, tacking on another two goals in the third period. Jack Silich tallied his second goal of the weekend just 2:39 into the period with a shot five-hole in the slot. Sam Harris notched the only power play goal of the night at 8:58 in the period while the Stampede played with a two-man advantage in a 5-on-3, giving the Herd an 8-2 lead. The goal by Harris would be his fifth point in six games, while the assist from Fleming would be his tenth point in ten games.
Sioux Falls were outshot by Tri-City 8-12 in the final frame but outshot them 31-30 in the contest. The Herd went 1-for-6 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
The win moves Sioux Falls back into 7th place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the Des Moines Buccaneers.
The Stampede host the Des Moines Buccaneers on Wednesday night, a rescheduled game from earlier in the season. They then close out the season with two games against the Fargo Force, one in Fargo on Friday the 22nd and the last game on Saturday the 23rd at the PREMIER Center. Tickets are still available on sfstampede.com/tickets. If you can’t make it out to the game, fans can tune into KELO News Talk 1320-AM, 105.1-FM, 107.9-FM, and KELO.com, or stream the action on HockeyTV.
