Stampede Can’t Stop Waterloo Power Play In 4-2 Loss

WATERLOO, IA -- Special teams were the difference in a tight game Friday night at Young Arena. Waterloo scored two power play goals in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and topped the Sioux Falls Stampede 4-2.

The Herd had rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the first, but couldn’t duplicate the rally in the third. Sioux Falls is now 9-5-1 on the season and in third place in the Western Conference. Tony Calderone and Bryan Sienerth scored goals for the Herd while Art Brey stopped 32 of 36 shots in the loss for the Stampede who return home Saturday night for the first of five straight at the Sioux Falls Arena.

The Black Hawks gained the first goal of the game 8:26 in when Austin Veeth found Brandon Montour open just inside the right circle and Montour blasted a shot past the stick side of Brey to make it a 1-0 game. Minutes later, Brey made a left pad save on a penalty shot taken by Tim Lappin to keep the game 1-0. The Hawks would break through again however, scoring at 15:03 when Lappin found Tyson McLellan wide open in front of the Stampede net and knocked it into an open net to give the Hawks a 2-0 edge at the end of the first period. Waterloo outshot the Herd 16-6 in the period.

The Stampede looked like a different team in the second period, entering with much more energy and it paid off. Calderone tallied his seventh goal of the season 4:27 into the period to cut Waterloo’s lead in half. Keith Burchett wrestled the puck out of the right wing corner and fed Calderone in the high slot who then blasted the puck past the stick side of Waterloo goaltender Mathias Israelson. The Herd would tie the game just four minutes later when affiliate forward Sienerth tallied his first career USHL goal. Jack Stander brought the puck up the right wing boards and into the Waterloo zone before dropping the puck back at the top of the right circle to Sienerth who slapped a shot past the glove side of Israelson to tie the game 2-2. That’s how the second period would end with the Stampede outshooting Waterloo 9-7.

The Herd carried that momentum into the third period where, but would run into penalty trouble and the league’s top power play unit took advantage. Mitch DeMario gave the Hawks a 3-2 lead 5:40 into the third when he scored on the power play. He took a pass at the top of the left circle and perfectly placed the puck into the upper right hand corner of the net to give the Hawks the advantage. The Stampede have a some good opportunities to tie and even hit a goal post to tie the game, but couldn’t get the bounce they were looking for. The game continued to be called closely and the Herd once again found themselves in the box late. Waterloo would score another power play goal at 16:12 when Patrick Russell tipped in a shot from Hayden Shaw past the right pad of Brey to give the Hawks a 4-2 lead.

Waterloo outshot the Stampede 36-25 on the night and went 2-for-6 on the power play while the Stampede were 0-for-5.

Sioux Falls returns to action Saturday night to host the Sioux City Musketeers at 7:05 PM at the Sioux Falls Arena.

Courtesy:  Sioux Falls Stampede