SIOUX FALLS, SD -- Success on the man advantage helped the Sioux Falls Stampede open their five-game homestand on the right skate, as they defeated the rival Sioux City Musketeers 3-1 in front of a sellout crowd of 4,772 fans at the Arena Saturday night. The win snapped a 9-game win streak for the Musketeers (10-3-1), who came into the night sitting two points ahead of the Herd in the Western Conference.

“They’ve been playing really well,” said head coach Cary Eades. “They might not have had their best execution tonight but they got better each period. We had to withstand that challenge.”

Keith Burchett, Tony Calderone and Dakota Joshua each had two points for the Herd (10-5-1), while goaltender David Jacobson administered a fantastic performance, allowing a lone score on 31 Musketeer attempts.

“He (Jacobson) was unbelievable,” said forward Keith Burchett, who has ten points (3 G, 7 A) in his last six games. “He was our star player tonight.”

A frantic first period that saw the puck flying from both ends of the ice ended with no score on the board, with the Musketeers receiving the only power play of the period. Sioux City had a prime opening with roughly ten minutes to go but weren’t able to capitalize on the one-on-one on Jacobson.  The Herd netminder and Los Angeles, Calif. native pushed away all nine shots thrown at him in the period.

The game stayed scoreless until Joshua deflected a puck off a Chad Duchesne blast into the net to make it 1-0 Herd 1:12 into the second period.  Joshua’s first goal of the season was a product of a 5-on-3 advantage that started only 18 seconds in thanks to a Sioux City holding penalty.

Sioux City responded to the tally a mere 45 ticks into the final period after Musketeer winger Dylan Plitt rocketed a shot past Jacobson from in between the circles during their second 5-on-3 of the night. However, the resilient Herd replied less than two minutes later when Burchett knocked in his third goal in six games. The winger took the pass from Calderone and punched in the biscuit close from the right side, giving the Herd a huge 2-1 lead against their I-29 adversaries.

“It was a beautiful pass,” said Burchett.  “He set up perfectly and all I had to do was really tap the puck in.”

That lead doubled to 3-1 after Burchett and Calderone connected on another beautiful play 13 minutes later during a man advantage.  Calderone dumped the puck in front of the crease to Burchett, who promptly one-timed past Kyle Hayton from the left side with 4:30 to go in the game. The tally sealed the deal for the Herd, who held on for the 3-1 win.

The Herd will now spend nine of their next ten games in their friendly confines, where they are 2-2-0 so far this young season.

“We’ve been on the road a lot,” said Eades. “It was fun to have the crowd tonight.  The atmosphere was great.”

Sioux Falls will return to the Arena Friday night to face the Waterloo Black Hawks at 7:05 PM.

Courtesy:  Sioux Falls Stampede

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