WATERLOO, IA -- If the Sioux Falls Stampede end up playing the Waterloo Black Hawks in the first round of the playoffs, fans might be in for a treat.

In their final regular season meeting of the season, the Black Hawks topped the Stampede 4-3 in overtime. Zeb Knutson, Dennis Kravchenko and Christian Horn  scored for the Herd while David Jacobson stopped 38 shots in goal.

With two games remaining in the regular season, the Stampede are 34-17-7 and two points behind Sioux City for third place in the West. The Musketeers host Tri-City Sunday while the Herd are idle until Friday.

The Stampede came out with a lot of energy in the first period, but it was the Black Hawks who got on the board first when Liam Pecararo scored 5:37 into the game. Patrick Russell slid the puck from the right circle to the Pecararo who lifted the puck past an outstretched Jacobson to make it 1-0.

It stayed that way until the 17:03 mark when Knutson tallied his 27th goal of the season. Just as a Stampede penalty expired Horn brought the puck down the right wing boards and slid the puck to left where Knutson one-timed it past Waterloo goaltender Cam Johnson to tie the game 1-1.

The Herd’s celebration would be short lived however as Peter Krieger scored 51 seconds later to regain the lead for the Hawks at 2-1. Off the face-off, Krieger wristed a shot from the right circle that beat Jacobson’s glove side. Sioux Falls and Waterloo finished the period with 15 shots each.

The final six minutes of the second period provided all the entertainment for the fans. Sioux Falls tied the game at 14:45 when Tony Calderone stole the puck behind the Waterloo net and fed it in the slot to Kravchenko who one timed the puck just underneath the crossbar to make it a 2-2 game.

Twenty-nine seconds later the Herd struck again when Chad Duchesne found Horn at center ice and Horn skated in on a breakaway wristing the puck into the upper right hand corner of the net to give Sioux Falls a 3-2 advantage.

The Black Hawks wouldn’t allow the Herd to take that lead into the locker room, however as Peter Krieger scored from the right circle on the power play to make it a 3-3 game. Once again both teams were even in shots with 11 a-piece.

The third period provided more entertainment, but neither team was able to score and the game headed to overtime. Waterloo outshot the Herd 11-6 in the period.

The Black Hawks took the game 2:21 into overtime when Hayden Shaw sent a pass into the right circle for Blake Winiecki who wristed a shot past the stick side of Jacobson and Waterloo took the game 4-3.

The win clinched the Western Conference regular season for the Black Hawks (41-11-5) who outshot Sioux Falls 42-35 on the night.

The Herd just have two games remaining in the regular season, Friday in Lincoln and Saturday at home versus Omaha.

 

 

Garrett Cecere, Sioux Falls Stampede
Sioux Falls Stampede
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Courtesy:  Sioux Falls Stampede

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