SIOUX FALLS, SD -- Industrial-strength goaltending combined with missed opportunities contributed to the Sioux Falls Stampede’s 4-0 loss to the Omaha Lancers on Friday night in front of a sell-out crowd of 4,772 at the Sioux Falls Arena.

Omaha scored three of their goals on the power play while the Herd came up empty in four man advantages.

“We didn’t come out prepared, and that’s basically it,” said captain Dennis Kravchenko.

Lancer netminder Cole Bruns stopped all 25 shots thrown at him, earning his third straight shutout to start the season and allowing Omaha (3-0-0) to stymie the previously undefeated Herd (3-1-0).  Sioux Falls goalie Arthur Brey allowed 4 goals on 24 Omaha attempts in his first home start of the season. The Stampede had scored 17 goals in the first three games on the road prior to Friday night.

Neither team touched the scoreboard in a fast-paced first period that saw the puck fly from both ends of the ice. The Herd had a prime opening to grab their first home lead of the season with a 5-on-3 advantage for nearly two minutes midway through the first, but struggled getting the puck on the net.

“That was a key part of the game,” said head coach Cary Eades.  “You need to score on those opportunities. You get possession, you get set up and you execute some plays.”

Omaha finally snapped the tie at 10:31 when Lancer forward Tyler Vesel picked up a rebound in front of Brey and quickly dumped it past the sprawling goaltender. Another chance presented itself to the Herd with 3:32 to go in the second with another power play but once again it would go ignored thanks to the stellar netminding of Bruns.

“He’s a good goalie, you have to give him credit,” said Kravchenko. “We just didn’t bury our chances and we didn’t bury our rebounds.”

The Lancers doubled their lead to 2-0 after a rocket shot from defenseman Jimmy Schuldt, brother of Herd player Joe Schuldt.  Two more power play tallies from Vesel and Luca Frigo, respectively, would all but seal the deal for Omaha, allowing Bruns and the team from Nebraska to coast to victory over their confrence rival.

“We’re not going to score five or six every night,” said Eades. “You get a game like today and it comes down to a lot of little things.”

Sioux Falls will hit the road Saturday to face the Sioux City Musketeers at the Tyson Events Center. Game time is 7:05 PM.

Courtesy:  Sioux Falls Stampede

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