Stampede Earn A Point In Shootout Loss To Muskegon

MUSKEGON, MI -- In another tightly contested contest at L.C. Walker Arena, the Sioux Falls Stampede let a 2-1 third period lead slip away and fell 3-2 in a shootout to the Muskegon Lumberjacks on Saturday night.

The Herd earned three of a possible four points on the weekend after topping Muskegon 2-1 on Friday. C.J. Franklin and Tony Calderone scored for the Stampede while Art Brey stopped 32 of 34 shots in goal for the Herd who are now 6-2-1 on the season and in second place in the Western Conference.

Both teams came out with lots of energy, but it was the Lumberjacks who would strike first when Matt Iacopelli tallied his second goal of the weekend. Mason Jobst brought the puck up the right wing side, into the right circle before sending it through the slot to Iacopelli who quickly one-timed the shot past Brey. The lead wouldn’t last for long however, as the Stampede responded just three minutes later when Franklin posted his fourth goal of the season. Dennis Kravchenko took the puck behind the Muskegon net, sending it to Franklin who stood at the bottom of the left circle and wristed a shot into the upper right hand corner of the net to make it a 1-1 game.

It stayed that way until the 17:58 mark when Calderone recorded his second goal of the season. Chad Duchesne sent the puck to the top of the left circle to Griffen Molino who wristed a shot towards the net that was stopped by Muskegon goaltender Eric Schierhorn, but Calderone was there for the rebound and beat Schierhorn five-hole to give the Herd a 2-1 lead. Sioux Falls outshot the Lumberjacks 17-10.

In the second, Sioux Falls went on a 5-on-3 power play for just over 40 seconds and nearly scored, but Schierhorn and the Lumberjack defense held off the Stampede special teams unit to keep it a one goal game. The Herd rattled off 15 shots while Muskegon posted 10 in the period, but the game remained 2-1 in favor of the Stampede after two periods.

In the third, the Lumberjacks tied the game at 13:07 on a goal from Scott Pooley. On the play, it appeared Duchesne’s stick was being held, but play went on and Pooley skated down the right wing boards and wristed a shot from inside the left circle past the stick side of Brey to make it a 2-2 game. Neither team would score again in regulation and the game went to overtime.

In the extra session, the Stampede found themselves on a power play 1:24 in and were looking to cash in for the second straight Saturday. This time however, the Herd would come up short. The Herd had several good shots and looks, but Schierhorn continued to shine in goal and stopped the Stampede, eventually forced a shootout.

In the shootout, the Stampede got a third round goal from Kravchenko who faked a backhand shot and scored on the forehand over the pads of Scheirhorn to tie the shootout 1-1. The Jacks would win in it in round five when Trevor Morbeck slipped the puck through the pads of Brey to lift Muskegon to a come-from-behind victory.

Sioux Falls out shot the Lumberjacks 42-35 and went 1-for-6 on the power play while going 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.

The Herd return to action next Friday night when they host the Waterloo Black Hawks in “Pink in the Rink Night,” presented by Midwest Family Care. The Stampede will be playing on pink ice and wearing special pink and white jerseys that will be raffled off during the game. Proceeds of the event will benefit the American Cancer Society.

Courtesy:  Sioux Falls Stampede