Herd defeat Musketeers with five different goal scorers

Sioux City, Iowa (Stampede) – The Sioux Falls Stampede took down the Sioux City Musketeers 5–3 at the Tyson Events Center on Friday night. Brent Solomon kicked off the scoring for the Herd, who had five different goal scorers in the win, while forward Joey Macrina and defenseman Jake Prunty each recorded three-point performances. Goaltender Linards Feldbergs earned his fourth win in his return to the net.

The Stampede–Musketeers rivalry proved to be alive and well in the first period. Just 31 seconds into the game, Sioux Falls’ Wade Weil and Sioux City’s Kason Muscutt dropped the gloves after Muscutt took an extra shot at Feldbergs following a whistle. The scrum energized both benches, but it was the Stampede who capitalized first. At 3:51, Brent Solomon netted his fifth goal of the season with a quick wrister from the slot, assisted by Joey Macrina.

At 6:08, the Stampede went to their first penalty kill of the night after Cade Strom was called for roughing. Sioux Falls successfully killed off the penalty, but at 13:58, William Tomko tied the game for the Musketeers. Before the end of the period, the Stampede drew a penalty, carrying 1:39 of power-play time into the second.

Sioux Falls wasted no time converting. Just 39 seconds into the middle frame, Thomas Zocco scored on the power play with a wrist shot from the high slot, assisted by Jake Prunty and Joey Macrina. The Stampede earned another man advantage at 3:04 when Logan Renkowski was hooked. Although they couldn’t convert on that opportunity, the Herd extended their lead at 6:38 when captain JJ Monteiro outskated two Musketeer defensemen and tucked the puck above the goaltender’s pad to make it 3–1.

Sioux Falls killed off two more penalties before earning another power play. While they couldn’t score during the advantage, they struck moments after it expired. Thomas Holtby netted his first goal of the season on a quick rebound to the blocker side, assisted by Justin Thibault in his USHL debut. On the same play, Sioux City’s Travis Poliski was called for tripping, putting Sioux Falls back on the power play. The Herd converted again when Joey Macrina buried a shot off a stellar feed from Jake Prunty, sending the Stampede to the locker room with a commanding 5–1 lead.

The third period brought more chaos—this time not in Sioux Falls’ favor. At 4:50, Brent Solomon was called for high-sticking. As the Herd attempted to kill the penalty, Joey McGraw took a tripping call, giving Sioux City a 6-on-4 advantage. The Musketeers converted on the opportunity, though McGraw still had to serve his penalty. Sioux Falls killed off the remaining time and soon went on another power play, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Later in the period, McGraw was called for another penalty after taking an elbow to the face and being dragged down by Muscutt. Despite the actions by both players, it was only  McGraw who served the penalty, but no scoring came from the call. The Musketeers closed the gap to 5–3 at 18:24 when Shane Gould scored after Feldbergs was tripped in the crease and unable to recover in time. The Herd held strong the rest of the way to secure the 5–3 victory.

The Stampede outshot the Musketeers 37–27.

Goaltender Linards Feldbergs returned to the crease after missing last Saturday’s game due to injury. The Latvian netminder made 24 saves, improving to 4-1-1-0 on the season with a .887 save percentage.

The Stampede have two more games this weekend. They return to the PREMIER Center tomorrow night to face the Omaha Lancers for Scooby-Doo Howl-o-ween Night, presented by Dental Solutions. Puck drop is at 6:05 p.m., with doors opening at 5 p.m. Fans can trick-or-treat throughout the concourse before the game. Those in costume are encouraged to join the Stampede’s costume parade during the first intermission and submit photos to the team’s social media pages for the costume contest. Learn more about the night here. 

On Sunday, the Stampede host the Des Moines Buccaneers for Wizards Night, presented by Graham Tire.

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