Herd close out weekend with 6–3 victory over Gamblers

Sioux Falls, S.D. (Stampede) – The Herd closed out their weekend series with a perfect 3–0 record after a 6–3 victory over the Green Bay Gamblers. The Herd received goals from Joey Macrina, Brent Solomon, Thomas Holtby (2), Joseph McGraw, and Matthew Grimes. Linards Feldbergs was between the pipes and continued his strong play, turning aside key chances throughout the night.

The first period got off to a fast start when Green Bay took a penalty at 3:31, giving the Herd their first power-play opportunity of the night. Shortly after, a missed call was successfully challenged by the Herd coaching staff, resulting in Landon Hafele receiving a five-minute major and a ten-minute misconduct. This gave the Herd an extended 5-on-3 advantage. Although they were unable to convert during the two-man advantage, Joey Macrina opened the scoring at 5:38 by knocking in a rebound. Assists were credited to Ryder Betzold and Thomas Zocco.

With 35 seconds remaining on the major penalty, Brent Solomon ripped a shot off the crossbar to extend the lead. At 9:37, the Herd took back-to-back penalties—Christian Chouha for hooking and Thomas Holtby for high sticking—giving Green Bay a 5-on-3 opportunity of their own. The Herd penalty kill stood strong and kept the Gamblers off the board. Green Bay later took a tripping penalty at 12:23 and followed it with a slashing minor shortly after, but the Herd were unable to capitalize on either power play. The Herd outshot the Gamblers 13–11 in the opening frame.

Play slowed in the second period, which featured just one penalty and two goals. Wade Weil was called for slashing at 5:17, and Green Bay capitalized on the power play, lifting the puck over Feldbergs’ shoulder to cut into the lead. At 9:16, the Herd restored their two-goal advantage when Thomas Holtby buried a loose puck after Ryder Betzold’s shot knocked the Gamblers’ goaltender out of position. Assists on the play went to Betzold and Joseph McGraw. With under a minute remaining in the period, JJ Monteiro rang a shot off the crossbar that was reviewed and ruled no goal. The Herd held a 12–10 edge in shots during the period.

Momentum picked back up in the third period. At 2:49, Holtby scored his second goal of the night with a wraparound from behind the Gamblers’ net. The three-goal lead was short-lived, as Green Bay answered at 3:05 to cut the deficit to two. The Gamblers added their third goal shortly after to make it a one-goal game. At 13:15, Joseph McGraw provided some breathing room with a one-timer from the slot, assisted by Tobias Ohman. As the period wound down, Green Bay pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker, and at 17:24 Matthew Grimes sealed the win with an empty-net goal, firing the puck the length of the ice. Christian Chouha recorded the assist.

Feldbergs finished the night with 27 saves on 30 shots, improving his record to 23-9-1-0 with a 2.66 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.

The Herd return home as the Fighting Wiener Dogs on February 14 for the 19th annual Sioux Nation Pet Clinic Wiener Dog Races. 

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