SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A sellout crowd of 10,678 watched Zoey edge out defending champion Spud during the 11th annual Sioux Nation Pet Clinic Wiener Dog Races, but the Herd came up just short in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Des Moines Buccaneers Saturday night at the PRMIER Center. It marked the fifth straight year the wiener dog races sold-out. The Herd earned a point in the standings and are now 4-0-1 in their last five, but the loss was a tough pill to swallow after outshooting the Bucs 37-19 on the night. Adam Dawe and Nolan Walker scored for the Herd who sit in fourth place in the Western Conference, just two points back of first place Tri-City. Mikhail Berdin stopped 16 of 18 shots on the night for the Herd who now stand at 20-11-7 on the season.
The Stampede were hoping to get the sellout crowd on their feet early, but it would be Des Moines finding the back of the net first. Reed Lebster took the puck behind the goal line and sent a pass into the right circle for Julian Napravnik who took the puck and wristed it perfectly into the upper left hand corner of the net. It remained that way until the 18:32 mark when Nolan Walker sent a pass through the slot for Adam Dawe who one-timed the puck into the back of the net to make it a 1-1 game. Things got physical towards the end of the period when Bucs goaltender Roman Durny punched Stampede forward Kevin Conley in the face, which led to pushing, shoving, and an eventual power play for the Bucs. Des Moines outshot the Herd 10-8 in the period.
During the first intermission, in two classic races, Zoey, Artoo, Spud and Bear beat out the competition and advanced to the Final Four during the second intermission.
The physical play continued in the second period as both teams exchanged some big hits, but the score remained tied until the 12:50 mark when the Stampede grabbed the lead, compliments of Nolan Walker. AJ Villella skated the puck into the slot before sliding it to the left of the goal where Walker quickly skated in and knocked home the puck to give the Herd a 2-1 lead. The celebration would be short-lived, however as the Herd were flagged for covering the puck in the crease that lead to a penalty shot for the Bucs. Tyler Paquette skated in and wristed a shot right under the crossbar to tie the game 2-2. That was only the second shot of the period as the Herd outshot the Bucs 13-5, but remained tied entering the third period.
Fans were entertained in the final championship race as defending champion Spud was barely edged out by Zoey who took home the 2018 Sioux Nation Pet Clinic Wiener Dog Race Championship to delight of the sellout crowd on hand.
After a scoreless third in which the Stampede outshot Des Moines 13-5, the game headed into overtime. The Stampede were once again hit with the penalty bug as Colin Swoyer was called for slashing leading to Des Moines eighth power play of the night. The Herd continued to play strong though defensively and killed off their eighth straight to keep the game tied.
The game eventually headed into a shootout and after neither team scored in round one, the Bucs appeared to have been stopped in round two, but after a lengthy delay to review a close shot it was ruled a goal and the Bucs took a 1-0 advantage. Kirill Panyukov responded with a beautiful goal of his own to tie it, but the Bucs regained the lead in round three with a goal from Mike Hardman. Roman Durny stopped Jack St. Ivany in the Herd’s final shot and earned the victory.
Sioux Falls outshot the Bucs 37-19 in the game and went 0-for-3 on the power play and 8-for-8 on the penalty kill.
The Stampede return to action this Tuesday when they host Fargo on Sioux Empire Federal Credit Union night. The first 1,000 fans will get a free Stampede light-up stick, compliments of Sioux Empire Federal Credit Union. Puck drop is 7:05 PM and tickets are available through the KELOLAND Box Office or any Ticketmaster outlet.
Courtesy: Sioux Falls Stampede
