SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – One of the top priorities of Scott Owens and his coaching staff this season was to do well on home ice and, after a five-game winless start, the Stampede put on a show by defeating the Fargo Force 7-1 Wednesday night at the PREMIER Center. Cameron MacDonald tallied two goals in the contest, while Jaxson Stauber stopped 21 of 22 shots in his return to Sioux Falls.The Sioux Falls Stampede wasted no time getting things going as Jared Westcott scored his third goal of the season unassisted just 30 seconds into the game. Six minutes later Cam MacDonald, who scored his first United States Hockey League goal last weekend in Youngstown, found the back of the net at the 7:08 mark for the 2-0 lead. The Herd outshot the Force 11-8 in the first period.The Force were able to cut the lead in half with 7:14 gone in the second off a goal from Joseph Dunlap assisted by Brian Kramer. It would be the only goal to get by veteran Stampede goaltender Jaxson Stauber, who was making his first start in net this season following his departure from Minnesota State.Gabe Temple scored exactly three minutes later following a rebounded shot from Brandon Chabrier in the slot. MacDonald added his second of the night three minutes after that to bring the score to 3-1. Westcott found MacDonald alone in the slot and he was able to put the puck under the pads of Brennan Boynton. Fargo outshot the Herd 8 to 6 in the period.The Stampede continued to pour the goals in as Brenden Olson, Ryan Sullivan and Austin Heidemann all found the back of the net in the final period. The Herd finished the night 1 for 2 on the power play, while the Force finished 0 for 1. The Stampede are now 4-11-2 on the season.The Stampede will enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and take the PREMIER Center ice on Friday night against the Sioux City Musketeers with a 7:05 p.m. puck drop. Fans can listen live on KELO Radio 107.9 FM, 1320 AM or Kelo.com.
(Colin Strombeck, KELO.com News, contributed this article.)
