The Lincoln Stars overcame four different deficits to defeat the Sioux Falls Stampede, 6-5, in a shootout on Friday night at the Ice Box.
Tanner Ludtke scored two goals and Antonio Fernandez netted the only goal in the shootout to earn the big victory. Lincoln (21-13-1-0) snapped a four-game losing streak with the win and each of its last two wins have been its only two shootout victories in as many opportunities.
"Championship teams, teams that win Stanley Cups, that win Clark Cup teams go through rough times," head coach Rocky Russo said. "You have your downs and you have your adversity. When you get through to the other side you learn a lot about yourself as an individual and about your teammates and you're better through it. We've had a couple of tough weekends but our guys were resilient throughout a week of practice and we just battled and found a way."
Sioux Falls (15-17-2-3) led 4-2 5:22 into the third period when Samuel Harris scored his 19th of the season to give the Stampede their largest lead of the game. This marked the first time that consecutive goals in the game belonged to Sioux Falls after Lincoln previously answered Stampede tallies with goals by Ludtke. Harris followed up Zach Sharp's goal just over five minutes prior to give Sioux Falls some cushion, but they would be outscored 3-1 over the final 13:56 of regulation.
The Stampede went on the power play 33 seconds after taking a two-goal lead but the Stars cashed in with a pair of shorthanded goals in 1:10. Jack Larrigan scored the first goal on a slap shot down the right-wing side for his second shorthanded goal of the season at the 6:04 mark before Daniel Sambuco potted home a shot by Patrick Raftery at the 7:14 mark to score his second goal in the last three games.
The Stars entered Friday's game with two shorthanded goals in their first 34 games of the season yet matched that total 70 seconds apart vs. the Stampede. Larrigan became the 17th skater in the USHL to score multiple shorthanded goals and moved into a 14-player tie for sixth place overall.
"I just saw that I had a little break with the puck and saw some open ice," Larrigan said. "I saw the defense closing in on me and decided to wind up and let 'er rip and it worked out. Me and Brennan (Ali) always look for offense on the PK. We're both fast enough players to create some offense and it's something we wanted to incorporate more when we were down two. Thankfully it worked out and it got us going in the third." Â
The Stampede took their fourth and final lead of the game late in the third period on Adam Zlnka's fifth of the season at the 16:52 mark but the Stars again had an answer as Henry Nelson scored just inside the blue line on the far side with a wrist shot from the point 53 seconds later with 2:15 remaining in regulation.
That sent the game to overtime and the Stars fired six shots on net but could not find the back of the cage. Cameron Whitehead denied all three shots in the shootout and the Stars first shooter, Fernandez, scored to improve to 2-for-2 in shootouts and earn his second shootout-winning goal of the season.
The Stars opened up a three-game weekend with a victory and now turn their attention to the Sioux City Musketeers. Lincoln opens up a home-and-home set on Saturday at 6:05 at the Ice Box before traveling to Sioux City for a 3:05 game on Sunday. Saturday's game is Non-Profit Night and tickets can be purchased at lincolnstars.com.
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