After a week off the 7-10-3 Stampeders were back on the ice tonight as they travelled to Neepawa to face off against the 6th place Natives.
The Stampeders welcomed back a familiar face tonight as local Josh Tripp suited up for the first time since returning to the organization.
The two clubs opened the 1st with back and forth action but it was the Natives who found themselves leading just 4:59 into the opening frame when Benoit Mowbray beat Evans to take a 1-0 lead. Swan Valley continued to press and it was Quintin Sudom who finally solved Evan Robert tying the game at 1 with just 13 seconds left in the 1st period. Neepawa lead in the shot department after 20 minutes 14-11.
The 2nd period it was all Swan Valley as the Stamps found their legs. Newcomer Josh Tripp picked up his 1st of the season at 10:09 to move Swan ahead 2-1. Nearly 4 minutes later Keaton Jameson added a power play goal to increase the lead to 3-1. The period came to a close with the stamps outshooting Neepawa 11-7 and Brett Evans stopping everything he faced.
Neepawa and Swan traded several quality chances to kick off the 3rd period but again it was Neepawa who found the back of the net. Ashton Anderson grabbed his 15th of the year when he scored short handed at 9:28 to move them within 1. Connor Navrot added an insurance marker at 18:37 and the Stamps regained a 2 goal cushion. Brett Evans continued his solid play in net and turned aside everything that came his way leading his team to a 4-2 victory over Neepawa. Final shots were 34-31 for Neepawa. Connor Navrot picked up the 3rd star of the game with 1 goal and 1 assist, while Keaton Jameson was named 1st star, with what turned out to be the game winning goal. Next action for the Stampeders is at home on Saturday when the face off against the Portage Terriers. Game time is 7:30pm. Hope to see you there.