Neepawa, MB. – The Swan Valley Stampeders completed the come-back Friday night in Neepawa, scoring four goals in the third period to improve their record to 16-9-1-1 and pushed their way to the top of the MGEU West Division Standings.
Swan Valley’s offence was led by Adam Rajsigl (1G, 1A), Justin Keck (1G, 1A), Darius Makse (1G), Jakob Jones (1G), Alex Walicki (1G) and Trey Sauder (3A), while Kobe Grant stopped 44/48 shots he faced for his 10th win of the year.
The Story
The Stampeders had a rough start to this game, taking seven penalties in the opening 20 minutes of play. Jones got things going Friday night at the Yellowhead Centre, scoring 5:20 into the first period, collecting his 14th of the year on a power play. Neepawa responded with two power play goals of their own to take a 2-1 lead into the dressing room through 20 minutes of play.
Hayden Stocks added his first of the game at 3:24 of the second period giving the home team a 3-1 lead heading into the third period.
Neepawa slipped on the cruise control too early and Swan Valley took full advantage of it scoring four straight goals. Keck deflected in his 13th of the season at 5:49, pulling the stampeders to within one. Rajsigl sent a wrist shot on net that beat Mason Lobreau at 14:08, tying the game 3-3. Makse gave his team the lead back 22 seconds later, scoring his fourth of the year on a beautiful wrist shot over the glove. Walicki scored a nearly identical goal less than a minute later, giving the Stampeders a 5-3 lead. Stocks added his second of the game on the power play late in the third but it wasn’t enough as the Stampeders skated to a 5-4 win on the road Friday night.
Final shots
Stampeders – 31
Neepawa – 49
Bonus Notes
- Stampeder Forward Trey Sauder has now collected three points in each of his last three games played.
- Kobe Grant stopped 44/48 shots he faced to improve his record to 10-9 on the season.
What’s Next?
The Stampeders will regroup and finish off a two-game road series against the Titans Saturday, Dec. 3 at the Yellowhead Centre before returning to the Valley tomorrow night.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m..
Catch all the action live on hockeytv.com and stay up-to-date on the Stampeders app and through all social media platforms.