Fargo Force squeak out win in Sioux Falls

The Fargo Force were able to squeak out a win and an important two points in tonight's game against the Sioux Falls Stampede.  The Force took down the herd 5-4 in a shootout.  The Force were led by Corey Leivermann with 2 goals, an assist and the shootout game-winner, Chase Grant with a goal and an assist and Alex Lippincott with one goal.  Ryan Massa was solid once again between the pipes for the Force stopping 39/43 shots including all five in the shootout preserving the win.

With the win Fargo pulls within two points of West Division leader Omaha with an important home series upcoming against the Lancers at the Urban Plains Center this Friday and Saturday.

Pre-series notes:

• The Force have won both meetings this year between Omaha and Fargo in Omaha.
• Matt Leitner likes playing Omaha.  In the two games in Omaha the Force all-star has 4 goals and 3 assists for seven points.
• Colten St. Clair has two goals and two assists in the two meetings with Omaha this season.

Omaha Lancers Feature:

• Seth Ambroz is a 2011 NHL Draft eligible, University of Minnesota recruit that will be a player to watch for Omaha. He has 13 goals, 16 assists for 29 points in 36 games for Omaha.  2/13 of his goals have came against Fargo.  Check out this article on Ambroz from NHL.com.
• Erik Haula is a Minnesota Wild draft pick and Minnesota Golden Gopher recruit that has 21 goals, 32 assists and 53 points in 38 games for the Lancers.  Check out this Haula interview with Hockey Wilderness.
• Matt White leads the Lancers with 25 goals, 37 assists for 62 points in 37 games with Omaha.
• The offense doesn't stop with those three for Omaha either.  They have 8 players with 20 points or more and 16 players with points in double digits for the year.
• Jeff Teglia has been one of the top goalies in the USHL this year.  He is 4th in GAA with a 2.30 goals against average and 2nd in save percentage at .918 with a 22-7-2 record.

Should be a good weekend of hockey at the Urban Plains Center this weekend with a lot of talent and two of the top teams in the USHL competing for the top spot in the West Division.  Hopefully we are able to get 4,000+ fans in the building for the biggest series of the year this far.