Sioux Falls at Fargo - Live Blog 7:05pm

Game 3 of the USHL playoffs.  Fargo leads the series 2-0 and goes for the sweep tonight at the Urban Plains Center.  Fargo has yet to lose a West Division playoff game (8-0).  Check out the live blog below.

Fargo Force comeback to win 7-6

If you counted the Force out of this game when it was 6-3 after the 2nd period, you haven't been following Force hockey at all this year.  The Force have came back from a ton of games this year and maybe after this one, you will start believing in the phrase, "never count the Fargo Force out of a hockey game".

The Force used a 4 goal 3rd period to comeback from a 6-3 deficit to defeat the Sioux Falls Stampede 7-6 for a 2-0 opening round series lead.  I don't think there is any question that Chase Grant is deserving of the "player of the game" award if there ever was one.  If you need more reasons than him having two goals and one assist then how about the game-winning goal or the hard work that drew the penalty that resulted in a power play goal to tie the game 6-6... just to name a few big factors.  Yeah, I think that is deserving of a player of the game award.  Chase Grant displayed every reason why he is the captain of this hockey team.

Fargo was also led by Corey Leivermann, my 2nd star of the game, with two goals and an assist including the game-tying goal on the power play.  Matt Leitner had a goal and an assist and a team-leading +3 for my 3rd star of the game.  There were a number of other players that made a big impact in the game.  Brian Cooper had a couple of huge hits that probably helped sway momentum in Fargo's favor.  Nate Condon had a goal and an assist.  Oleg Yevenko had a big goal early in the third to give the Force hope.

The Force overcame a lot of adversity in the game to come back for a 7-6 victory and a 2-0 series lead.  Hope to see a lot of people at tomorrow's game.

BYOB - BRING YOUR OWN BROOMS!!!

Sioux Falls at Fargo - Live Blog 7:35pm

Sioux Falls at Fargo for Game 2 of the USHL Clark Cup playoffs.  The Force have never lost a playoff game in the West Division (7-0), they look to continue that tonight against a good SF Stampede team.  Puck drops at 7:35pm.  Join me for the live blog below:

Fargo takes series lead 1-0

What four game losing streak?  The Fargo Force proved that they weren't too worried about a 4-game losing streak to end the season as they were able to defeat the Sioux Falls Stampede in game one of the opening round of the USHL playoffs by the score of 5-1.

The Force used a strong opening period with three first period goals.  Corey Leivermann opened the scoring with an assist to Brian Cooper.  Garrett Allen scored a shorthanded goal on a stretch pass from Fargo Force scoring leader, Matt Leitner.  Brian Cooper also added his second assist of the game on the play.  Leitner would add on to his scoring lead with a power play goal to give the Force a 3-0 lead with 1:10 left in the first.  Chase Grant fed Leitner for the goal and Allen added an assist for his second point of the night.

The game cooled down in the second period as neither team could get one by the goaltenders and the score remained 3-0 despite four power plays for the Force and one for the Herd.  Fargo peppered Sioux Falls' goalie Clay Witt with 15 shots in the second period.

Joe Rehkamp opened the scoring for the Force in the final stanza with an assist from Alex Lippincott killing any momentum Sioux Falls could have built to make a third period push.  Sioux Falls pulled their goalie in favor of an extra attacker and it proved to be a good move by Coach Hartzell as a Jacob Johnstone snipe would make it 4-1 with 3:10 remaining.  The Herd would get a power play toward with 1:31 remaining and kept Witt pulled to give them a two man advantage.  Fargo would win the faceoff and Leitner would bury his 2nd goal of the game to seal the deal for the Force by a score of 5-1.  Ryan Massa stopped 28/29 shots in his USHL playoff debut.

Wondering why there is a blue mohawk on the blog?

Well...come on...it's the playoffs!  See you at the UP Center on Friday!

Hartzell: "Nothing like playoff hockey"

The Sioux Falls Stampede are back in the postseason after missing out last season.  The Herd won the Clark Cup in 2006, the Force were runner-ups last year for the Clark Cup.  This is Fargo's closest rival so it should be a good first round of playoffs.  Check out the video from KSFY-Sioux Falls below.  Playoff action begins this Wednesday, April 5th in Sioux Falls.

Force lose in a shootout

The Fargo Force had a great turnout for their last regular season home game of the season.  4,837 fans were able to see a good hockey game that the Force eventually lost in a shootout to the top team in the USHL.  With the win, Green Bay clinched the Anderson Cup.  


The Force are pretty much locked into the 2nd spot in the West Division and will probably take on the Sioux Falls Stampede in their first round of the Clark Cup playoffs.  In order to get first place in the West Division, Omaha would have to lose their remaining two games and the Force would have to win their remaining three games.  With one more win, the Force will clinch home ice advantage for the first round playoff series with Sioux Falls.


Check out the article in the Fargo Forum here.


From USHL.com:  Green Bay Gamblers 4, Fargo Force 3 (SO)
Ryan Furne tied the game with under two minutes remaining in regulation and Ludwig Karlsson was the only player to score in the shootout to help the Green Bay Gamblers clinch the Anderson Cup for the second straight season as regular season champions.  Karlsson also scored in regulation and defenseman David Makowski netted his 18th goal of the season for the Gamblers.  Goaltender Ryan McKay made just 17 saves but turned away all five Fargo shootout attempts to seal the win.  Matt Leitner scored two goals for the Force and goaltender Ryan Massa made 40 saves in the loss. 

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.

Force entering critical stretch of games

This weekend's games is starting to build up some hype as we inch closer to playing three important games in three days with one game against 3rd place Sioux Falls and a two-game home series against the top team in the West in the Omaha Lancers.  Omaha is currently four points ahead of the Fargo Force after their victory on Tuesday, Feb. 2 over the Sioux City Musketeers.

Check out Kerry Collins' article in the Fargo Forum in the link below regarding this weekend's action that happens to start tonight against the herd in Sioux Falls.

Force entering critical stretch of games | INFORUM | Fargo, ND

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From streak to slump

The Fargo Force went from a 9 game winning streak to a two game slump in which they have only scored three goals in two games.  The Force are now on a 2 game losing streak and will look to stop the slump on Friday when they take on Team USA at the Urban Plains Center.

Is the two game losing streak anything to get worked up about?  Most definitely not, but hopefully the Force are able to get back to the winning ways this weekend.  They still inched even closer to Omaha for the top spot in the West Division after Omaha picked up two points in two games over the weekend.  Fargo was able to squeak out four points in three games over the weekend and climb to within three points of Omaha.  Green Bay has now climbed to the top of the USHL with wins over Cedar Rapids and Waterloo this weekend.

Fargo Force take sole possession of 2nd in West

The Fargo Force were able to squeak out a win in Sioux Falls tonight by defeating the herd 6-5.  With the win, the Force take over sole possession of 2nd place in the West Division of the USHL.  

Fargo got goals from six different players in the win.  Colten St. Clair started things off in the first period on a power play goal from Corey Leivermann and Eamonn McDermott.  Sioux Falls answered about four minutes later to make it 1-1.  John Stampohar netted his first goal for the Force assisted by Oleg Yevenko.  Garrett Allen would make it 3-1 before the end of the first period on the power play.  Eamonn McDermott and Nick Oliver picked up assists on the goal.

The Force started early in the 2nd period by making it 4-1 on a goal from Nate Schmidt assisted by Garrett Allen and Matt Leitner.  Nick Romanick scored his first goal of his USHL career to make it 5-1 with assists from Corey Leivermann and Grant Scott.

Like any great team, Sioux Falls proved to be resilient and scored midway through the second period to make it 5-2 on the power play.  Sioux Falls continued their comeback in the third period with a power play goal 2:45 into the final stanza and another goal to make it 5-4 five minutes later.

Nick Oliver extended Fargo's lead to 6-4 and the insurance marker would prove to be important as the herd was able to pop one more goal in with the empty net to make it 6-5 before the final buzzer sounded with the Force winning the game and claiming 2nd place in the West Division.

Fargo Force win wild one in Omaha

Fargo took on the top team in the USHL tonight and it was a wild one in Omaha.  Garrett Allen started things off for Fargo 6:12 into the first period but it was all Omaha in the first period as they scored four straight en route to Ryan Massa's departure with 4 goals against on 10 shots.

The Fargo Force were able to regain their composure after the first period as they came out flying in the second period with four goals of their own.  Matt Leitner scored two goals in the second period.  Chase Grant and Colten St. Clair would also add a goal apiece.

Fargo would get some much needed insurance early in the third period on captain Chase Grant's second goal of the game to make the game 6-4.  Minnesota Wild draft pick, Erik Haula would score a goal shorthanded about a minute and a half after Grant's goal and the Force were able to hold off the Lancers from there.  Dayn Belfour made 12 saves on 13 shots in two periods of work for Fargo.

Colten St. Clair, Chase Grant and Matt Leitner each had three points in the game to lead the Force.  Garrett Allen had a goal and an assist.  Corey Leivermann added two assists.  Joe Rehkamp, Nate Schmidt and Eamonn McDermott also each added an assist in the win for Fargo.

Chase Grant remains one of the hottest players in the USHL with the three point game.  Grant was the Offensive Player of the Week before Christmas break.  He is now on a 6-game point streak and 5-game goal-scoring streak with 8 goals and three assists during that span.

Fargo Force are back in action tomorrow in Sioux Falls for their 3rd game in four days including two games against top teams in the USHL.  Fargo can take sole possession of 2nd place in the West Division with a win over Sioux Falls Stampede tomorrow.

Former Stampede product enjoying success in NHL

I came across a nice little story on a kid from Minnesota that played for Sioux Falls in the USHL.

From NHL Prospect Examiner:  Dan Sexton: Anaheim Ducks prospect, small body, big talent

At 22 years of age, undrafted Dan Sexton of the Anaheim Ducks has continued to impress doubters at every level. His goal against the Minnesota Wild tonight is only further proof.

The native of Apple Valley, Minnesota is of a small frame (5'10'', 170 pounds), but his heart is bigger than you would imagine.  Despite not being drafted, Sexton put together a modest season with the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL, and broke out with Bowling Green University in following two seasons.

In April 2009, the big boys took notice and the Ducks signed him in the middle of college.  It did not take him long to open some eyes, as he posted 7 points in his first 6 games, not to mention 2 goals in only the third game of his career.

Not many people expected the emergence from Dan Sexton (6 goals, 3 assists for 9 points in 12 games), but that should not let you think that he is some flash-in-pan.  This little guy has dogged tenacity, a outer-strength to stay on his skates and an inner-strength to believe in himself.

Across the hockey world, fellow smaller-sized prospects should begin looking up to his example.

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Fargo Force can move into tie for 2nd tonight

The Fargo Force will head to Sioux City today after defeating Sioux Falls in a come from behind overtime win over the 2nd place team in the West Division.  The Force are now only two points out of 2nd in the West Division with last night's win.  Sioux Falls picked up a point last night with the overtime loss.  Fargo can move into a 2nd place tie with the herd with a Sioux Falls regulation loss and a Fargo Force win.

In the last three games, Fargo has been led by captain Chase Grant.  The Force captain has 5 points in 3 games including the game winning goal in last night's game.  He has 3 goals and 2 assists in the three game hot streak.

Johnnie Searfoss did last night what he has been doing all year long.  The Colleyville, TX native has not disappointed Force fans when he has needed to come through in the clutch this year.  Searfoss scored the goal that tied the game with 7:44 remaining against the herd last night.  "Mr. Clutch" has 5 game winning goals this year in 15 Force wins.

Sioux Falls at Fargo - 7:35pm

Sioux Falls tops Fargo

Sioux Falls was able to overcome a 2 goal deficit in the 2nd period and capitalize on key power play opportunities to defeat the Force 4-3 on Friday night at the Urban Plains Center.  The one goal decision is the 7th out of 10 all time games between the two franchises.

Both teams were able to capitalize on power play opportunities as Fargo was 3-6 on the power play and Sioux Falls was 3-10 before getting the first even strength goal in the third period from Matt Zarbo, that ended up as the game winner.

Goal scorers for the Force were Matt Leitner, Nate Schmidt and Nate Condon.  Assisting on the three goals was Colten St. Clair on the Leitner's goal, and Eamonn McDermott and Matt Leitner on Nate Condon's goal late in the 2nd period.

Cody Campbell stopped 12 of 16 shots for Fargo and Chimienti stopped 14 of 17 for the herd.  The loss drops Fargo to 1-2 on the season.  Fargo's next games are October 16 at Tri-City, and October 17 at Omaha. Their next home game is October 30 against the Youngstown Phantoms.

Upcoming live blog

Follow and participate in our live blog on Friday, October 9 as the Sioux Falls Stampede come to Fargo to take on the Fargo Force.

We will be giving away:

• 1 free ticket to a Fargo Force home game
• 4 free hot dogs to be redeemed at a game
• 4 free medium soft drinks to be redeemed at a game

We will also be looking to possibly give away more stuff in the future!

Blog will go live roughly 30 minutes before the game...

Force fall to Stampede 3-2

The Sioux Falls Stampede came from behind in the 3rd period and got a late goal from Matt Lindblad to down the Force 3-2 in Sioux Falls.

Chad Demers picked up two points in his return to the Force lineup but it was not enough to hold off the Stampede as Sioux Falls picked up two third period goals including one with 2:51 remaining in the game to down the Force in Saturday night's action.

The Stampede were led by Anthony Day with two goals and Dominic Zombo with two assists.  Matt Lindblad got the game winner for the Stampede.

Cody Campbell got the day off for the Force.  Keegan Asmundson stopped 20 of 23 shots in the loss.  Goal scorers for the Force were Alex Lippincott on the power play and Garrett Allen even strength.  Chad Demers picked up two assists and Nate Schmidt also added one.

Fargo will hope to get revenge at home in their next game on the schedule, October 9 at the UP Center.  October 9 is College Night at the UP Center.  College students will be able to get a reserved seat ticket for only $5 with ID.