Sioux Falls Stampede

History

Founded and developed by Sioux Falls Sports, LLC., the team was the first privately-funded ice hockey organization to be established in South Dakota. On January 8, 1999, the USHL awarded a new franchise, which began play in the 1999–00 season.

In the 2005–06 season, the Stampede won their first Anderson Cup for the best regular season record as well as their first division championship. The Stampede advanced in the playoffs, dispatching the Tri-City Storm in five games (best-of-five) and the Lincoln Stars in four games (best-of-five), earning the right to represent the West division in the Clark Cup Finals. They lost to the Des Moines Buccaneers in five games (best-of-five).

The 2006–07 season looked grim at the outset with the Stampede earning but a single point in their first six games. After bottom dwelling for the entire first half, the Stampede became one of the hottest teams during the second half of the season. They entered the playoffs as the four seed in the West and quickly dispatched the Lincoln Stars in four games for the second straight year (best-of-seven). After losing to Des Moines in the first game of the round robin, Sioux Falls defeated the Tri-City Storm in overtime to make it into the final four. The Indiana Ice were their next opponent and were undefeated in the playoffs until the Stampede prevailed over them, again in overtime, to advance to the championship game against the host team of the event, the Waterloo Black Hawks. The Stampede shutout the Black Hawks 3-0 to win their first Clark Cup.

In the 2014–15 season the Stampede followed a similar path. Though they were moving into the brand new Denny Sanford Premier Center, drawing a sellout crowd of 10,678 for their first game in the new arena against Waterloo, Sioux Falls struggled to win with just four returning players from the previous year and started 3-7-1. Around New Years the team's fortunes began to change, and at the end of the season they qualified for the 4th seed in the Western Conference, and last playoff spot in the Clark Cup Playoffs, with 69 points. During the season the Stampede, who had led the league in attendance during their final year at the Sioux Falls Arena the previous season, smashed the USHL's all-time attendance record with 191,280 fans. In the Western Conference Semifinals the Stampede faced their arch rivals, the Sioux City Musketeers, who had led the Western Conference with 81 points. After splitting the first four games, the Stampede dominated the decisive fifth game in Sioux City, scoring five times in the second period en route to a 6-1 victory and 3-2 series win. In the Western Conference Finals the Stampede faced second seeded Tri-City Storm. After dropping the opening game of the series, Sioux Falls won the next three to capture the Western Conference Championship. In the Clark Cup Finals Sioux Falls faced the #4 seed from the Eastern Conference, the Muskegon Lumberjacks, marking just the second time in USHL history the two lowest seeds in the playoffs had advanced to the league championship. After winning the first two games in Muskegon, the Stampede returned to Sioux Falls to play game three on May 15. In front of 8,178 frenzied fans in a "Blue Out", Sioux Falls defeated Muskegon 4-2 to complete the sweep and capture their second Clark Cup championship.

Current NHLers Thomas Vanek (Detroit Red Wings), Alex Goligoski (Arizona Coyotes), T.J. Oshie (Washington Capitals), and Zach Redmond (Montreal Canadiens) have played for the Stampede, as well as former NHLers Andreas Nodl (Carolina Hurricanes), Chad LaRose (Carolina Hurricanes), Dan Sexton (Anaheim Ducks), and Corey Tropp (Columbus Blue Jackets).

Season-by-season record

United States Hockey League

Roster

As of November 27, 2016.