SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Courtesy of The Sioux Falls Stampede) – The Sioux Falls Fighting Wiener Dogs fell to the Sioux City Musketeers, 6-1, for the first time in the past five years. A record setting 11,025 fans were in attendance for the event, the largest hockey game in South Dakota history. Beckett Hendrickson was the lone dog able to find the back of Sioux City’s net during the game while Michael Chambre and Caleb split time in net for the second game in a row.
Much of the first period was dominated by Sioux City. The Musketeers scored three goals on goaltender Michael Chambre, two within 20 seconds of each other at 7:38 and 7:58. Scoring the first and the third goal for the Musketeers was Brian Nicholas who led the Musketeers in goals this evening. With just 2:08 remaining, the Wiener Dogs thought they’d be able to spark something more when Beckett Hendrickson earned his 17th goal of the season with JJ Wiebusch and Chris Pelosi both marking their 25th assists of the season. Surprisingly, the Pack out shot the Musketeers 14-6 in the initial frame.
The Pack went scoreless in the second period, but allowed the Musketeers three additional goals, increasing the Sioux City lead to five goals. Once again, the Pack out shot the Musketeers 9-7 during the period but was unable to capitalize on the shots. Sioux City was given three powerplay opportunities during this period against the Wiener Dogs’ one.
A scoreless final frame left the matchup with a Sioux City 6-1 win, ending the Wiener Dogs’ 16-year unbeaten streak. This is the first time in the history of Wiener Dog Night that the Sioux Falls program was unable to come away with the win.
The most important part of the night, the 17th Annual Sioux Nation Pet Clinic Wiener Dog Races, were a hit for those in the PREMIER Center, watching on FloHockey, listening in via KELO radio and watching on social media. The first two heats saw a record setting total of 47 wiener dogs take the ice. Coming out on top, Indie, Letty, Lambo and Cooper all made it into the Wiener Takes All Championship round during the second intermission. Winning the back-to-back Wiener Dog Race Champion title was Letty, who also took home the trophy last season.
