Fargo Force made it four straight victories in the USHL when they dismantled Sioux Falls Stampede 5:0 at home on Friday night. The result leaves the hosts fourth in the standings after eight games, while the visitors drop to fifth.
And here's the thing — we had tipped the away side for a win, confidence sitting at fifty percent. The forecast was wrong, and by then the game had already shown us where it was heading. Fargo came out with intent and never let the visitors settle.
The hosts have been in fine fettle lately. They beat Youngstown 4:0 last week before a 6:4 thriller, and have now gone four without defeat. Sioux Falls, meanwhile, have lost four of their eight matches and are starting to feel the pressure. They went down 3:2 to Fargo in their last meeting and couldn't find any way back this time around.
What stands out is the gap in quality between the two sides. Fargo's attack clicked into gear early and stayed switched on. Sioux Falls struggled to get out of their own half and couldn't match the tempo when it mattered. The hosts got in behind the defence with regularity and made their chances count.
To be fair, the standings don't tell the whole story yet. Both teams sit on zero points after eight rounds — the season has barely got going. But results like this start to separate the contenders from the others.
Fargo now hold a two-game lead over Sioux Falls in the table and are building momentum. The visitors need the points badly and will have to find a way to close the game out if they want to climb. For now, the hosts have proven they can raise the tempo when they need to.
