Tough Weekend, But Ended It Strong

On Friday, March 15^th, the Chicago Steel welcomed the Youngstown Phantoms to the Edge Ice Arena for their fifth match-up of the season.

Knowing this was a big game for them, Chicago came out strong ready to give the Phantoms everything they had. Chicago was the first to capitalize when Tyler Heinonen lit up the lamp, with a pass from Drew Smolcynski, eight minutes into the first, giving the Steel a 1-0 lead. Roughly ten minutes later, Youngstown’s Austin Cangelosi came back with a power play goal to even the score at 1.

In the second, both teams came out ready to capitalize on any chance they got. Neither team was successful for the first half of the period. Then at 11:17, Charlie O’Connor received a penalty shot after being taken down from behind on a breakaway. O’Connor was unsuccessful on his penalty shot. Following O’Connor’s penalty shot, Youngtown capitalized with two goals. The first goal, at 16:03, was a power play goal, scored by John Padulo. Then two minutes later, Eric Sweetman followed up with a shorthanded goal, furthering the lead between Youngstown and Chicago by 2, making the ending score of the second 3-1.

One minute into the third, Youngtown’s Kyle Connor capitalized making the score 4-1. Ten minutes later, Chicago’s Alex Roos came back with a power play goal, lessoning the lead between the two teams. Roos didn’t stop there. A minute later Roos netted his second goal of the game, putting Chicago one point away from Youngstown. Unfortunately, Chicago was unable to catch up by the end of the game, giving the Phantoms a 4-3 victory over the Steel.

Drew Smolcynski, Ray Pigozzi, and Jaccob Slavin all recorded assists during the game.

Chris Nell had 24 saves during regulation, and the Steel outshot Youngstown 36-28.

On Saturday, March 16^th, the Indiana Ice welcomed the Chicago Steel to Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Chicago came out ready to put Friday’s game behind them, and gain two points. Indiana was the first to capitalize, when Mikhail Plotnikov netted a shot less than two minutes into the period. Neither team was successful after that, ending the first 1-0.

In the second both teams played hard, trying to manipulate any plays or mistakes they could take advantage of. With 1:13 left in the second, Ray Pigozzi saw an opening and netted a shorthanded goal, ending the period 1 all.

In the third the Steel came out strong when Tyler Hill scored 16 seconds into the third, putting the Steel ahead 2-1. Two minutes later Mackenzie MacEachern received a penalty shot, when he was taken down from behind on a breakaway. MacEachern was unable to put the puck past goaltender Anderson Snair. With 10 minutes to go in the third Indiana’s Mitch Hults tied the game up at 2, sending the game into overtime.

Neither team was successful in overtime, allowing a shootout to determine the game. Alex Sakellaropoulos had two huge saves during the shootout when Indiana’s Joseph Widmar and Jason Salvaggio were unable to score. However, Drew Smolcynski and Alex Roos both scored allowing Chicago to come away with two points.

Patrick Polino, Christian Neumann, and Drew Smolcynski all recorded assists during the game.

While Chicago was outshot 43-33, Alex Sakellaropoulos had 41 saves during regulation.

This weekend the Steel play three games in three days. On Friday, March 22nd, the Muskegon Lumberjacks will welcome the Chicago Steel to the LC Walker Arena. Puck drop will be at 7:15pm (6:15pm Chicago time). On Saturday, March 23rd, the Chicago Steel will welcome Team U-17's to the Edge Ice Arena. Game time is set for 7:05pm. On Sunday, March 24th, the Chicago Steel will welcome the Indiana Ice to the Edge Ice Arena. Game time is set for 3pm. Following the game, kids are able to go on the ice and shoot with the Steel players. You can purchase a ticket to participate for an additional $3.