Winter Classic...Steel Style

Happy Thursday Steel Fans! Last Wednesday, the team decided to practice a little bit different, and in a different location. The coaches and players decided that it would be fun to have their own Winter Classic. So, on Wednesday, January 22nd, the boys and coaches packed up all of their equipment and headed to the Elmhurst YMCA to play a game of hockey.

The game consisted of 2, 30 minute periods with an intermission in-between. This was just like a regular game with refs, authentic jerseys, and penalties. Coach McConnell and Coach Enga were the two refs of the game and they recruited some help for the scoreboard and penalty boxes. Since McConnell and Enga were the refs, the two coaches were Hockey Operations Intern, Neil Jenkins, and Equipment Manager, Pat Dolan. The teams were as follows

Team Black (Pat)	Team Mania (Neil)
Jackson	Vanko
Ernsting	Kwiecinksi
Smith	Payne
Tischke	Bergh
Kearney	Yau
Artemov	Schilling
McDonald	Fetzer
McGing	Bjorkung
LeBlanc	Jones
Polino	Booth
Bunz	Nell
Morris	LaValle
Niko

If any of you remember, last Wednesday was cold and snowy. That didn't stop any of these boys. Between scarves, hats, gloves, and multiple layers, everyone was set and ready to go. 

Minus some of the front office staff heading out there to watch the game, we had some spectators stop by and watch the boys play. Needless to say, by the end of the game it was too cold for most people. 

Here are some action shots from the game. You might notice that a lot of the players had different positions compared to a regular game. The team "coaches" had some interesting ideas of who they wanted to play what. 

The game had some penalties, and 23 goals total. In the end Team Black was able to pull out the win. 

Overall the boys and staff had a complete blast with the game and decided that this needs to be an annual occurrence. Everyone agreed this was a fun and unique way to practice, and take advantage of an outdoor rink that is almost right in our backyard. We can't wait to see what next year's outcome will be! Have a great day Steel Fans!