Friday Period One:

Muskegon opened the scoring with a goal from Cameron Berg at the 4:56 mark of the first period. Chicago would answer back less than two minutes later when Matt Coronato netted his fifth goal of the season for Chicago, tying the game at 1–1. Lumberjack forward Alexandros Gaffney took the lead back for the visitors with his fifth goal of the season, beating Steel goaltender Victor Ostman.

The visual https://t.co/v23EdKO0WM pic.twitter.com/m8cVftMwUD

— Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel) November 30, 2019

Friday Period Two:

Muskegon extended their lead to 3–1 when forward Artem Shlaine scored his second of the year at the 4:54 mark of the second period. Not much action would take place until the second half of the period when Chicago scored three times as Sean Farrell, Coronato and Mackie Samoskevich each scored for the home team.

Muskegon also received a goal from Cameron Berg which evened the score after two period of play at 4–4. Muskegon goaltender Jack Williams faced 27 shots after two period of play, while Ostman only faced 18 shots total.

Friday Period Three:

Muskegon received goals from left-handed shooting defenseman Dylan Gratton and forward Jack Williams to power the Lumberjacks to the 6–4 victory over the Steel.

Saturday Period One:

The lone goal of the period came off the stick of Steel defenseman Owen Power. His sixth goal of the season, assisted by Farrell and Luke Reid, was the only shot to find the back of the net amongst the 13 Steel shots in the period.

Sean Farrell might have Superman-level vision and here’s the proof https://t.co/mAg31u6Ehu pic.twitter.com/R9Iffh3MbF

— Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel) December 1, 2019

Saturday Period Two:

Another wild second period took place, this time in Michigan, as forwards Danil Gushchin and Tanner Kelly beat Ostman in the first few minutes of the period, giving the home team the 2–1 lead.

Not to be outdone though, forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine scored his eleventh goal of the season, firing a shot past Williams. Power and forward Mathieu De St. Phalle assisted on the game-tying goal.

A from https://t.co/lJE03ENMt1 pic.twitter.com/ZgtFbjjRhV

— Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel) December 1, 2019

More like Victor stman https://t.co/p7YNhZJvYg

— USHL (@USHL) December 1, 2019

Saturday Period Three:

Gushchin opened the scoring in the third period on an unassisted goal to give the Lumberjacks the 3–2 lead at the 2:42 mark of the period.

At the 16:42 mark, forward Sam Colangelo beat Williams to tie the game and force an overtime period. The goal gives the Northeastern University commit 12 goals on the season.

Here is the goal from Sam, and we cannot stress this enough, GOALangelo https://t.co/FMqMHaxUVX pic.twitter.com/rO8ReBEHiC

— Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel) December 1, 2019

Saturday Overtime:

Chicago would score on their only shot on goal needed in overtime as Fontaine beat Williams for his second goal of the game and goal 12 on the season. Ostman stopped 24 shots on the evening for the victory in net.

A big save at one end, the Man goes to work at the other and wins the game for the @ChicagoSteel! #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/vvzYnsXrAf

— USHL (@USHL) December 1, 2019

Chicago will take on the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders at home Friday Dec. 6 before traveling to Cedar Rapids for another contest on Saturday Dec. 7. Both games start at 7:05 p.m.

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The Chicago Steel won both games over the weekend in Sioux City to keep a strangle hold on first place in the Eastern Conference of the USHL. On Saturday, Chicago found an offensive explosion in route to a 6–3 victory while defeating them on Sunday 3–2 in overtime.

In the opener, the five-goal second period by the Steel was too much for the Musketeers to overcome. Forward Brendan Brisson scored twice to pace the Steel. The University of Michigan commit also added an assist on the evening to finish off his three-point night.

Chicago also received multi-point games from forwards Sean Farrell, Gunnarwolfe Fontaine and defenseman Owen Power. Victor Ostman turned aside 30 shots for the victory in net.

During the matinee game on Sunday, Chicago fell behind twice early before tying the game in the middle of the third period and finishing off the home team in overtime.

Forward Mathieu De St. Phalle scored his 11th goal of the season in the second period, but the Musketeers would take back the lead before forward Tyler Carpenter tied the game midway through the third period.

In overtime, forward Sam Colangelo won it for the Steel with an unassisted goal, his 10th of the season. Goaltender Ian Shane stopped 25 shots for the victory in net.

Team USA

With the 2019 World Junior A Challenge approaching in December, four Chicago Steel players were selected to represent the United States. Brisson, Farrell, Fontaine and defenseman Luke Reid will represent the Steel in British Columbia, Canada.

“We’re excited to watch Brendan, Gunnar, Luke, Sean and the rest of their teammates, including (former Steel) Josh Groll, represent the USHL and the United States while competing for a gold medal,” said General Manager Ryan Hardy during a team interview. “Additionally, we’re thrilled that once again Jim Schroeder has been invited to serve Team USA as Head Athletic Trainer.”

The World Junior A Challenge is set to begin Dec. 7.

Forward of the Week

Adding to the great week for Brisson, the USHL rookie was named the USHL Forward of the Week for his four-point weekend in Sioux City. Brisson netted two goals and added two assists. He also leads all first-year league members with eight goals and 10 assists on the season.

“We are so happy to see Brendan garner this type of recognition and we’re privileged to help him continue to grow his game over the course of the season and reach his full potential,” Hardy said about his forward.

Brisson and his teammates will travel to Madison this Friday for a single game before returning home on Saturday for the back end of the back-to-back with the Capitols. Both games are scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. CST puck drop.

The post Steel weekend recap: Four to represent Team USA, Brisson earns Forward of the Week appeared first on The Rink.

Youngstown jumped out to a lead in the first period when defenseman Aiden Gallacher beat Steel netminder Victor Osman. A penalty shot goal by forward John Beaton, given after an Owen Power delay of game penalty, extended the Phantom lead to 2–0 early in the second period. Youngstown extended found the back of the net again in the second period when forward Trevor Kuntar beat Osman for his ninth goal of the season.

Chicago outshot Youngstown 23–10 after two periods.

Forward Sean Farrell finally solved the mystery that was Basse in net for Chicago’s first goal of the game. The goal gave the Harvard University commit his sixth goal of the season.

Less than a minute later, forward Mathieu De St. Phalle beat Basse for his ninth goal of the season. Assisted by forwards Brendan Brisson and Farrell, Chicago cut the lead to 3–2 with over 18 minutes left in the game.

The @RPI_Hockey commit, @JohnBeaton_07 scores on the penalty shot to increase the @YtownPhantoms lead! #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/8A8t02VZ5f

— USHL (@USHL) November 2, 2019

After an onslaught of shots on Basse, Chicago could not muster the tying goal before surrendering an empty net goal to give the Phantoms the 4–2 victory.

On Saturday night, Chicago jumped out to the lead with a late first period goal and finished off their opponents after three goals in the third period, defeating the Waterloo Black Hawks 5–3.

Chicago jumped on top when the University of Notre Dame commit Tyler Carpenter beat Waterloo goaltender Logan Stein at the 19:27 mark of the first period. The goal, Carpenter’s fourth goal of the season, was assisted by defenseman John Spetz.

Spetz would find the back of the net himself, at the 4:04 mark in the third period, for his second goal of the season. Spetz’s tally was assisted by forwards Brisson and Sam Colangelo.

Waterloo would answer back with a second period goal of their own when forward Patrick Guzzo beat Steel goaltender Victor Ostman.

Both teams exchanged goals less than a minute apart when Colangelo found the back of the net to extend the Steel lead to 3–1, however, forward Dane Montgomery scored his second of the season moments later.

With the score 3–2 in favor of Chicago, both teams exchanged goals again within a minute when Colangelo scored his second goal on the night, his third point, only to be matched again by Black Hawks forward Griffin Ness.

Waterloo pulled Stein in hopes of tying the game, however, defenseman Owen Power would seal the deal for the home team with an empty net goal. Power’s fourth goal of the season finished off Waterloo for a 5–3 victory.

Prior to this past weekends games, goaltender Victor Osman and defenseman Owen Power were named the Goaltender and Defenseman of the Week for the USHL for their games on October 25 and 26, respectively. Ostman and Power are the first recipients of the awards for the Steel this season.

GM Ryan Hardy on USHL Players of the Week

G Victor Ostman – “Really happy with his development, his attention to detail, his willingness to get better.”

D Owen Power – “He’s probably the best kept secret in hockey. I don’t know how much longer it’s going to be a secret.” pic.twitter.com/u7r3yYP0vk

— Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel) October 30, 2019

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Nick Abruzzese earned an All-USHL First Team spot after leading the league in scoring with 80 points (29 goals, 51 assists) in only 62 games. The Harvard University commit’s 80 points was the second-highest point total in franchise history. Abruzzese broke the franchise record for assists in a season with his 51 and became just the third Steel player to reach 100 points during his career with the franchise.

Team captain Matteo Pietroniro broke the franchise’s single-season goal mark for a defenseman with his 18 goals this season in earning All-USHL Second Team honors. The Boise, Idaho, native finished tied for seventh among USHL defenseman in goals. Pietroniro now holds the Steel record for defenseman in a career with 27 goals. With 70 assists total with the Steel, he also ranks second all-time in franchise history.

Forward Robert Mastrosimone scored 31 goals this season to bring his career total to a franchise record 47 goals, earning him All-USHL Third Team honors. Mastrosimone also recorded his 100th career point this season to join Abruzzese. The Boston University commit also finished his career with 58 assists placing him seventh all-time in Chicago franchise history.

Rookie defenseman Owen Power was named to the USHL All-Rookie Second Team after a record season for the youngster. The 16-year-old scored 11 goals this season, although starting the season at only 15 years of age, and registered 25 points for the season. Power was fourth in the league this season among all defensemen with his 11 goals.

General Manager Ryan Hardy was named the 2018–19 USHL General Manager of the Year in his rookie season in the role after spending the previous two season scouting for the Boston Bruins.

“Our goals in Chicago are, first and foremost, to facilitate the development of talented hockey players and, secondly, to compete for the Clark Cup,” Hardy said. “Garnering personal accolades is not relevant in our program. While I am appreciative of the recognition from my peers, this honor does not reflect the work of one individual, but rather the talent, hard work and passion of the coaching staff, hockey operations department and, most importantly, every one of the players who have donned the Chicago Steel crest this season.”

Hardy joins an excellent group of rookie general managers to have won the award. Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper won the award in 2008–09 with the Green Bay Gamblers. Dallas Stars head coach Jim Montgomery also won the award with the Dubuque Fighting Saint in 2010–11.

Hardy is quick to deflect the attention to rookie head coach Greg Moore, associate head coach Brock Sheahan, Director of Player Personnel Tristan Musser, Director of Hockey Operations Chris Hoeler, assistant coach Mike Garman, strength and conditioning coach Virgil Strzelecki, Athletic Trainer Jim Schroader and Equipment Manager Parker Hoffman.

“If there is one aspect of this season that I take the most personal pride in, it would be the identification and procurement of our coaching staff, who are more responsible for this honor than I am,” Hardy said.

The post Abruzzese, Pietroniro, Mastrosimone, Power and Hardy earn USHL end-of-season awards appeared first on The Rink.