USHL Chicago Steel

Chicago Sweeps On The Road

Published on January 21, 2008 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Chicago Steel News Release


Bensenville, IL (January 21st, 2008) -- The Chicago Steel were able to continue their winning ways on the road this past weekend as they beat the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Friday and the Des Moines Buccaneers on Saturday night. Going into the weekend, Chicago was 7 points behind 2nd place Cedar Rapids, ending the weekend they finished 3 points behind 2nd place and 1 point behind 3rd place Waterloo.

Friday Night the Steel took on second place Cedar Rapids and Chicago continued right where they left off from their previous meeting Wednesday night where the Steel won 4-2. Continuing their scoring ways, Chicago's powerplay would play a big part Friday night as it went 3 for 5.

Brian Dowd (Niagara) would get the Steel on the board first with their first powerplay goal of the night as Tim Buttery (Michigan State) and Brian O' Neill (Yale) moved the puck around the RoughRiders penalty kill unit. Mike Seidel would even the score at 1 for Cedar Rapids, but Simon Olsson would score an even strength goal for Chicago. Tim Buttery picked up his second assist on the night. Brian O'Neill would top of the first period with a powerplay goal for Chicago giving the Steel a 3-1 lead to go into the locker room with. Drew LeBlanc (St. Cloud St) would get the assist on O'Neill's goal.

The second period would not see as much scoring as the first period, but Chicago was able to pick up the only goal of the period with a goal by Andrew Miller (Yale). John Moore (Colorado College) picked up his 7th assist on the season on Miller's goal.

The third period would start off on the right note as Luca Cunti (St. Cloud St) earned himself a powerplay goal. This goal gave the Steel a 5-1 lead to defend with 18 minutes left in the game. Corey Chakeen and Rob Madore (Vermont) had the helpers on Cunti's goal.

The RoughRiders would try to make a comeback scoring 2 goals in six minutes making it a 5-3 game, but Steel goaltender Rob Madore battled in net for the Steel and he picked up his 6th consecutive win, his 11th on the season. Madore faced 43 shots, saving 40.

Saturday Night in Des Moines, the Steel powerplay continued to be strong getting Chicago on the board first. Tim Buttery was able to net his first goal of the season Friday night, only 1:56 into the game. Buttery's goal came from a well setup powerplay with the assists credited to Luca Cunti and Simon Olsson. The powerplay continued to move the puck well and Max Nicastro (Boston) reaped the benefits this time. Simon Olsson and Luca Cunti each picked up their second assists on the night.

The Steel would take a 2-1 lead into the locker room going into the first intermission, but a powerplay goal for Des Moines would even the score at 2. Brian O'Neill would give the Steel the lead again as he scored his 13th goal of the season, this goal would also prove to be the game winner for Chicago. Nicastro picked up his second point of the night, and Ryan Schnell also got an assist on the game winner.

Nick Pisellini picked up his 2nd consecutive win, his 7th win on the season stopping 30 of the 32 shots he faced.

The Steel return to The Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville Friday night for a home and home series against the Green Bay Gamblers. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 for Friday night's game and tickets can be purchased by calling the Steel Box Office at (630) 594-1165.




United States Hockey League Stories from January 21, 2008


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