Steel Earn Weekend Sweep with 8-4 Win Over NTDP
December 28, 2024 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Chicago Steel News Release
GENEVA, IL - For the second straight game, the Chicago Steel (9-18-2-0, 20 pts.) put forth a superb display of offense with eight goals including a hat trick from Kolin Sisson and two-goal outing from Ben Yurchuk in an 8-4 win over the USA Hockey NTDP U17 team (6-15-1-0, 13 pts.) at Fox Valley Ice Arena Saturday night in front of a season-high 2,439 fans.
Sisson scored three times to secure the first Steel hat trick of the season and the first since Charlie Major scored three goals in a 6-1 win over Omaha on March 3, 2024.
Yurchuk scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season, and newly named captain Reid Conn added a score late in the first period. Aidan Dyer celebrated his 19th birthday with his eighth goal of the campaign and Will Tomko potted his sixth of the year.
Goaltender Jack Parsons stopped 17 shots to record his second consecutive win.
Saturday marked the first time the Steel scored eight or more goals in consecutive games since February 2014 when they scored nine goals on Feb. 14 against the U17 team and eight goals on Feb. 15 at Muskegon.
After a strong showing on Friday night the Steel started Saturday's outing with offense top of the mind again, scoring a season-high four goals in the opening frame.
Chicago needed just 28 seconds to open the scoring when Sisson smoked a one-timer off a Yurchuk pass from the right corner to put the Steel ahead.
At the midway point of the first, it was Yurchuk who found the back of the net following a crisp zone entry. Luke Goukler gave the puck to Teddy Mutryn who found Yurchuk at the left faceoff circle for a perfectly placed shot in the top corner to make it 2-0 Steel.
Just over one minute later, Sisson struck for the second time of the period when Noah Lapointe sent a homerun pass down the middle of the ice to spring Sisson on a breakaway for a tally and a three-goal lead.
The Steel were hungry for more, adding another tally with under three minutes remaining in the period when Conn made a move around a defender at the blue line and skated to the right faceoff circle before sending a wrist shot past the right pad of NTDP netminder Ryan Cameron to cap off the four-goal period.
Chicago doubled the shots of the NTDP in the opening frame with a 12-6 lead.
The middle frame featured five goals between the Steel and NTDP.
At 5:55, Dyer celebrated his 19th birthday with a wraparound goal to make it a 5-0 Steel lead.
Shortly after the ten-minute mark of the period, the NTDP went to its first power play of the game and capitalized on the advantage with a Lukas Zajic goal to put the U17s on the board.
Less than a minute later, the NTDP added another when Jamie Glance got behind Chicago's defense and wristed a shot past the blocker of Parsons to make it a 5-2 game.
Just over a minute later, the Steel responded as Owen Tylec gave a great backdoor feed to Tomko for a goal to make it 6-2 Steel.
The road team struck one more time in the middle frame with less than one minute to play when Aurelio Garcia sprinted in on a breakaway and scored to once again pull the NTDP within three.
The Steel matched their shot total from the opening frame with 12 shots in the second.
Chicago added another pair of scores in the final stanza to close out the win.
At 10:04 of the third, Yurchuk added another goal to his statline on a backhanded breakaway goal.
Three minutes later, Sisson completed the hat trick after cashing in on a Yurchuk rebound to make it a Steel eight-spot for the second straight game.
The U17s grabbed a score late in the third on Michael Berchild's fifth goal of the year.
The Steel will play their first road games in the new year next weekend with a pair of games against the Sioux Falls Stampede on Friday, January 3 at 7:05 pm CT and Saturday, January 4 at 6:05 pm CT.
The next home game is Saturday, January 11 at 6:05 pm for a Hockey Stick Cooler Bag Giveaway (first 500 fans) presented by Meyer Signs and Graphics when the Steel host Green Bay.
All Steel tickets are digital, and fans are encouraged to purchase online in advance at ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com.
For a limited time, fans can purchase the Star Wars Ticket Pack, which includes two tickets to Star Wars Night on Saturday, Jan. 18 plus a Steel Light-Up Saber. The package costs just $40.
Group tickets and experiences, suites and other premium areas, including the Coors Light Chill Zone and Ice Side Tables, are also on sale now.
For more information, call 855-51-STEEL.
Chicago Steel Upcoming Schedule presented by Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush: Friday, January 3 at Sioux Falls Stampede (7:05 pm CT) Saturday, January 4 at Sioux Falls Stampede (6:05 pm CT) Friday, January 10 at Green Bay Gamblers (7:05 pm CT)
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United States Hockey League Stories from December 28, 2024
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