Steel Fall 7-3 to Lumberjacks
April 12, 2024 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Chicago Steel News Release
GENEVA, IL - Chicago and Muskegon exchanged the first four goals of the game, but four straight from Muskegon lifted them to an insurmountable lead as the Steel (27-27-3-4, 61 pts.) fell to the Lumberjacks (37-22-1-1, 76 pts.) 7-3 Friday night at Fox Valley Ice Arena.
Ryder Betzold opened the scoring with his first career USHL goal in the first frame, and Brady Arneson scored his fourth goal of the season in the second. Teddy Mutryn deflected home his first goal with the Steel while on the power play to wrap the scoring for Chicago.
Goaltender Wesley Jefferson-Swint II made his USHL debut and made 20 saves in the loss.
Several Steel players were making their USHL debuts Friday night, and despite the experience gap between the two teams, Chicago stuck with Muskegon for much of the first frame.
The Lumberjacks managed to find a tally on their 12th shot of the period when David Klee sent a pass from behind the net to Justin Solovey who scored a power play goal to open the scoring.
Muskegon's lead lasted all of 1:41 as Betzold made a sneaky move around a defender and fired short side on Muskegon netminder Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev for his first career USHL goal that tied the game at one.
Just seven seconds after the goal, Chicago was assessed a penalty, sending Muskegon to its second man advantage of the period. The road team took little time with the clock dwindling as Klee ripped a shot from the right circle to give the Lumberjacks their lead back.
The first half of the second period went scoreless before Kolin Sisson created space along the right half wall and found a streaking Arneson, who released a heavy wrist shot from the high slot to tie the game for the second time.
The Lumberjacks owned the remainder of the frame, getting even strength goals from Sacha Boisvert and Joe Connor to grab a 4-2 lead heading to the third period.
Chicago outshot Muskegon 9-7 in the second period.
Muskegon added to its lead at 1:58 of the third when Cody Croal scored off a backdoor feed from Connor on a shorthanded two-on-one rush, making it 5-2.
The Lumberjacks went to their third power play of the night just after the midpoint of the third and cashed in again as Boisvert found the back of the night for the second time.
A late penalty gave Chicago a chance on the power play to respond, and they did, as Mutryn deflected a point shot from Lukas Sawchyn to secure his first goal with the Steel.
At 18:27 of the third, the Lumberjacks added its final goal from Matvei Gridin to cap off a 7-3 win.
Chicago will host the final game of the regular season on Saturday, April 13 at 6:05 pm CT against Muskegon.
The Lumberjacks sit one point behind Green Bay for the #2 spot in the Eastern Conference and a First Round bye heading into Saturday's season finale for both clubs. Whichever club is unable to secure the bye will host the Steel for a best-of-three First Round series starting Monday, April 15.
April 13 is Fan Appreciation Night where fans can win hundreds of available prizes from team sponsors including a gift basket from Culver's of Batavia, a giant toy mixing truck from Ozinga, Vertical Endeavors rock climbing passes, Geneva Family Dental custom whitening trays and more.
Tickets are on sale now starting at just $10. All Steel tickets are digital and fans are encouraged to purchase online in advance at ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com.
For a limited time, fans can take advantage of the team's Ticket Plan Madness promotion to receive free regular season and playoff games for this season plus other benefits when signing up for a new ticket plan for the 2024-2025 season. Ticket plans start at just 5 games for $50.
For more information, call 855-51-STEEL or visit ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com.
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