Steel Fall 7-6 In Back-And-Forth Contest Saturday
February 2, 2020 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Chicago Steel News Release
GENEVA, ILLINOIS - A late comeback bid came up just short as the Chicago Steel (28-7-1-0, 57 pts) fell 7-6 in a barnburner to the Des Moines Buccaneers (18-17-1-2, 39 pts) Saturday night at Fox Valley Ice Arena. Michael Mancinelli tallied a hat trick for the Buccaneers in the win.
The teams traded goals until the Buccaneers potted three consecutive markers in the third period, taking a 7-4 edge, leaving just under eight minutes for the Steel to make up ground.
Chicago scored twice to cut the deficit to 7- 6 but couldn't tuck home a game-tying goal.
Des Moines, which never trailed in the game, struck first with just over five minutes gone in the opening frame.
Harrison Roy found Mancinelli alone on the left side of the crease to take an early 1-0 edge, the first of Mancinelli's three goals.
After the Buccaneers goal, Chicago answered in the form of a Matt Coronato tally halfway through the opening frame. The Harvard-bound forward found a puck that filtered from Mackie Samoskevich through traffic in front of the net and tucked home his 11th goal of the year.
The back-and-forth battle continued as the Bucs grabbed their second lead of the evening.
Kristoff Papp scooped up a rebound after Alex Laferriere took a shot on net, putting the visitors ahead 2-1.
Just before the 1st intermission, Jimmy Dowd Jr. tallied his second goal in as many games to pull the Steel even heading into the locker room. The defensemen tucked home a wraparound goal.
A quick strike from Des Moines put the Bucs back on top to start the middle frame. Harrison Roy streaked down the right side of the Des Moines zone and let go a wrister that beat Chicago netminder Ian Shane.
For a third time in the contest, the Steel pulled even when John Spetz tallied his 10th goal of the season. Spetz took a cross-ice pass from Brendan Brisson, faked a slap shot and took a little off his effort to beat Des Moines goaltender Cameron Rowe.
The Bucs answered back with a goal from defenseman Frederick Paine with just over two minutes remaining in the second period, sending the teams to the intermission with Des Moines holding a 4-3 edge.
Chicago clawed its way back yet again, this time with a goal from forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine. Dowd Jr. set up Fontaine's one-timer as he carried the puck from the blueline all the way to the goal line, dishing a pass to Fontaine who fired home his 19th marker of the season to tie score at 4-4.
The Buccaneers separated from the Steel with three goals in a span of seven minutes, led by Mancinelli. The forward scored his second of the night with just under 13 minutes left, followed by a marker from Alex Laferriere with nine minutes to go. Mancinelli put the finishing touches on his hat trick 76 seconds later, jumping out of the penalty box and streaking down the left side for a wrister that extended the Buccaneer lead to 7-4.
"When it was 5-4, we were actually playing pretty good hockey," said Steel Head Coach Brock Sheahan. "We just really got away from our game, we gave up the sixth and seventh goals. We have a hard comeback there (at the end) but it's hard to get out of that hole."
Mackie Samoskevich scored a tap-in goal thanks to a beautiful set up from Fontaine and Sam Colangelo to cut the score to 7-5 with 3:16 remaining.
"I think it shifted our momentum which helped us get the next one," said Samoskevich. "Unfortunately, we didn't get the last one but it was a really good push at the end of the game for us."
Just 15 seconds later, Sean Farrell tallied his 13th marker on the season, setting up Chicago within striking distance.
Despite having an extra attacker for the final two minutes of the game and Des Moines narrowly missing the empty cage several times, Chicago couldn't find the equalizer and fell for the third time in four contests. The Steel outshot Des Moines 44-30.
The Steel hit the road for a back-to-back set against the Green Bay Gamblers in Wisconsin on Feb. 7 & 8 but return to Fox Valley Ice Arena on Sun., Feb. 9 for Daddy Daughter Princess Day featuring an appearance by Belle! Sunday's 3:05 puck drop is a Topgolf Family Pack game.
Chicago Steel games may be heard on Mixlr at http://mixlr.com/chicago-steel/ (AUDIO) and video may be streamed on available devices through HockeyTV at www.hockeytv.com (VIDEO).
Chicago Steel Upcoming Games:
Fri., Feb. 7 at Green Bay Gamblers 7:05 pm
Sat., Feb. 8 at Green Bay Gamblers 7:05 pm
Sun., Feb. 9 vs. Muskegon Lumberjacks 3:05 pm (Daddy Daughter Princess Day featuring an appearance by Belle!, Topgolf Family Pack)
For more information and to purchase Steel tickets, call 855-51-STEEL or visit ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com.
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