Steel Keep Season Alive with 6-2 Win over Muskegon
April 18, 2018 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Chicago Steel News Release
MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN - The Chicago Steel kept their Clark Cup Championship defense alive with a 6-2 win over the Muskegon Lumberjacks Tuesday at L.C. Walker Arena, evening up the best-of-3 series at one game apiece. A trip to the Eastern Conference Semifinals will be on the line in Game 3 Wednesday night at Muskegon with faceoff set for 7:15/6:15 p.m. CT.
Trailing 1-0 in the second period, Chicago reeled off six consecutive goals to seize control of Game 2. Aaro Vidgren scored twice, and defensemen Graham Lillibridge and Brian Hurley added tallies, in a four-goal second period for the Steel. Chicago goaltender Oskar Autio finished with 38 saves on 40 shots.
For the second-straight night, Muskegon opened the game's scoring, this time 7:16 into play. Lumberjacks defenseman Alex Yakovenko collected the puck at the right-wing dot off the faceoff and rifled a wrist shot over the blocker of Autio three seconds into a Muskegon power play.
The Steel answered back in the second period with five goals, four of which counted. Vidgren opened the Steel scoring at the 2:14 mark with a wrist shot past the glove of Keegan Karki.
Lillibridge struck on the power play with a wrist shot from the blue line past Karki's glove at the 5:32 mark but the goal was waved off immediately. Before there was another whistle, Robert Mastrosimone scored from the top of the slot at the 6:32 mark. As Chicago celebrated, the referees used video review to award Lillibridge with the goal, negating the Mastrosimone tally.
Vidgren added his second goal of the night at the 6:17 mark when he tipped home a shot pass from Hurley through the five-hole of Borgiel to make it 3-1, marking the end of Karki's night as he was pulled in favor of Zach Borgiel.
Exactly three minutes later, with 10:43 to play in the middle frame, Hurley scored a goal of his own with a one-time bar-down slap shot past Borgiel's glove.
In the third, Chicago forward Blake McLaughlin scored at the 10:58 mark when he sent a snap shot from the slot under the glove of Borgiel. Mastrosimone then finished off a Jack Dugan cross-crease pass to beat Borgiel and extend the Chicago lead to five. The assist was Dugan's second of the night as he extended his point streak to eight games (9-7-16) dating back to the regular season.
Muskegon center Wyatt Bongiovanni scored his second goal in as many games when he struck for a power-play goal with 4:20 to play on a wrist shot from the right-wing circle.
Steel forward Baker Shore finished the game with three assists while defenseman Derek Daschke finished with two. Both teams scored on the power play after going a combined 0-for-6 in Game 1. Chicago finished 2-for-6 while Muskegon was 2-for-4. The Lumberjacks outshot the Steel 40-25 in the game.
Game 3 will mark the third deciding game of a playoff series for the Steel in the last two seasons. Chicago defeated Youngstown (Eastern Conference Semifinals) and Sioux City (Clark Cup Final) in deciding Game 5s last season. Wednesday night's game will be carried live on Mixlr (free audio) and HockeyTV (iPPV). The winner will advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Fans are encouraged to visit the Playoff Hub on ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com for game dates, times, results, and ticket information throughout the 2018 Clark Cup Playoffs. For broadcast links and information, visit ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com/broadcast. For more Steel information, call 855-51-STEEL, stop by the Box Office at Fox Valley Ice Arena or visit ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com.
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United States Hockey League Stories from April 18, 2018
- Chicago Ousts Muskegon, 5-4, in Overtime of Game Three - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- Stars Take Game 2 with a 6-3 Win over Sioux Falls - Lincoln Stars
- Steel Eliminate Lumberjacks in Overtime, Advance to Conference Semifinals against Team U.S.A. - Chicago Steel
- Force Heading to Western Conference Semifinal Versus Omaha - Fargo Force
- NTDP USHL Clark Cup Playoff Schedule Released - U.S. National Team
- Waterloo Black Hawks Sign Wyatt Schingoethe to Tender - USHL
- Schingoethe Signs with Black Hawks - Waterloo Black Hawks
- Preview: Storm Seek to Extend Series vs. Fargo - Tri-City Storm
- Lumberjacks Sign Forward Alex Gaffney to Tender - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- Storm Drop Series Opening Game in Fargo - Tri-City Storm
- Fighting Saints Rout Gamblers in Game 2 - Dubuque Fighting Saints
- Steel Keep Season Alive with 6-2 Win over Muskegon - Chicago Steel
- Stampede Shoot Down Stars in Series Opener, 5-3 - Sioux Falls Stampede
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