Steel Silenced in 7-1 Loss to Youngstown
February 24, 2024 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Chicago Steel News Release
YOUNGSTOWN, OH - Jordan Brisson interrupted a Youngstown scoring onslaught with a power play goal in the third period for the only Chicago goal as the Steel (19-20-3-4, 45 pts.) fell to the Youngstown Phantoms (25-13-4-3, 57 pts.) 7-1 the Covelli Centre Saturday night.
Youngstown forward Charlie Cerrato scored his first career hat trick with his fifth, sixth, and seventh goals of the season in the win as the Phantoms scored three times in the first period and never looked back.
Jordan Brisson was the only Steel goal scorer in the loss, potting his ninth of the season and third power play goal with assists from Charlie Major and Joey DelGreco.
Quentin Sigurdson made his second start of the season and made 23 saves in defeat.
The loss marked the first time the Steel were swept in a two-game weekend series since mid-December when the Steel dropped two straight games to Muskegon.
The consecutive one goal output for Chicago marked the first time the Steel were held to one goal or less in consecutive games since being shut out in back-to-back games by Fargo in November.
Saturday's game was scoreless for the first ten minutes before Youngstown dominated the last half of the period.
The Phantoms advanced on a two-on-one opportunity after creating a Steel turnover at their own blue line. Christian Chouha scored on a wrist shot after receiving the back door pass to put the Phantoms on the board.
Two minutes after the goal, Chicago took a post-whistle penalty that sent the Phantoms to the power play.
Just 15 seconds into the power play, Youngstown found an opening and scored off a Ryan Botterill shot that made it 2-0.
The penalty woes continued for the Steel, as they took another penalty late in the period that gave the Phantoms a chance to tighten their grip on the game.
Youngstown eagerly went to work and scored 30 seconds into the power play on a rebound from Michael Burchill to cap off a three-goal first period for the home team.
The Phantoms scored their three goals in a span of 7:27 and outshot the Steel 15-6 in the first 20 minutes.
Scoring was dormant for almost 17 minutes of the second period before Youngstown added another to its count.
Daniel Jencko gained possession of the puck behind the net and lobbed it into the slot for Charlie Cerrato, who sent a backhander past an outstretched Sigurdson to make it a 4-0 Phantoms lead.
Youngstown was assessed a penalty two minutes into the third period, and the Steel were finally able to break through.
Charlie Major skated through the middle of neutral ice and into the attacking zone, drawing in two defenders. With Phantoms converging, Major dished a pass to Brisson on the left wing who ripped a perfect snapshot over the shoulder of Youngstown goaltender Aiden Wright to break the shutout bid.
The attempt to gain momentum was quickly shut down by Youngstown, however, as Cerrato scored consecutive goals to secure his hat trick and extend the Phantoms lead to 6-1.
Luke Osborn added one more goal for good measure to cap off the dominant 7-1 victory for the Phantoms and secure the weekend sweep.
After a road matchup against Green Bay on Friday, March 1, the Steel will return home for a pair of games on Saturday, March 3 at 7:05 pm CT and Sunday, March 4 at 3:05 pm CT.
March 3 is the 6th Annual Wiener Dog Races presented by PetSuites, where up to 20 low-flying pups will compete for the title of Top Dog.
The Steel will celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 4, which is a Steel Family Pack game where fans can get four tickets, four hot dogs, four chips, four sodas/waters and four Chuck-A-Pucks starting at just $60.
Single game 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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