USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints

Weekend Primer: Saints Square off with Steel for First Meeting this Season

March 1, 2019 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release


For the first time this season, the Dubuque Fighting Saints will battle with the Chicago Steel in a home and home series. Friday night's contest will be held at Mystique Community Ice Center and Saturday will be at the Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Illinois. Chicago is second in the East after going 14-7 in their past 21 games. Dubuque is currently in fifth as they lost twice to CR to close out the month of February.

-The Fighting Saints have 16 games left on their schedule and just three of them are against teams that are currently below them in the standings. The Saints face Chicago in four of the 16 remaining games . On top of that they play Des Moines and Tri-City twice, Muskegon once and Waterloo and CR twice as well.

-The Steel are comfortably in a playoff spot right now as they are five points up on CR in second and 16 points separated from the 6th seed which is the final playoff slot. Chicago features the third highest scoring offense in the league, with 178 total goals and an average of 3.87 goals per game.

-Chicago also boasts one of the best home ice records in the USHL this season. They are 15-7 at the Fox Valley Ice Arena. However, the Steel have lost just once at home since November 9th. Their 14-game home winning streak was snapped by the U-18's on February 16th.

-Both the Steel and the Saints feature power plays that operate at over 21% this season. Dubuque is second in the East and third in the USHL while Chicago is 4th in the East and 7th overall. The difference in special teams lies in the penalty kill. Dubuque still sits last in the USHL at 73.2% while Chicago is 7th at 81.2%.

-Despite the two loses to end February, Dubuque is still 3-2 in their last five games. The Saints offense seems to be the key to victory. Dubuque has played 17 games since the beginning of 2019. In those 17, Dubuque has scored three goals or more 10 times. They are 8-2 in those 10 games and just 1-6 in games when they score fewer than three goals.

-The Chicago Steel are led offensively by one of the best playmakers in the USHL this season. Nick Abruzzese is tied for the league lead in points, with 60. He is also tied for first in the league with 39 assist's. Abruzzese is flanked by Robert Mastrosimone, who's 21 goals are tied for best on the Steel.

-Matias Maccelli still drives the offense for Dubuque. He is the leader in just about every offensive category. Maccelli leads the team in goals, assists, points, power play points, power play assists and shots. He also sits 4th in the USHL in points and assists, while he is seventh in goals and first in power play assists.

-The Fighting Saints have the fewest power play opportunities this season with just 136. The Steel have accumulated the fewest penalty minutes in the league at 512. How many power plays the Saints get is often crucial, based on their success on the man-advantage.

-The game Friday will be the first of eight home games during the month of February. Dubuque will finish the season with 11 of their final 16 at home. The Saints will have a big opportunity as even when they travel, they won't go further than Geneva, Illinois.

Check out the Dubuque Fighting Saints Statistics



United States Hockey League Stories from March 1, 2019


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