Weekly Preview: Battle of Last Two Clark Cup Champions
January 23, 2019 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Chicago Steel News Release
GENEVA, ILLINOIS - The Chicago Steel roll into a home weekend series against the defending Clark Cup Champions having won 10 straight games at Fox Valley Ice Arena. This weekend's two-game set against the Fargo Force not only features family-themed ticket specials but special theme nights as Saturday is Game of Thrones Night and Sunday is Trains, Trains, Trains! day presented by Wausau Homes North Aurora as the last two Clark Cup Champions do battle for the only time during the regular season.
In sticking with the battle of recent champions, Saturday is Game of Thrones Night featuring House Steel (22-12-1-0, 45 pts.) defending the Fox Valley Ice Arena from House Force (18-13-1-2, 39 pts.). The Steel will defend a five-game overall winning streak in a night filled with Game of Thrones-inspired entertainment and promotions. Saturday is a Raising Cane's Kids Day with a $10 deal for kids that includes a Red Zone ticket, Steel drawstring backpack and free Raising Cane's kids combo card.
The weekend closes with a kid-friendly 3:05 Sunday afternoon puck drops this season as the Steel host Trains, Trains, Trains! day presented by Wausau Homes North Aurora. The game is set to feature entertainment focused on all things trains and fans are invited to stick around after the action for a full-team autograph session. Sunday's game will feature the Steel Family Pack ticket special, which includes four tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas and four chuck-a-pucks starting at just $48. The Steel Family Pack must be purchased in advance and is not available on the day of the game.
Tickets for all Steel home games are on sale now starting at just $10 and stadium seating on the glass is available for just $20. Parking is always free. The Steel offer discounted tickets for groups.
This will be the only two regular season meetings this season between the Steel and Force. Chicago is looking to avenge a pair of losses last season at Scheels Arena in Fargo. The teams played two games at Fox Valley Ice Arena in December 2016 with the Steel winning the first matchup 5-2 before the Force battled back for a 4-3 shootout win the following night.
The weekend will feature two of the most prolific scorers in the USHL as Fargo forward Ben Meyers (24-21-45) and Chicago forward Nick Abruzzese (14-30-44) enter the weekend tied for first (Meyers) and third (Abruzzese) in points this season.
Meyers has been spurred by his current 15-game point streak that has seen him pick up 27 points (13-14-27) dating back to November 30. There have been just four games this season in which the University of Minnesota commit has not registered at least one point. Abruzzese enters the weekend having scored 32 points (12-20-32) since November 17 while registering a point in 18 of the 21 games during that span. The Harvard University commit leads the Steel with 13 multi-point performances this season.
Fargo also has the sixth-best scorer in the USHL this season in forward Hank Crone (10-32-42). The University of Denver commit has points in 17 of his last 18 games (8-17-25) dating back to November 21.
The Steel are expected to welcome forward Josiah Slavin in the lineup this weekend after a January 22 trade with the Lincoln Stars. The Chicago Blackhawks prospect is the younger brother of former Steel and current Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin.
Tasked with denying the offensive firepower on either side will be goaltenders Justin Robbins and Ryan Bischel. Robbins, the Chicago netminder committed to Quinnipiac University, enters the weekend on a five-game win streak over which he holds a .930 save percentage and .199 goals against average. In a pair of wins last weekend, Robbins picked up his second career-shutout and allowed one goal on a combined 59 shots, improving his season record to 15-8-1-0. Bischel enters the weekend 8th in the USHL with a 2.86 goals against average and 12th with a .892 save percentage.
STEEL NOTES:
* The Steel are currently on a franchise-best 10-game single-season home game win streak. Chicago previously won 10 regular season home games in a row split between two seasons. The team won the final four regular season home games of the 2015-2016 season before winning the first six of the 2016-2017 season.
* Forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine has been on fire of late as he has three game-winning goals on the team's current five-game winning streak. The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute commit has four game-winners since December 8 and is currently tied for the team lead in GWG (4) with defenseman Matteo Pietroniro. The duo are tied for third in the league with four game-winners and Fontaine is tied for the lead among rookie skaters this season.
* Pietroniro leads USHL defensemen with four game-winning goals this season and is currently second in the league amongst blueliners with 29 points and 12 goals. Fellow Steel defenseman John Spetz is among three defensemen tied for third in the league with a pair of game winners.
* Forward Mathieu De St. Phalle made a move up to the top line after Neil Shea was injured on January 12 and is skating alongside Robert Mastrosimone and Nick Abruzzese. In four games on the line, De St. Phalle has five points (1-4-5). This stretch comes after a three-assist performance on January 11.
MEET THE OPPONENT:
* Chicago is set to defend home twice more this weekend against Fargo in a matchup of the last two Clark Cup Champions.
* The Force (18-13-1-2, 39 pts.) are currently sixth in the Western Conference and will come to Chicago for a pair of games after playing the league-leading Muskegon Lumberjacks on Friday night.
* Forwards Ben Meyers (24-21-45) and Hank Crone (10-32-42) are two of the highest-scoring players in the USHL this season. Meyers is tied for the league lead while Crone is sixth.
* Goaltender Ryan Bischel has played in 31 of 34 games for the Force this season and leads the league with 1,807 minutes played. The University of Notre Dame commit holds a 15-12-1-2 record this season but is 4-1-1-0 against the Eastern Conference this season with a 2.76 goals against average.
LAST GAMES:
Friday, Jan. 18 vs. Central Illinois, W, 2-0 RECAP / STATS
Saturday, Jan. 19 vs. Sioux City, W, 5-1 RECAP / STATS
Monday, Jan. 21 at Team USA U-17, OTW, 4-3 RECAP / STATS
*all stats are accurate as of Wednesday, January 23
For more information, call 855-51-STEEL or visit ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com.
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