Chicago 3, Waterloo 1
The Chicago Steel kept up with their opponents chasing them for second place in the Eastern Conference beating the Waterloo Black Hawks 3–1. Steel goaltender Reilly Herbst stopped 36 shots to lead Chicago in Waterloo, Iowa.
The evenly matched game remained tied at 0–0 halfway through the second period. Herbst and Waterloo goaltender Jared Moe both made a few spectacular saves early on in the game. Moe, a Winnipeg Jets sixth-round draft pick in 2018, would be the first to break when forward Josiah Slavin beat Black Hawks defenseman Hank Sorensen to the outside and slipped a shot five-hole for the 1–0 Chicago lead.
Ok Josiah Slavin, we get it, you've got skillz. 👌👀@chicagosteel #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/QWkdGUnlY2
— USHL (@USHL) April 6, 2019
The first goal, at the 16:36 mark of the second period, would be followed up less than a minute later when forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine buried his 20th goal of the season. The goal, assisted by forward Adam Robbins, extended the Chicago lead to 2–0 as both teams went into the second intermission.
Defenseman Owen Power opened up the scoring in the third period, on the power play, beating Moe for his 10th goal of the season. Assisted by forward Mathieu De St. Phalle and Robbins, extended the Steel lead to 3–0.
Waterloo forward Ryan Drkulec beat Herbst at the 8:07 mark of the third period to cut the Steel lead to 3–1, but that would be the only goal for Waterloo. With the victory, Chicago extended their lead over Cedar Rapids and Youngstown to three points heading into their Saturday night matchup with the Dubuque Fighting Saints.
Dubuque 5, Chicago 0
On Saturday, Dubuque Fighting Saints goaltender Matthew Thiessen stopped a team record 44 saves in shutting out the Steel 5–0 in Dubuque, Iowa. The Vancouver Canucks draft pick stood on his head all night, stopping 31 shots through two period before whitewashing the Steel on 13 shots in the third period.
Fighting Saints forward Matias Maccelli, a potential 2019 NHL draft prospect, scored twice to reach the 30 goal mark this season. Dubuque also received goals from defenseman Chris Lipe, forward Bram Scheerer and forward Dylan Jackson.
Chicago returns to home ice on Friday, April 12 for Fan Appreciation Night for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop. The Steel then finish up the regular season in Muskegon, April 13, for a 7:15 p.m. start. Chicago clings to a one-point lead for the second-place spot in the Eastern Conference, which comes with a first-round bye.
Click here to see the Eastern Conference Playoff Race information.