CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI- The Chippewa Steel wrapped up their weekend series with the Minnesota Magicians on Saturday night. The Steel came off an exciting win on Friday night on the road and looked to skate off with a series victory. The Steel started the Burkart-Famulak-Ogle line with Jackson Decker and Luke Farthing on defense and Trent Burnham in goal.
The Chippewa Steel dominated the first period outshooting the Magicians 21 to 5 in shots on goal. It was Connor McGrath who was able to start things up for the Steel scoring his 9thgoal of the season with an assist coming from Ryan Kerchoff.
The Steel continued to handle the Magicians in the second period. Jacob Dirks put one between the pipes for Chippewa. Forward Grisha Gotovets added an assist on the Dirks goal pushing the Steel to a 2-0 lead. Burnham continued to protect his own net for the Steel holding the Magicians to two scoreless periods heading into the third.
It was all Steel until the final buzzer of the third period. It was Dirks again who found the back of the cage on his second goal of the night, making it his fourth goal of the series. Steel captain Isaac Moberg assisted on the goal extending Chippewa’s lead to three goals. In the end it was Gordon Whalen’s unassisted empty-net goal that sealed the deal for the Steel late in the third period. Burnham’s stellar performance in goal led to a shutout victory for the Steel with a final score of 4-0
The Steel will face the Magicians once more this week on the road Wednesday night before returning to Chippewa to face the Fairbanks Ice Dogs on Friday. The Steel will be offering a Valentine’s Day ticket package special on Friday night. Puck drop on Friday is at 7:10 p.m. and can also be live streamed via HockeyTV. For tickets call 715-861-2131 or visit chippewasteelhockey.com.
###
The Chippewa Steel are members of the NAHL which is the oldest and largest junior hockey league of its kind in the United States and one of only two USA Hockey-certified leagues that operate under the non pay-to-play model. The NAHL is also one of the best at advancing players to NCAA and professional hockey. Notable Alumni of the NAHL include Ryan Suter (MIN), Patrick Kane (CHI) and Phil Kessel (ARI) All league games are viewable via HockeyTV. For more information, visit chippewasteelhockey.com.