CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI – The Chippewa Steel (24-23-5) took a massive step forward in their playoff push after a 1-0 win over the Windigo last week. Backed by a 40 save shutout from Carter Wishart and a lone goal from Matthew Grannan in the first, the Steel have pulled themselves to three points behind the final playoff spot. Just eight games remain and the next four are on the road, this weekend the Steel head to Springfield (18-25-7) for the second time this season for a pair of games against the Jr. Blues.
GAME/TICKET INFORMATION
The Steel and Jr. Blues meet this Friday and Saturday at the Nelson Center in Springfield, Illinois, this marks the fifth and six meetings of an eight game season series. Puck drop on Friday night is scheduled for 7:05 PM CT, and an hour earlier on Saturday at 6:05 PM CT. For those of you planning to travel to the Nelson Center, you can purchase tickets by clicking HERE. Otherwise you can take in all the action from the comfort of your own home by watching on NAHLtv!
THE PUCK STOPS HERE
We took a closer look at Carter Wishart heading into the game against Wisconsin and he delivered with his best game of the season. His 40 save shutout was his second of his career, his first clean sheet was back on September 15th, 2022 against Corpus Christi where he made 17 saves. It was the second shutout of the season for the Steel, Ajay White provided the first shutout of the season back in November versus Fairbanks. Wishart and White will be leaned on heavily in the final month and will be a huge contributing factor if they make the playoffs.
DEPTH
The Steel are starting to get contributions from their offensive depth such as Cam Davis and Matthew Grannan the past two weeks. Grannan scored the lone goal last Thursday and Davis opened the scoring for Chippewa in Janesville ending a lengthy scoring drought. Last week, they also welcomed back Alex Lunski who returned to Minnetonka High School in November and just completed his senior season. Lunski had six points in 16 games before heading back to school, he was also on this years NHL Central Scouting List.
Stay connected during the season by following the Steel @chippewasteel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and online at chippewasteelhockey.com.