CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI – After a thrilling shootout victory on Wednesday night the Chippewa Steel (17-14-5) continue their busy week into a weekend series against the Janesville Jets (21-10-3). For this home and home series, Friday’s game is at the Chippewa Area Ice Arena with puck drop at 7:00 PM CT and Saturday’s game will be held at the Janesville Ice Arena with puck drop at 7:05 PM CT. The Steel are in 5th place in the Midwest Division and pushing to get back in a playoff spot while the Jets are in 2nd place. These games are meeting four and five of a 10 game season series, after this weekend the Steel will not see the Jets until March.
TICKET/GAME AND BROADCAST INFORMATION
Friday’s home game for the Steel is Girl’s Youth Hockey Night! All Girl’s Youth Hockey Players that wear a Youth Hockey Jersey get FREE Admission into the game! To purchase tickets to Friday’s game click HERE. If you are traveling too Janesville to cheer on the Steel, tickets can be purchased HERE. If not, be sure to catch all the action from the comfort of your own home on NAHLTV. You can watch the Steel all season long on NAHLTV and listen to the “Voice of the Steel” Joey Erickson.
BUSY BUSY BUSY
After the conclusion of this week for the Chippewa Steel they will have played five games in eight days. Not only have they played three games of the stretch, but they’ve played four straight games that have gone passed 60 minutes. The Steel are 3-3 this season in overtime this season and won for the first time in a shootout yesterday. No matter who the opponent is the Steel are playing close games, eight out of the last 11 games have been decided by one goal. The last series of the month on Jan. 26 and 27, wraps up the the 10 game series with the Minnesota Wilderness.
CAPTAIN O’ CAPTAIN
The Captains for the Steel came up huge on Wednesday night, Chippewa was trailing by one with less than two minutes to go and Zach Sondreal blasted a slap shot passed Minnesota’s goalie to tie the game at two and force the game into overtime. Not only was it a huge goal in the context of the game, but the first goal of the season for Sondreal and his first since March 31st of last season. In the skills competition, Peyton Platter delivered the dagger on a beautiful deke to seal the win and a much needed two points for the Steel.
FLYING HIGH JETS
Unlike the Steel, the Jets will be well rested after being idle last week. The last game they played was the overtime win over the Steel earlier this month. Leading scorer Haden Kruse scored in overtime and slam the door shut on a potential comeback for the Steel. Kruse has 44 points this season which is top five in the NAHL and has six points in last two games including a four point night against Kenai to start the month. In net Matthew Alberti has been a work horse for Janesville, in 25 games this season he has a 2.52 GAA and 0.927 SV% and is 1-1 this year versus the Steel. He has not lost a game in regulation since October, Alberti is currently on a six game winning streak. Averaging 4.26 goals per game this season is best in the NAHL this season, a 145 goals in 34 games is second best this year and show no signs of slowing down and a major factor of why they’ve been at the top of the Midwest Divison the majority of the season.
HEY ROOKIE
Rookie defensemen Mason Peapenburg who joined the team in December has had a stellar start to his career including six points in his first nine games. He’s shown great poise and patience with the puck in a small sample in the NAHL and more importantly thrives in the defensive zone as well. In his last four games, Peapenburg has five points and even earned some power play time. It’s no surprise that he was on the NHL Central Scouting List for the upcoming NHL draft and will certainly be a player to look out for that has a bright future.
Stay connected during the season by following the Steel @chippewasteel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and online at chippewasteelhockey.com.