CHIPPEWA FALLS, WI – The start of the second half did not go as planned for the Chippewa Steel (15-14-3) being swept by Anchorage at home. Now, they hit the road with a chance to steal against a tough Janesville Jets (19-10-3) club. The Jets swept Minnesota last weekend, and pulled themselves to a tie for first in the Midwest Division with 41 points. The Steel fell to fifth and with five of the eight games this month against Janesville and Minnesota this will be a crucial stretch of the season. Puck drop at the Janesville Ice Arena for Friday is set for 7:05 CT P.M.
TICKET/GAME AND BROADCAST INFORMATION
If you are traveling too Janesville to cheer on the Steel, tickets can be purchased here. If not, be sure to watch the game 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.
GAVIN MIDDENDORF
Playing in his first season with the Steel, Middendorf provides a lot of speed and skill to a lineup that wants to play fast and score goals. After starting the season in the USHL with the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, he’s scored six goals and has seven assists in 20 games. Including tied for the team lead with two game winning goals, a goal last Friday extended his mini point streak to three games. He finished with eight shots on goal last weekend and has not faced the Jets this season.
HIGH POWER
The Jets have a variety of options when it comes to scoring this season, but none better than Haden Kruse who is top 10 in league scoring with 38 points in 31 games this season. He’s tied for the team lead with 15 points on the power play along with defensemen Connor Brown who leads all defensemen with 33 points this season from the blue line. The Steel hope to keep them off the scoresheet this Friday as they try to win for the second time at the Janesville Ice Arena.
FAST STARTS
The Steel are 13-1-1 this season when scoring first, getting out to an early lead has been imperative this season. Catch up hockey is hard to be successful at and the steel are 2-12-2 this season when conceding the first goal. The silver lining is the last time the Steel were in Janesville, they gave up the first goal and still managed to come from behind and win. Five goals from five different players including four unanswered and a highlight reel tally from Peyton Platter.
Stay connected during the season by following the Steel @chippewasteel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and online at chippewasteelhockey.com.