USHL Fall Classic East – Green Bay, Wisconsin
Day 2
Bloomington Thunder 3 vs. Chicago Steel 4
Tyler Sifferlen scored two goals in a span of 41 seconds in the third period to lead the Steel to a victory on the second day of USHL Fall Classic East. Bloomington struck first in the contest as Jalen Smereck netted a goal only three and a half minutes after the opening faceoff. Chicago would get the equalizer later in the period as John Schilling put one in the back of the net. Early in the second period, Michael Booth gave Chicago the lead when he tucked in a goal. The Thunder would answer later in the second on a goal by Patrick Curry and the team skated into the second intermission tied 2-2. Bloomington went up early in the final period on a goal by Jack Jenkins less than three minutes in, but Sifferlen would take over from there. He ripped a power play goal and then less than a minute later he scored the game-winner to help the Steel earn a split over two days in Green Bay (1-1-0). Cale Morris made 28 saves to earn the victory for Chicago.
Dubuque Fighting Saints 3 vs. Youngstown Phantoms 4 (SO)
Kiefer Sherwood scored in regulation and had the deciding shootout tally to lead the Phantoms to a win in their opening game of the Fall Classic Week. Following a scoreless first period, the teams combined for four goals over the middle frame. Gordie Green put the Saints on the board just over three minutes into the period, but Youngstown then capitalized twice on the power play as Kyle Connor netted a goal and Ryan Lomberg converted on the man-advantage four minutes later. Late in the period, Dubuque got a power play goal of their own as Dylan Gambrell tied the contest. The Saints grabbed the lead early in third on a goal by Mason Anderson, but Youngstown pulled even midway through the frame on their third power play goal of the contest. The game went to a 3-on-3 overtime, but neither team scored and it went to a shootout. Sherwood eventually converted the winning shootout tally in the sixth round and the Phantoms handed Dubuque their first defeat of the preseason (5-0-1). Colin DeAugustine made 32 saves and then stopped 4-of-6 in the shootout to earn the victory for the Phantoms.
Team USA 10 vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders 5
Three different players had multi-goal games as Team USA had an offensive outburst in their first contest of USHL Fall Classic East. The teams combined for seven goals in the first period alone. Brendan Warren scored two goals in a span of just 13 seconds midway through the opening period to give Team USA’s Under-18 squad an early 2-0 lead. Jeremy Bracco extended the lead a little more than two minutes later before Derek Daschke answered just 40 seconds after that for Cedar Rapids to make it a 3-1 game. Late in the opening frame, the teams combined for three goals in just 2:03 of game action. Matthew Tkachuk scored for Team USA, followed by Hugh McGing of Cedar Rapids a few moments later. Colin White then made it 5-2 for Team USA just 20 seconds before the first intermission. After recording a hat trick on Monday, Jirk Fronk scored his fourth goal of the Fall Classic Week in the opening seconds, but Team USA would go on a tear after that with three unanswered goals. Joseph Masonius responded only 29 seconds after the Fronk goal before White and Tkachuk each tallied their second goals of the contest. Cedar Rapids showed some life early in the third period with back-to-back goals as Zach Court and Erik Foley scored 41 seconds apart, but the game belonged to Team USA as Auston Matthews and Christian Fischer tallied goals late in the period to close out the contest.
Waterloo Black Hawks 4 vs. Green Bay Gamblers 3 (SO)
Forwards Brock Boeser and John Wiitala both scored in regulation and tallied in the shootout as Waterloo earned a victory in the final game of Day Two at USHL Fall Classic East. Luke Bafia got Green Bay on the board first with a goal late in the first period. Waterloo dominated the scoring in the second period as they scored three goals in the frame. Boeser tied the game just 1:26 into the period before the Gamblers went back on top with a Brent Gates Jr. goal, but Waterloo took advantage of the power play late in the middle period as both Wiitala and defenseman Hayden Shaw found the net to give the Hawks a 3-2 advantage. Green Bay would tie the contest again midway through the third on a Mitch Snyder goal and the game would eventually go to overtime. After a scoreless 3-on-3 extra session, the game would go to a shootout. Boeser and Wiitala both converted their attempts and Hayden Lavigne stopped both attempts by Green Bay to go along with his 17 saves to earn the win for Waterloo. Jared Rutledge made 38 stops in the loss for the Gamblers.
Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the USHL celebrates its 13th season as the nation’s only Tier I junior hockey league in 2014-15. A record 35 players were chosen in the 2014 NHL Draft and more than 300 players on team rosters last season have committed to NCAA Division I schools, further establishing the USHL as the world’s foremost producer of junior hockey talent. For more information, visit us on the web at www.USHL.com or visit the League’s social media platforms, including Facebook (www.facebook.com/ushlhockey), twitter (www.twitter.com/ushl), and YouTube (www.youtube.com/ushlinteractive). Fans can also watch USHL action all season long, live or on-demand via FASTHockey (ushl.fasthockey.com).
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