Clark Cup Final: Game 1 Review
"The Herd" hold off a rally by the Chicago Steel to secure the first game in the USHL Finals
In front of a reported attendance of nearly 7,000, the Chicago Steel dropped game 1 of the Clark Cup Finals to the Sioux Falls Stampede.
Game Summary
First period - The Stampede were the bigger, harder to contain group. Chicago attacked well when they had their chances — but I give the edge in the first period to “the Herd”, despite the period being scoreless.
In the second period, the Stampede jumped off to an early lead by keeping the puck deep and getting fresh bodies out on the fly to maintain the pressure. Owen Power turned over a puck in the corner and Brendan Olson, dialed in on the fore-check, grabbed it then created a play that Carl Berglund would eventually finish (primary assist Cade Borchardt).
About 5 minutes later, Andre Lee would come up with the puck in a shuffle around the net and dart it in past Justin Robbins. 2-0 “Herd”
The worst lead in hockey began to take effect as the Stampede would start to let up, as though they were not aware there would be a few more games to play. The Steel responded with a goal by way of Josiah Slavin — off of a bit of puck luck — the initial shot flew off to the wall and then returned right in front of Slavin to rifle it in past Jaxson Stauber. 2-1
The Steel predictably began to regain their momentum and make the game closer. With a few minutes to go, Gunnarwolfe Fontaine nearly scored, clanging far post.
In the third period, it didn’t take long before a shot by John Spetz, a simple play at the point, would get past Stauber to knot things up. At this point, the Stampede were well back into the now-tied game, playing much more inspired hockey. With their swagger again intact, the somewhat back-and-forth third period would see the Stampede regain the lead once and for all by way of Jared Westcott banging one home in front of the net off a one-T pass. With three minutes to play, Brendan Olson got called for high-sticking and the Steel had a golden opportunity to tie up the game. The PP was one to forget. Only Robert Mastrosimone did anything worthwhile, despite the Steel having the 2-man advantage (with the goalie pulled). After that, there was a decent chance with 7~ seconds left for the Steel, though the Stampede held on.
The Stampede carried the play for the most part and generally should be considered the favorites — they are an imposing and effective group when it counts — but the result still could have gone either way.
See the bottom of this post for my notes on some of the prospects.
Highlights/video recap:
Gunnarwolfe Fontaine - First-year draft-eligible and very noticeable in the offensive zone. Great instincts around the net, gets shots off quickly. None found the net here, but he’s due for a few in this series if he keeps playing his game.
Josiah Slavin — Nearly created the best scoring chance in the first period off of a clean take-away — if only he displayed a little bit more poise on the puck.
Andre Lee — He had some decent scoring chances. The one that counted was nothing special, though: a puck close to the net surrounded by bodies which he found and shot in with ease. I like him in straight lines, keeping it real, keeping it simple.
Logan Britt — Nice command of the puck in possession, can create zone entries, distributes pretty well. (+3 on the night, no points)
Ryan Johnson — I thought it was a good not great game for the Minnesota recruit, in all three zones. Nothing mind-blowing, but he effected some good plays and didn’t force much. His shot selection could improve.
Robert Mastrosimone - The draft-eligible skater didn’t have a great game. He was a -2 with two recorded shots on the night, and one of those minuses was the game-winner against.
Austen Swankler — He was noticeable (I was paying a good amount of attention to the draft-eligible), but there was nothing to write home about. The Michigan recruit finished minus-one on the night.
Cade Borchardt — Thought he had a nice net drive in the first period, also helped to create the opening goal.
Anthony Romano — Dialed-in from the puck drop. While he doesn’t display the most high-end upside, he was pretty engaged and effective on a critical unit for the Stampede.
When I notice players but don’t have anything to note, I’ll just include a limited viewing marker. This means: “yes, I noticed them, but I didn’t pay enough attention to write about them.”
Limited viewing: Jami Krannila, Max Crozier, Ethan Phillips