Week 6 Preview: 12/10/20, 12/11/20, & 12/12/20 @ Chicago
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- Written by Justin Irwin
- Category: Opinion and Editorial
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On offense, the Steel lost a few big names that we won't miss. Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, Sam Colangalo, and Mathieu De. St. Phalle are among names we got sick of hearing called the last couple seasons that we won't hear this season. The bad news is they still have a lot of firepower. The top returning point scorer from last season - and this season's second overall scorer in the league - is Sean Farrell (6g, 10a), a 4th round pick of the Montreal Canadians in the 2020 NHL draft. Farrell has played a lot in the USHL, more than 120 total games dating back to the 17-18 season with the NTDP. He's a smart player with his head up always looking to make a play, and this season he seems to be finishing the play more.
Leading the team and the league in scoring is Matt Coronato (8g, 10a). Coronato, now in his second season, is a NHL CSS B-ranked skater who has tremendous speed and uses it to drive the play up ice. He is a big catalyst for the Steel. In terms of pure goal scoring, I think the leagues 3rd overall scorer Mackie Samoskevich (3g, 10a) will be a top contender. Samoskevich is a crafty '02 with a CSS A-ranking, amazing hands, vision, and a wicked shot. I think he'll live up to his CSS rating eventually, let's not be the ones to help him.
Read more: Week 6 Preview: 12/10/20, 12/11/20, & 12/12/20 @ Chicago
Game Recap: 12/5/20 vs Muskegon
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- Written by Justin Irwin
- Category: Game Recap
- Hits: 153

Facing the same opponent as the night before, the Muskegon Lumberjacks, the Phantoms needed to do two things different from Friday to get back in the win column - play better defense and play better offense. That's simple, right? Everything said, our defense wasn't that bad Friday, save for the amount of shots on net. The Phantoms showed they got that point in the first. The Phantoms held the 'Jacks to just 5 shots on goal, a huge improvement over the night before. However, the Phantoms only mustered 5 shots themselves and the first period ended with the same score as it started, 0s across the board.
The 'Jacks scored first, early in the second. On a powerplay that carried over from the first period, Christophe Tellier hit Dylan Wendt with a pass in the low slot. Wendt deflected the puck in through some traffic in front and trickling through Phantoms netminder Kyle Chauvette at 1:31. The Phantoms would respond late in the frame. Georgi Merkulov lugged the puck up ice deep into the Muskegon zone where he laid a pass back to Jack Malone in the right faceoff circle. Malone one-touch passed the puck to Cole Burtch on the other side of the ice for a one time shot that the 'Jacks goalie, Christian Stoever, could not stop at 16:52. The 1-1 score held into the intermission with the shots 9-8 in favor of Muskegon in the middle frame.
Game Recap: 12/4/20 vs Muskegon
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- Written by Justin Irwin
- Category: Game Recap
- Hits: 127

The Lumberjacks got off to a good start and dominated play. The Phantoms, for their part, were on their heels pretty much from the drop of the puck and had a hard time trying to get out of first gear. Their transition game, especially their lack of ability to move the puck through the neutral zone, was obvious from the start. The 'Jacks scored first, Dylan Wendt ripped a shot on goal, with Sholl making the stop but the long rebound went right to the stick of Cameron Berg to pot a goal in a yawning net at 4:11 of the first. The Phantoms were outshot 14-4 in the first.
The Phantoms were outshot in the second 11-4 but still evened it up. Reilly Funk picked up his 3rd of the season picking off a Danil Gushchin pass just inside the 'Jacks blueline. Funk skated to the crease unobstructed and ripped a shot that beat Christian Stover stick side at the 10:00 mark. The real story of the middle frame was the netminding of Mattias Sholl. Shortly before the Funk goal, he made a save on an odd man rush for the 'Jacks. A give and go play with Tyler Dunbar feeding Philip Tresca made Sholl have to nearly split himself in two but the Phantoms netminder stopped the puck and covered it. Moment after the Funk goal, Ben Strinden got a pair of shots on net from the slot, Sholl making the first save challenging the shot well out of the crease and the second caugh in the glove from a sitting position several feet outside the blue paint.
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