General 3/9/2024 10:15:00 PM

Steel Fall Short in 7-5 Loss to NTDP

Major scores twice, Yurchuk scores teddy bear toss goal

GENEVA, IL — A dominating display of offense from the opposition in the first two frames stifled a three-goal outburst from the home team in the third as the Chicago Steel (21-22-3-4, 49 pts.) fell to the USA Hockey NTDP U17 team (16-28-1-2, 35 pts.) 7-5 at Fox Valley Ice Arena Saturday night.

Ben Yurchuk scored his eighth goal of the season and first for the Steel that sent 439 teddy bears flying from both sides of the ice during the team's 9^th Annual Teddy Bear Toss presented by Geneva Family Dental. Charlie Major stayed hot on home ice and scored his 26^th and 27^th goals of the year. Michael Emerson tallied his sixth goal of the season, and Tobias Ohman scored his seventh.

Goaltender Louka Cloutier made 21 saves before Quentin Sigurdson stopped all 14 shots he faced in relief.

Despite outshooting the NTDP 15-9 in the opening frame, the Steel allowed the U17 team to score four consecutive goals in the first 20 minutes.

Conrad Fondrk got the NTDP on the board four and a half minutes into action with his ninth goal of the season, and Cullen Potter extended the lead five minutes later with his fifth score of the year.

Less than two minutes after Potter's goal, Lincoln Kuehne potted his second goal of the season to move the NTDP to a 3-0 lead.

The NTDP continued to dominate with its fourth goal of the period from Jacob Kvasnicka, his first of the season.

With fans eager to toss their teddies, the Steel finally broke down the wall of NTDP netminder Harrison Boettiger in the second period.

On a strong breakout, Anthony Cardilli, who had a number of great looks in the first period, carried on the right wing and sent a backdoor pass to Yurchuk, who was tied up, but the rookie muscled through the hindrance to deflect the puck past Boettiger and open the teddy bear floodgates.

The Steel appeared to take the game's momentum with a goal just 49 seconds later.

After receiving a pass below the icing line from Michael Hage, Major attempted a cross-crease pass, but it deflected off of an NTDP defender and over the shoulder of Boettiger to bring Chicago within two.

The U17s got a breakaway look from Garrett Lindberg just after the middle point of the second frame, who couldn't convert, but was awarded a penalty shot after getting tripped on the chance.

Cloutier shut down the penalty shot chance to keep it a 4-2 game and keep the momentum on Chicago's side.

The NTDP, however, rejected the momentum shift as three straight goals from the opposition would prove to be enough.

At 12:37, Potter scored his second goal of the night, making it 5-2.

Just 20 seconds after the goal, Drew Schock IV scored his second goal of the year to give the NTDP its second four-goal lead of the night.

The away team didn't let off the gas, and three minutes later extended to a 7-2 lead on Donny Bracco's second goal of the year.

The NTDP owned the shots department in the second period, outshooting Chicago 19-6.

Sigurdson came on in relief to start the third period.

At 7:10 of the third, Thompson got loose on breakaway and made an incredibly smart play to drop the puck to a streaking Major, who deposited the puck into the open net for his second goal of the game.

Four minutes later, Michael Emerson sniped a dazzling wrist shot into the top right corner of the net to make it 7-4.

The NTDP held the Steel scoreless for seven minutes before Ohman deflected a Reid Conn shot from the left circle past Boettiger to get the Steel within two with just under two minutes left.

The strong comeback effort from the Steel came up just short as the NTDP escaped with the 7-5 win.

Chicago will close out the weekend with another Sunday afternoon matchup against the NTDP U17 team on March 10, which is Part Two of the Chicago Steel Trading Card Set Giveaway. Full Team Post-Game Autographs will follow the game, where fans can get their trading cards signed by the team.

It's also a Steel Family Pack game, where fans can get four tickets, hot dogs, chips, sodas/waters, and chuck-a-pucks for just $60.

Single game tickets are on sale now starting at just $10. All Steel tickets are digital and fans are encouraged to purchase online in advance at ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com.

For a limited time, fans can take advantage of the team's Ticket Plan Madness promotion to receive free regular season and playoff games for this season plus other benefits when signing up for a new ticket plan for the 2024-2025 season. Ticket plans start at just 5 games for $50.

For more information, call 855-51-STEEL or visit ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com.

Chicago Steel Upcoming Schedule presented by Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush:
Sunday, March 10 vs. USA Hockey NTDP (3:05 pm CT) | Trading Card Set Giveaway Part 2 | Full Team Post-Game Autographs | Family Pack Game
Wednesday, March 13 at Green Bay Gamblers (7:05 pm CT)
Friday, March 15 at Lincoln Stars (7:05 pm CT)

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Players Mentioned

#19 Michael Hage: F; 6' 0"; Uncommitted

#20 Charlie Major: F; 5' 10"; Cornell University

#26 Michael Emerson: F; 6' 1"; Freshman

#16 Reid Conn: Defense; 6' 5"; Freshman; University of New Hampshire

#17 Ben Yurchuk: Forward; 5' 9"; Freshman; Northeastern University

#21 Anthony Cardilli: Forward; 6' 3"; Freshman; St. Cloud State University

#23 Tobias Ohman: Forward; 5' 8"; Freshman

#1 Louka Cloutier: Goaltender; 6' 1"; Freshman; University of Nebraska-Omaha

Players Mentioned

#19 Michael Hage
: 6' 0"; Uncommitted
: F

#20 Charlie Major
: 5' 10"; Cornell University
: F

#26 Michael Emerson
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: F

#16 Reid Conn
: 6' 5"; Freshman; University of New Hampshire
: Defense

#17 Ben Yurchuk
: 5' 9"; Freshman; Northeastern University
: Forward

#21 Anthony Cardilli
: 6' 3"; Freshman; St. Cloud State University
: Forward

#23 Tobias Ohman
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: Forward

#1 Louka Cloutier
: 6' 1"; Freshman; University of Nebraska-Omaha
: Goaltender