STEEL MEETS TWINE IN SHOOTOUT, DEFEAT ICE 5-4
The Indiana Ice played the Chicago Steel Friday evening like they had two hands tied behind their back. The Ice, who leads the USHL in power play conversions and penalty killing, gave up three power play goals and a short-handed score in a 5-4 shootout loss at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Penalties kept the hosts short-handed and on two occasions Indiana put themselves in killing 5-on-3 visitor power plays. Both times they were able to hold on while they had two skaters in the box---but both times the Steel scored just after the penalty evolved into a 5-on-4 advantage.
Indy also gave up a key power play goal which tied the score at 3-3 early in the third period. The special teams gave Chicago a 4-3 lead when they allowed a “shortie” with 1:54 remaining in regulation.
Had it not been for Robbie Baillargeon’s power play goal with 48 seconds remaining to send the game into a 4-4 overtime and ensuing shootout, Indiana would have walked away empty handed and without a point.
The shootout went seven rounds before the Steel’s Charlie O’Connor converted to give the visitors the victory. The Ice failed to score on any of their seven attempts against Chicago’s Alex Sakellaropoulos---who came into the game in relief of starting netminder Mathias Dahlstrom midway through the second period.
Baillargeon’s 12th goal of the season gave the hosts momentum heading into the extra session after he collaborated with Jake Fallon and Ryan Obuchowski on the game-tying score.
Indy headed into the third period with a 3-2 lead after the second period was a carbon copy of the first period. The visitors scored just after Indiana weathered a 5-on-3 power play. However, the Steel scored with a single extra skater at the 11:45 mark. Jeff Kubiak’s goal knotted up the game at two-apiece.
Just like the first period, Kuraly potted his eighth goal in his last nine games. His score was a nearly identical backhander to his first period marker. He lit the lamp at 14:46 in the second period for his 21st goal of the season. The assist again came from Baillargeon, as the hosts protected a one-goal advantage heading into the third stanza.
The visitors drew first blood when they scored on an Andrew Miller power play goal 2:30 after the opening puck drop. The game’s first score occurred just as Indiana killed the first of the back-to-back penalties in the game’s opening 1:07.
Kuraly’s first goal evened the count when the Ice capitalized on their initial power play opportunity. His backhander at 5:36 of the first stanza included assists from Baillargeon and Daniil Tarasov. The goal with the man-advantage extended Indy’s power-play dominance, as they have converted in 14 of their last 15 games.
The hosts skated to the first intermission with a 2-1 lead after a Jose Delgadillo blue-line slapshot made it through traffic and on to the stick of Drew Smolcynski--- who redirected the puck past starting netminder Dahlstrom. Dan Sherer added a helper on the goal, with 2:55 remaining in the opening period.
