Red-Hot BlackHawks Stop Steel
Story By: Steve Jankowski
Bensenville (March 21st, 2009) --The Chicago Steel's faint playoff hopes were on the line Saturday night in Waterloo, but the Black Hawks used a five-goal second period to knock the Steel out of playoff contention as they earned a 7-4 win.

Waterloo used a power play goal from Eriah Hayes late in the first to take a 1-0 lead.  He redirected a pass from Ben Miller past Steel starting netminder Hudson Stremmel for the first period's only goal.

Waterloo then exploded for three goals in the first 2:06 of the second period to chase Stremmel from the crease.  Craig Smith scored two of those three goals, and finished off his hat trick at the 8:35 mark of the second to put Chicago in a 5-0 hole.

Chicago stopped the bleeding with a power play strike from Andrew Miller (Yale University), but a minute and a half later, Waterloo responded with a J.T. Brown goal.

The Steel kept fighting, notching a pair of goals late in the second to get back within 6-3.  Mark Anthoine (University of Maine) scored at 16:15, and Greg Wolfe capitalized on the power play with 30 seconds left in the 2nd period.

Early in the third, Mark Goggin (Dartmouth University, Boston Bruins) got Chicago within two, but Chicago's power play surrendered a shorthanded goal to Waterloo's Derek Arnold with 1:55 left to seal the Steel's fate.

The Steel will return home for a matchup on Tuesday, March 24th at 7:30 p.m. against the Des Moines Buccaneers.  Tickets for all remaining Steel home games can be ordered by calling the Steel Ticket Office at 630.594.1165.