For the third time in the last four Clark Cup Playoffs, the Chicago Steel are heading to the Clark Cup Final, following a 5-4 win against the Muskegon Lumberjacks on Saturday night at Mercy Health Arena.
The win gave Chicago a 2-0 series victory in the best-of-three Eastern Conference Final, the club’s second postseason series sweep and 12th consecutive victory dating back to the regular season.
Adam Fantilli broke a 4-4 tie with just over 11 minutes left in the third period with his second goal of the game.
In Chicago’s first road game of the Clark Cup Playoffs, the Steel and Lumberjacks went back and forth with four different lead changes and a combined six-goal second period.
Matt Coronato added a pair of goals for Chicago while Danil Gushchin tallied twice for the Lumberjacks.
Fantilli helped the Steel jump in front early, just after the expiration of the night’s first power play. The 16-year-old fired a low wrister that beat Muskegon netminder Jan Skorpik, just short of three minutes into the contest.
Staring down a 1-0 deficit in the final minutes of the first, the Lumberjacks’ leading goal scorer in the regular season struck to tie the game. Danil Gushchin broke lose behind the Steel defense making a forehand backhand move up over Latkoczy for his second goal of the Clark Cup Playoffs.
Chicago took control back in the opening moments of the middle frame. Steel captain Erik Middendorf was the beneficiary of an impressive skating display from Mackie Samoskevich who registered his second helper of the night. Samoskevich found Middendorf in front of the net before Middendorf turned and fired home his second of the postseason.
A pair of Muskegon goals in short order flipped the momentum to the home team.
Cam Berg fired a one-timer off an offensive-zone faceoff win for the Lumberjacks, tying the game at 2-2, his fourth consecutive playoff game with a goal.
Gushchin added his second of the night just short of a minute later, giving Muskegon its first lead of the night.
The lead was extremely short-lived due to the USHL leader in regular season and postseason goals, Matt Coronato. The Harvard University-bound skater caught a lead pass from Ryan Ufko that sent him in alone against Skorpik, beating the netminder five-hole to bring the score even yet again.
The Muskegon power play came to life for the first time in 10 opportunities in the Clark Cup Playoffs, late in the middle frame. With a shot from the point, Jacob Guevin guided the puck through traffic in front to put the Lumberjacks back on top, this time by a 4-3 margin.
Coronato was not finished for the Steel. With just seconds remaining in the second period, the Huntington, N.Y., native wrapped around the Muskegon net and tossed a shot that was initially stopped by Skorpik. Coronato gathered his own rebound and fired home his second of the period with 11 seconds before the buzzer.
After the combined six-goal middle frame, one goal was needed to decide the outcome of Game 2.
Just short of the midway point of the third period, Sean Farrell found Adam Fantilli in the neutral zone as Fantilli wound his way through the Muskegon defense, roofing a backhander to give the Steel the lead for good.
With the 5-4 edge, Chicago withstood the final, furious rush from Muskegon, including an extra attacker with Skoprik pulled in the final minutes.
Gushchin launched a final wrister from beyond the blue line that missed the net wide and the Steel poured off the bench to mob Latkoczy in celebration.
The Steel sealed their second consecutive postseason series sweep with the 5-4 victory in Michigan.
Chicago will take on the Fargo Force in the 2021 Clark Cup Final after the Force completed a two-game sweep of the Sioux City Musketeers with a 3-0 victory on Saturday night.
Tickets for the Clark Cup Final will be priced at $20 for Blue Zone locations and $15 for Red Zone seats. Tickets are on sale now by visiting ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com. Fans may also purchase tickets during regular business hours by calling 855-51-STEEL or at the Steel Box Office at Fox Valley Ice Arena open this week from 9 am – 6 pm Mon.-Thur., 9 a.m. until after the game on Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. until the end of the game.
