The last time the Green Bay Gamblers won a USHL playoff series was in 2012 when they went all the way to the Clark Cup Championship. The drought ended in thrilling fashion Wednesday night at the Resch Center as the Gamblers defeated the Chicago Steel 3-2 in overtime to take the opening round series 2 games to 1. After a scoreless first period, Ben Poitras delivered not once, but twice within four minutes of the second. He scored on the power play 15 seconds into the period and added another at the 3:55 mark for a 2-0 lead. Chicago battled back netting two power play goals of their own, the first came midway through the second period and the equalizer occurred early in the third. The game stayed even until the end of regulation. The Steel were denied a winning goal in OT thanks to the steel crossbar, a shot that had to be reviewed by referees before being disallowed. It was the second time Chicago found metal in the game but backup goaltender Gavin Moffatt stood tall in the net, making 29 saves on the night. With just under four minutes left in overtime, Aiden Park burst in from the left circle, crossed the face of the Chicago goalie and lifted in the game and series winning goal. Park, a third round pick of the Gamblers in 2022, opted to finish his high school career at Shattuck St. Mary’s and just joined the club over a week ago. He became the unexpected hero as the Gamblers advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinal round. Green Bay is the number three seed in the east, only because they garnered fewer shootout points during the regular season, finishing tied with Muskegon at 78 points and they now face Muskegon in the best of five second round beginning on the road this weekend, but after a 12 year wait, the Gamblers are willing to play anywhere as long as they’re still playing hockey.
Head Coach Mike Leone said after the thrilling win, the team took a big step toward restoring the Gamblers tradition.
The Gamblers celebrate their series clinching overtime win.
The other second round series will have Youngstown take on top seeded Dubuque in the East. The Phantoms eliminated Madison 8-4 to win their series two games to one. In the Western Conference, Tri-City routed Sioux Falls 8-3 in game three to advance against top seed and Anderson Cup winning Fargo. Lincoln swept Waterloo in it’s first round matchup and travels to number two seed Sioux City.
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