The Green Bay Gamblers will play the Chicago Steel in a pair of away games on Friday, April 8, and Saturday, April 9, followed by a matinee game with the Muskegon Lumberjacks on Sunday, April 10, at the Resch Center. These will be the ninth and tenth meetings with Chicago, and the Gamblers are currently 4-4 against the Steel. The teams last played each other on Saturday, March 5 at Fox Valley Ice Arena, where Green Bay beat Chicago 2-1. This will also be the last time the teams face each other in the regular season.
The Gamblers have a 22-29-3-1 record and are currently eighth in the USHL Eastern Conference with 48 points. Some players to watch for include Brody Lamb and Danny Nelson.
Lamb has seen some great production in his last three weeks of play. With seven points on two goals and five assists in that time frame, including a goal this past Saturday against USA, the Minnesota commit has continued to make his mark in his first full season with the Gamblers. With three goals against Chicago this year, the New York Rangers draftee is in a good position to continue his productive season.
Joining the team last week after finishing his high school season with Maple Grove High, Nelson has injected immediate offense to the Gamblers. Playing in four USHL games so far, including a two-game stint with Team USA, the forward has three points on two goals and one assist. This includes a goal in his first game as a Gambler this past weekend. Drafted in the second round of the 2021 USHL Futures Draft by Green Bay, expect the young Minnesota native to put points on the board to end the season with the Gamblers.
The Steel have a 34-12-8-1 record and are currently first in the USHL Eastern Conference with 77 points. Some players to watch for include Joe Miller and Sam Lipkin.
Miller enjoyed some of his best months of hockey during the home stretch of the regular season. Since the month of February started, the Harvard commit has scored points every weekend. This includes a four-point game last Saturday, where he scored two goals and two assists. Add that to the fact that in the last weekend of play against the Gamblers he had three assists, and Green Bay should keep the forward on their radar this weekend.
However, Lipkin has been Chicago’s hottest player over the past three weeks. The Quinnipiac commit has gone five of his last six games scoring a goal and scoring at least once in four straight contests. The Arizona Coyotes draftee also features as one of seven members of the 30-goal club and is fourth best in the USHL with 31. With nine points on three goals and six assists against the Gamblers this year, expect the forward to make some noise against Green Bay.
Puck drop is at 7:05 PM on Friday and Saturday, and 3:05 PM on Sunday.
You can get your tickets for Sunday’s contest at www.gamblershockey.com.
