Braden Altena led the way with a hat trick as the Granite City Lumberjacks crushed the New Ulm Steel 6-1 in a home game at Armadillo Deck Sports Arena in Granite City. In addition, David Mulligan came up big, stopping 30 of 31 shots throughout the game. The Granite City Lumberjacks took the lead before the halfway point in the first on a goal from Braden Altena and never looked back.
Brandon Bissett chipped in with 2 goals and Chase Dibari delivered for his team with 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist).
In the first, Bissett opened the scoring for the Lumberjacks with a goal at 8:15 with helpers from Olson and Moran. Altena put in what turned out to be the game winning goal at 11:07 with an assist from defenseman Olson. Langworthy finally put the Steel on the board with a goal at 17:44 with helpers from his teammates Cammarata and Storlie.
During the second period, Altena answered for Granite City with a goal at 17:23 with assists from Sikich and Baker.
In the third, Bissett scored a goal at 4:23 with helpers from Baker and Moran. Altena netted a goal at 6:38 with assists from his linemates, Dibari and Sikich. Dibari put in a goal at 13:52 with helpers from Olson and Sikich.
The Lumberjacks’ victory was in no doubt helped out by Mulligan’s big night as he stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced. Mulligan’s counterpart, Kenny, also had a big night, managing to stop 28 of 34, but ultimately fell short.
This win brings the Granite City Lumberjacks’ record to (3-0-0-0).