Gratton’s OT winner delivers first Clark Cup to Chicago Steel

Tyler Gratton couldn’t have picked a better time to score his first goal of the United States Hockey League postseason.

Gratton’s goal 11:30 into overtime, lifted the visiting Chicago Steel to a 2-1 win in the game and the clinching victory game five of the Best of Five Clark Cup Championship against the host Sioux City Musketeers at the Tyson Events Center on Tuesday (May 23, 2017).

The Steel never trailed in the series but the Musketeers fought back to even it at 1-1 and 2-2 forcing the fifth and deciding game.

Carson Vance scored the only goal of the first period to put the Musketeers in front, his second goal of the playoffs and it was Eduards Tralmaks with his 10^th of the post season pulling Chicago level with 4:33 to go in the second.

Goaltenders were the story of the game as they have been throughout the playoffs. Ales Stezka picked up the win in goal for the Steel with a 45-save effort while Matiss Kivlenieks, winner of both the Goaltender of the Year and Player of the Year Honors for the USHL, stopped 25 shots for the Musketeers. Both goals made 4-6 saves in the game that easily fit into the ‘amazing’ category.

Team captain Marc Johnstone hoisted the Clark Cup Trophy for the Steel, the first ever for a Chicago team in the 27-year history of the Clark Cup. The Musketeers have won the Cup three times before, the most recent being in 2002.

Both the Steel and Musketeers also finished as regular season champions in their respective divisions.

The Steel moved through the Eastern Conference with a first round win in five games against the Youngstown Phantoms followed by a conference final win in four games against the Dubuque Fighting Saints. The Muskegon Lumberjacks also reached the post season in the Eastern Conference, falling to the Fighting Saints in four games.

Other Eastern Conference teams included the fifth place Green Bay Gamblers, sixth place Bloomington Thunder, seventh place Madison Capitols, eighth place Team USA and ninth place Cedar Rapids Roughriders.

On the West side it was Sioux City winning not only the conference title, but the Anderson Cup as the overall regular season leaders. The Musketeers swept the Des Moines Buccaneers in the first round of the playoffs and then went the five game distance to defeat the Waterloo Black Hawks. The Fargo Force also reached the post season, falling in three straight to the Black Hawks. Other West conference teams include the fifth place Lincoln stars, sixth place Omaha Lancers, seventh place Sioux Falls Stampede and eighth place Tri-City Storm.

Teams will make the switch quickly to a new season. While many of the players have already committed to NCAA Division 1 Schools for the fall, the league has already held both Phases of its 2017-18 Entry Draft and are within days of their various tryout camps.