There is a lot to like about how the Chicago Steel have performed this season in the United States Hockey League.
The Steel opened up an eight-point lead over Dubuque atop the Eastern Conference after last weekend’s play, and three players from New England ― Sean Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass.), Gunnarwolfe Fontaine (East Greenwich, R.I.) and Sam Colangelo (Stoneham, Mass.) ― have played no small part in pushing them to the top of the league’s scoring charts.
“We do have a pretty good eastern flavor, especially for the USHL, and those guys have obviously been a big part of our success,” said Steel coach Brock Sheahan, a former Holy Cross assistant coach who was promoted to lead Chicago’s bench in December after Greg Moore joined the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies.
“It makes things a lot easier as a coach if you have good players, and we certainly have a great group of kids here.”
For Sheahan’s Steel, one quick look at the stat sheet proves that point.
A Harvard commit with what the coach calls “high-level” hockey sense, Farrell is tied for the lead in USHL points (42) and assists (30), leading in points per game (1.40) through 30 games.
Though Farrell is setting the pace, Fontaine and Colangelo don’t sit far behind as the Lawrence Academy products and future Northeastern teammates have, respectively, racked up 40 and 39 points. Colangelo’s five game-winning goals are tied for second in the USHL.
As a result of their success at the season’s midway point, all three of these New Englanders were listed in NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings and represented the Steel at Monday’s BioSteel All-American Game during which the top American-born, 2020 draft-eligible prospects were put on one sheet of ice at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich.
“We have so many skilled players on this (Chicago) team, so all I really have to do is just move the puck because the guys around me will make plays and I know they’ll finish when I find them in the right spots,” Farrell said. “As a team, we do a really good job of getting the puck back on defense and transitioning to offense, so that’s something I’ve been able to work on and helps us score a lot of goals.”
While putting up points has helped the New England trio lead Chicago to the top of the overall USHL standings with a 27-6-1-0 record, the wins and losses aren’t the most important consideration for Sheahan and his players. After all, the league’s ultimate goal is to produce talent for the next levels.
The players have already seen growth in their individual games, and much of it for these skilled offensive talents has had to do with being responsible over all 200 feet of the ice. Continuing to improve in that area of the game is crucial during the final months of preparation for the college level.
Fontaine’s mindset has shifted during his second full season with the Steel. Though he continues to produce points in a furious fashion and now sits just three shy of his 2018-19 season total, he has confidence as a USHL veteran and knows that simply playing his style of game is what will help him head to Boston next season with the greatest chance for success.
“The way that (Northeastern) plays the game is right into my alley, so I’ve really been focusing on being the best player I can be in every zone,” Fontaine said.
“I’ve been known to be a pretty good offensive forward, but I’ve been trying to work on that in order to be a more complete player that you need to be in college. In general, coming back here for a second year has given me more confidence and less stress on my shoulders.”
The USHL is also similar to the college game in that players can’t take a night off.
Though all three of the Steel’s leading New Englanders have committed, Colangelo ― who played 11 games for Chicago last season after finishing his third year at Lawrence ― said there is reason to be motivated for every game. That will certainly remain true in the Hockey East or ECAC ranks going forward.
“I knew what to expect after being here for a little bit last year, but you just have to realize that you have to be ready for every game or else it could haunt you,” Colangelo said. “There are always people in the building watching you. Even though we’ve come together and won a lot of games, every team can play and there’s never an easy game out here.”
Colangelo, Farrell and Fontaine aren’t the only New England natives on the Steel roster. Two other forwards call the region home in St. Sebastian’s product and New Hampshire commit Liam Devlin (Needham, Mass.) and Michigan commit Mackie Samoskevich (Newtown, Conn.).
According to Farrell, having such a strong New England connection has been an added layer to Chicago’s overall success as a team.
“I was pretty familiar with Devlin, Gunnar and Colangelo from playing on various teams growing up, so having a few guys that I knew well and knew how they liked to play made it pretty easy for me getting used to the locker room,” Farrell said. “And it helps on the ice because they’re all great players as well.
“Coming into the year, I wanted to be a guy that my team could rely on. I don’t think it’s a surprise that we have so many guys with a lot of points because we have a lot of playmakers and guys who can feed off each other.”
