GENEVA, IL - The Dubuque Fighting Saints (37-12-3-3, 80 pts) scored 48 seconds in on Sunday afternoon and never looked back en route to a 5-1 win over the Chicago Steel (25-24-3-4, 57 pts).
Dubuque opened a 3-0 lead in the first 9:20 of play against Chicago on Sunday and dominated for a comfortable win. For the second-straight contest, Noah Powell scored in the first minute of the opening frame. After Saturday's goal just 50 seconds in against Green Bay, Powell potted the ice-breaker 48 seconds in to open Sunday's matchup.
After Powell's 35th tally, Beckett Hendrickson converted following a setup from linemates Erik Påhlsson and Juraj Pekarcik at the top of the crease. It was Hendrickson's 21st of the season and third with Dubuque. A few minutes later, the Saints' fourth line forced a puck free with Nick Romeo and Andrew King to find Luke Malboeuf at the circle. Malboeuf ripped home his fourth goal of the season.
In the second period, the Saints power play took over in the same fashion it did during Saturday's win. Just 1:48 into the period, Lucas St. Louis scored his first of two power-play goals in the frame. His second came at 11:58 and put the Saints up 5-0. It was St. Louis' second-consecutive two power-play goal effort. The Saints' defenseman finished the weekend with those four power-play tallies over the last two games. He has 14 goals for the season and is tied for second in the USHL with 13 power-play goals.
Dubuque's power play went 2-6 in the win, finishing the weekend with seven power-play goals in 15 chances. The Saints' penalty kill stopped all three Chicago chances.
For the fifth-straight game, the Saints shut down a top point-scorer in the league. Over five games against Sacha Boisvert (Muskegon), Matvei Gridin (Muskegon), Austin Burnevik (Madison), Julian Lutz (Green Bay) and Michael Hage (Chicago), the Saints held all of them to a combined single assist from Lutz on Saturday.
The Saints maintained their nine-point lead at the top of the Eastern Conference with Sunday's win and will return to home ice on Friday for the first of two against the USA NTDP U18s.
