DUBUQUE, IA - The Dubuque Fighting Saints (40-12-3-5, 88 pts) scored early and held the lead the rest of the way in a 4-2 win over the Chicago Steel (27-26-3-4, 61 pts) on Saturday night.

Joona Väisänen scored his ninth of the year on a rush up the ice to open the scoring for the Saints just 3:32 into the first period on Saturday. Michael Barron and Noah Powell assisted on the game-opening tally.

At 7:29, the Saints added to their lead with Erik Påhlsson converting on a setup from Juraj Pekarcik and Väisänen. It was Påhlsson's 25th goal of the season and his 18th game with a point in his last 20 contests. Dubuque never surrendered the lead after its two early tallies.

In the second period, Beckett Hendrickson assisted a Pekarcik breakaway-goal after forcing a turnover in the Saints zone and feeding Pekarcik toward the goal. Pekarcik scored his ninth of the season and logged the second of his three-point night. After Chicago answered late in the second, Hendrickson scored his 26th just 1:45 into the third.

Hendrickson has logged multi-point contests in four of his last five games, with 10 total points in that stretch. The Boston Bruins draft pick has eight goals and 17 points in 14 games for Dubuque.

Dylan Johnson made 14 saves on 16 shots in his sixth win of the season, including two breakaway-saves in the second period.

Dubuque earned its 40th win of the season, something only two other Saints teams in the franchise's Tier-I history have done. 

The Saints are back in action on Friday at home against the Waterloo Black Hawks.