CHL playoffs in sight following 3-1 victory

Youngstown has an eight-point cushion in the race for the final two spots.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- With two wins in two nights over the Wichita Thunder, the Youngstown SteelHounds have opened up some breathing room in their chase for the franchise's first postseason berth.
Saturday's 3-1 victory at the Chevrolet Centre gives the SteelHounds an eight-point cushion over the Thunder and Tulsa Oilers in the race for the final two playoff spots in the Northern Conference.
This season, six teams from each conference qualify for the postseason. In the Central Hockey League's expanded format, the winners of the three first-round series advance to the conference semifinals as does the highest seeded losing team.
"This is a time [of the season] when you can't take a night off," SteelHounds coach Kevin Kaminski said.
Pulling away
Third-period goals by Shaun Landolt and Chris Shaffer were the difference in the game dominated by the SteelHounds, who outshot the Thunder, 36-17.
"We did a good job again defensively of keeping [action] to the outside," Kaminski said. "We blocked a ton of shots again tonight. And we showed persistent puck pressure.
"We knew tonight was not going to be a [game] like [Friday's 5-1 romp]," Kaminski said. "Wichita is a hard-working team with skill players and good scorers."
The second period ended with Chris Richards decking Travis Clayton, with both earning game misconducts.
The third period opened with the penalty box filled to capacity and each team with just three skaters. Eighteen seconds later, Landolt beat goaltender Andrew Martin for a 2-0 lead.
"We have a really fast team, so a three-on-three or four-on-four plays into out strength," Landolt said.
"Tab [Lardner] pulled up and tried to make a pass," Landolt said of his 12th goal of the season. "The puck bounced off one of their sticks and landed on my tape in the crease."
Back and forth
Halfway through the third period, the Thunder sliced the lead in half when Ryan Lauzon beat SteelHounds goaltender Brad Roberts for a power-play goal.
But the SteelHounds sealed the win when Shaffer connected after a give-and-go pass from Landolt with 2:17 to play.
Thanks to a tripping penalty to the Thunder's Joe Blaznek, the SteelHounds' first power play helped them take the game's first four shots. Thunder goaltender Sebastien Laplante had little trouble stopping them all.
Late in the period, with a man-advantage opportunity winding down, the SteelHounds thought they had a 1-0 lead when the goal light went on behind the Thunder net. But defender Matt Hanson's shot hit the side of the net and referee Keith Kaval signaled for play to continue.
With four minutes to go in the first period, Laplante was struck in the chest with the puck and was replaced by Martin.
In the period's final seconds, the SteelHounds finally cracked the Thunder defense with captain Jeff Christian's 30th goal of the season.
With the Thunder a man short, defender Jeff Alcombrack took a pass at the blue line from Hanson and fed Christian in the left faceoff circle. Christian immediately fired a wristshot past Martin for a 1-0 lead.
Penalties to Milan Maslonka and Stephen Margeson gave the Thunder a two-man advantage for one minute, but Roberts stopped the three shots Wichita managed.
williams@vindy.com