Green Bay struck early but couldn’t hold off the Chicago Steel, falling 4-2 on Friday night at Fox Valley Ice Arena.

 

The Gamblers came out firing in the opening period, building a 2-0 lead with goals from Griffin Wooten and Ethan Katz. Wooten opened the scoring at 8:02 off a feed from Lukas Samuelsson, and Katz added another late in the frame assisted by Anthony Carcone and Ryan O’Sullivan.

 

Momentum shifted quickly in the second as Chicago answered back just 12 seconds in and later capitalized on a power play to even things up 2-2 heading into the final period.

 

The Steel kept the pressure on late, scoring the go-ahead goal with just over three minutes to play before sealing the win with an empty-netter in the closing seconds.

 

Despite the loss, Green Bay outshot Chicago 31-33 and showed flashes of control early but couldn’t convert in the second and third periods.

 

The Gamblers return to action Saturday looking to bounce back in the rematch against Chicago.