Jack Parsons made 40 saves in the Chicago Steel's regular-season opener against the Des Moines Buccaneers on Friday at the 2024 USHL Fall Classic.
In the first game of the regular season, the Chicago Steel relied on their newest and most experienced goaltender to start the 2024-25 campaign. Jack Parsons, who had shared the net during his two years with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan, was tested early.
Less than 20 seconds into the game, the Des Moines Buccaneers fired an awkward shot on net from the right-wing circle. The shot could have easily slipped past the 6-foot-4 netminder. However, Parsons, who made appearances in over 70 games for Team USA over the last two seasons, remained calm and turned the puck aside for his first official save in a Steel sweater.
The early stop set the tone for the rest of the game and proved why Chicago valued him so highly as a fourth-round pick in this year's Phase II Draft. He was paired with the younger Louka Cloutier to bring much-needed experience to the goaltending room.
Parsons stopped all nine shots he faced in the first 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the Steel's offense found their rhythm behind 12 shots. Charlie Pardue, Parsons' teammate at the Program, scored the opening goal just over eight minutes into the game. The forward stole the puck behind the Des Moines net, skated to the top of the point, and then fired a shot into the back of the net.
Just over ten minutes later, the Steel struck again. On a play in transition, Arseni Marchenko found tender signing Adam Valentini on the backdoor, marking his first career USHL goal to give Chicago a two-goal lead after the first period.
The Buccaneers came out of the locker room with renewed vigor, rifling 17 shots on goal in the second period and finding the back of the net twice in the first three minutes of the frame. Jack Kernan scored on the power play from the left-wing circle, and then a defensive mistake allowed Peyton Blair to score his first goal of the year, tying the game at two.
However, Chicago responded with three goals over the final 35 minutes while relying on Parsons' experience at the other end. Des Moines got close. The goal light falsely went off twice on two quality scoring chances, with the first being reviewed by officials. However, Parsons assured his team that the puck stayed out.
The Buccaneers applied a ton of pressure in the third period, registering 16 shots on the frame. However, Parsons kept a clean sheet in the final 20 minutes, turning aside 40-of-42 shots overall, while the Steel skated to a comfortable 5-2 win in their regular-season opener.