Preseason Recap: Forge Split Games with Bulls, Take Home Win into New Season

VALENCIA, PA - The Iron City Forge preseason kicked off with a two game, home and home slate with one of the newest members of the APHL, the Wooster Bulls.

The first of the two matchups saw the Forge travel to Wooster, OH to kick off the slate. Wooster got the scoring going halfway through the first, but Michael Keller and the offense tied things on the man advantage minutes later and took a 1-1 tie into the dressing room. The Bulls started the second off strong with a pair of goals to reclaim the lead. Chase Frye collected a goal in the final minute for Iron City to give the team some momentum to end the second period down one. Wooster struck first to start the third to go up by two, but the Forge battled with a pair in just 21 seconds from Keller and Richard Doyle. The back-and-forth affair continued with a Wooster response, then a Johnny McGuire tally to tie things back up. Wooster would add two goals late to take a commanding 7-5 lead with the clock in their favor. Richard Doyle found the back of the net for the second of the game, but it wouldn’t be enough as Wooster took the first game of the series 7-6. Carsen Burkhart stopped 42 of 49 in his first taste of APHL action.

The preseason finale visited Frozen Pond Arena for the Forge’s first home game in their brand-new home. In front of an electric crowd, Iron City looked to start the regular season on a high note. Wooster followed the same formula as the first affair, striking first but would be followed up by a Noah Kris goal moments later to tie things at 1. Starting the second, Iron City continued to ride high off an Alec Krause goal to give the Forge their first lead of the game. Wooster would respond minutes later, and we see a tied game headed to our final period of play. The Forge’s resilience paid off with a Michael Keller goal to reclaim the lead, and they never looked back. Benny Cunningham would add some insurance followed by Keller’s second and the Forge cruised their way to a 5-2 victory to close out the preseason. Veteran Kodey Silvis played one of his best games in net helping guide his team to victory.

The Forge will kick off the regular season October 18th and 19th versus the Thousand Island Raiders at Frozen Pond Arena. 

For tickets and more details, please visit IronCityForge.com/Tickets