Chicago Steel Week 23 Game Preview

This weekend, the Chicago Steel have just one road game on the schedule. Sunday, March 1, the Steel head down to Bloomington, Ill. to face-off against the Thunder at 3:00 p.m.

The Steel (21-20-3) picked up wins against Green Bay and Muskegon last weekend before falling to Madison on Sunday. Friday night, the Steel earned the 3-2 victory off Robby Jackson’s third period goal. Saturday evening, Freddy Olofsson tallied two goals and two assists to lead the Steel to the 5-3 win. Sunday, the Steel couldn’t hold off the Capitols falling 5-2. Olofsson tallied four goals and two assists across the three games to earn CCM Forward of the Week honors. Dan Boeser has posted an impressive 4-1 record since taking over as interim head coach on February 12, 2015.

The Bloomington Thunder (20-19-7) suffered two home losses last weekend against Youngstown and Waterloo. Bloomington has taken three of the four matchups against the Steel this season, with each game decided by a single goal. Freddy Olofsson leads all scorers with six points in the four games, including a hat trick on October 17. Mason Bergh has also recorded a hat trick against the Thunder this season, with his coming in a losing effort on November 26.

The Steel will return home next weekend to face Omaha on Friday, March 6 and Dubuque on Saturday, March 7. Tickets for the weekend games can be purchased by calling the Steel Ticket Office at 630-594-1161 or by visiting tickets.chicagosteelhockeyteam.com.

Scenes from the Steel Game

Photo by: MJB Images

Photo by: MJB Images

Photo By: MJB Images

Photo By: MJB Images

Photo By: MJB Images

Photo by: MJB Images

Photo by: MJB Images

Photo by: MJB Images

Photo by: MJB Images

Weekend Milestones

-With one goal and three assists this weekend, Mason Bergh eclipsed 50 points on the season and 75 career USHL points. 

-Freddy Olofsson tallied four goals and two assists to give him 45 points on the season. 

-John Ernsting recorded assists on Friday and Saturday for his 25th point of the year. 

-Jake Bresser scored his first career USHL goal on Saturday.

-Tanner Laczynski's goal on Saturday gives him 10 career goals.

-Lassi Yrjola earned his first career assist on Sunday. 

Chicago Steel Week 22 Game Preview

The Chicago Steel have a full slate of home games at the Edge Ice Arena this weekend. Friday evening, the Steel take on the Green Bay Gamblers at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at 7:00 p.m., the Steel face-off against the Muskegon Lumberjacks. Sunday afternoon, the Steel welcome the Madison Capitols to the Edge, with play beginning at 3:30 p.m.

The Chicago Steel (19-19-3) are coming off a weekend sweep of the Lincoln Stars.  Friday night, in Dan Boeser’s first game as interim head coach, the Steel defeated the Stars 3-1 behind 32 saves from Lassi Yrjola. Saturday evening, the Steel lit the lamp four times in the second period to take a commanding 5-2 lead entering the final frame. Lincoln scored twice in the latter half of the third, but the Steel held off the comeback and picked up the 5-4 victory for the weekend sweep. Marcel Godbout tallied five points (1g, 4a) last weekend to earn CCM Forward of the Week honors. 

The Green Bay Gamblers (14-22-5) are coming off two losses to Fargo last weekend. The Gamblers have struggled in 2015, winning just one of their 13 games in the new year. Three weeks ago, the Steel picked up their first shutout victory of the season, defeating the Gamblers 1-0 in overtime. This season, the Steel are 2-1-1 against Green Bay.

The Muskegon Lumberjacks (26-14-3) have climbed to second in the Eastern Conference. This is the fifth time the Steel and the Jacks have faced each other this season, splitting the previous four contests. Muskegon forward Griffen Molino is tied for the league lead with 33 assists and goaltender Eric Schierhorn leads the USHL with a .923 save percentage.

The Madison Capitols (18-14-9) currently sit just above the Steel in sixth place in the East. Sunday will mark the first ever meeting between the Capitols and the Steel at the Edge Ice Arena. This season, Chicago is 3-0-0 against Madison, with a +11 goal differential. The December matchup between these two teams saw Brendon Kearney record his first career hat trick in an 8-1 Steel win.

Tickets for the weekend games are still available and can be purchased by calling the Steel Ticket Office at 630-594-1161 or by visiting tickets.chicagosteelhockeyteam.com. After Friday’s showdown with Green Bay, we will have a postgame autograph session for all fans. Immediately following Sunday’s contest against Madison, we will have Shoot with the Steel! For $3.00, fans will be allowed on the ice with Steel players and will have three shots on goal. 

Chicago Steel Outdoor Classic

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THE OUTDOOR CLASSIC HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO FREEZING TEMPERATURES. WE WILL UPDATE EVERYONE ON THE NEW DATE AND TIME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. 


Do you want to watch the Chicago Steel play in an outdoor game of hockey? On Monday, February 16^th, the boys and coaches are packing up all of their equipment and heading to the Elmhurst YMCA to play an outdoor game of hockey. The game will consist of the Steel team breaking into two squads to play against each other.

In the early years of hockey, games and practices were held on sheets of ice outside on rivers, lakes and other naturally occurring ice surfaces. The first recorded outdoor hockey game was held in 1875. Shortly after, the game of hockey was moved indoors. On October 6^th, 2001, Michigan State University played the University of Michigan at Spartan Stadium in front of nearly 75,000 fans. This game later became known as the “Cold War” and launched the modern outdoor game phenomenon. In 2003, the NHL held its first regular season game outdoors in Edmonton, Alberta, between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens. This was a starting point for the NHL regular season games being played outdoors. In 2008, the NHL introduced the “Winter Classic,” which has become an annual occurrence.

Last season, the Steel began their outdoor game tradition. They split the team up into two squads and faced off against one another. With Head Coach Scott McConnell serving as a referee, Hockey Operations Intern, Neil Jenkins, and Equipment Manager, Pat Dolan picked the teams and coached the two squads. Last year, Dolan was victorious in a high-scoring game with 23 total goals. Monday will be Team Jenkins vs. Team Dolan, Round Two.

Chicago Steel Week 21 Game Preview

This weekend, the Chicago Steel hit the road for a two-game series against the Lincoln Stars. This weekend marks the only time these two teams will face each other this season. The puck drops are set for 7:05 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday evening.

The Steel (17-19-3) saw their three-game winning streak snapped last weekend, falling to Sioux Falls and Sioux City. Friday’s 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Stampede was followed by a 5-3 loss to the Musketeers. Over the last ten games, Freddy Olofsson has had the “hot hand” for the Steel, tallying six goals and seven assists. Olofsson has totaled 38 points in 36 games this season, including a team-high 18 goals. Olofsson trails only Mason Bergh (44 points) for the team points lead. 

The Lincoln Stars come into this weekend with a record of 13-21-5. Their 31 points currently puts them in eighth place in the Western Conference. The Stars have struggled over the last month of the season, compiling a record of 2-7-1. The Stars offensive attack is led by forwards Michael Gillespie, Ludvig Hoff and Dominick Sacco. Gillespie leads the way with 24 points, while Hoff and Sacco have each tallied 23 points this season. 

Next weekend, the Steel will return home to the Edge Ice Arena for three consecutive games against Green Bay, Muskegon and Madison. To purchase tickets, please call the Steel Ticket Office at 630-594-1161 or visit tickets.chicagosteelhockeyteam.com.

Player Appearance: Robert Frost Elementary

The Chicago Steel brought the Hockey 101 program to Robert Frost Elementary in Mount Prospect this week. After learning some basic hockey fundamentals from Steel forwards John Schilling, John Ernsting and Mike Severson, 4th and 5th graders took part in a scrimmage with the players. Thank you to Robert Frost Elementary for inviting us into your gym this week!

         

                  

For more information on Hockey 101 and our free school programs that utilize player appearances, please contact the Steel at 630-594-1159.

Chicago Steel Week 20 Game Preview

The Chicago Steel have a pair of road games against Western Conference opponents this weekend. On Friday, the Steel travel to South Dakota to take on the Sioux Falls Stampede. Saturday, the Steel face-off against the West’s top team, the Sioux City Musketeers. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday evening.

The Steel (17-17-3) are coming off two big wins in Wisconsin last weekend. Friday, Chicago defeated Madison 5-2 behind two goals from John Schilling and three assists from Freddy Olofsson. Saturday, the Steel and Gamblers played through a scoreless sixty minutes, but Robby Jackson capitalized on a power-play and notched the game-winning goal 26 seconds into the extra period for the 1-0 victory. Lassi Yrjola recorded 29 saves on Friday and a 30-save shutout on Saturday to earn CCM Goaltender of the Week honors.

Sioux Falls (18-15-5) is coming off a shoot-out loss to Lincoln last Saturday. Prior to Saturday’s defeat, the Stampede lost to Sioux City 5-3. This is the first meeting between the Steel and the Stampede this season. The Sioux Falls offense is led by forward Cooper Marody, who they acquired midseason in a trade with Muskegon. Since the move, Marody has recorded a point in 15 of 18 games, tallying 27 total points.

Sioux City (25-11-3) is currently in first place in the Western Conference. The Musketeers swept their two games last weekend, defeating Sioux Falls 5-3 on Friday and Waterloo 4-3 on Saturday. Mason Bergh (17g, 27a) is chasing Sioux City forward Adam Johnson (20g, 26a) for the USHL points lead. The Musketeers defeated the Steel last month, 7-3.  

The Steel are on the road again next weekend. Chicago will return to the Edge on February 20^th-22^nd for three home games against Green Bay, Muskegon and Madison. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Steel Ticket Office at 630-594-1161 or by visiting tickets.chicagosteelhockeyteam.com.