Chicago Steel Week 25 Game Preview

The Chicago Steel have three consecutive home games at the Edge Ice Arena this weekend. Friday evening, the Steel host the Muskegon Lumberjacks at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, the Steel welcome Team USA U-18 to the Edge, with play set to begin at 7 p.m. On Sunday, Chicago will host the Madison Capitols at 3:30 p.m.

The Steel (24-21-3) picked up three big wins last weekend to move into fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Steel defeated Omaha 2-1 in overtime on Friday and Dubuque 4-3 on Saturday. On the road in Dubuque on Sunday, the Steel scored two third-period goals to defeat the Fighting Saints 2-1. Recent acquisition Carson Vance earned CCM Defenseman of the Week honors after his four-point weekend, including assists on all three of Chicago’s game-winning goals. Goaltender Trevor Gorsuch also made an immediate impact with the Steel, allowing just two goals in two starts.

The Muskegon Lumberjacks (28-17-4) picked up three of four points last weekend. The Jacks are currently in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, nine points ahead of the Chicago Steel. Chicago is 3-2 against Muskegon this season, defeating the Lumberjacks the last three times the teams have faced each other. Freddy Olofsson has amassed nine points in three games against Muskegon this season. In the last meeting, Olofsson tallied two goals and two assists in a 5-3 Steel win. Muskegon goaltender Eric Schierhorn is among the top USHL goaltenders, with 20 wins between the pipes and a .926 save percentage. 

Team USA (20-24-0) will return to the Edge for the first time since defeating the Steel 6-2 in January. In that matchup, forwards Tage Thompson (3g) Auston Matthews (2g, 1a) and Jack Roslovic (3a) each recorded three points. The U-18 team picked up three wins last weekend against Omaha, Waterloo and Sioux Falls. Forward Auston Matthews leads the offensive attack with 35 points in 18 games. Goaltender Luke Opilka is 9-1 this season with a goals-against-average of 2.86.

The Madison Capitols (20-18-10) are right behind the Steel in the East with 50 points. The Capitols picked up their first win against the Steel three weeks ago, defeating the Steel 5-2 at the Edge Ice Arena. This will be the fifth time these two teams have met this season with the road team winning the previous four. Chicago has a plus-eight goal differential against the Capitols this season. Madison will travel to Des Moines on Friday and Cedar Rapids on Saturday prior to their meeting with Chicago on Sunday afternoon.

Tickets for all three games this weekend can be purchased by calling the Steel Ticket Office at 630-594-1161 or by visiting tickets.chicagosteelhockeyteam.com.