Chicago Hosts Biggest Weekend of Season to Date
February 12, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Chicago Steel News Release
GENEVA, ILLINOIS - Returning home following four consecutive road victories, the Chicago Steel will host their biggest promotion of the season with Chicago Steel: The (Next) Eras Night presented by McCormick FONA on Saturday, February 15 at 7:05 pm followed by Rusty's Birthday including a mascot hockey game plus theLou Malnati's Family Pack on Sunday, February 16 at 3:05 pm.
The Steel will host the Youngstown Phantoms in both games this weekend, the first matchups between the two teams since November.
Chicago Steel: The (Next) Eras Night presented by McCormick FONA is one of the most anticipated nights of the season. Last year's Eras Night generated the highest-attended Steel game at Fox Valley Ice Arena and garnered a record-setting jersey auction to benefit the Geneva Academic Foundation.
The Steel are believed to be the first junior or professional hockey team to wear five different jerseys at the same time, with five different variations of special Red era-themed jerseys that feature a different Swift-inspired saying on each jersey. This year's full-player jersey reveal went viral to almost 50,000 views across social media in less than 24 hours.
The front of the jersey features phrases in black and red text modeled after Taylor's Red era tour outfit. Many of the phrases have a unique Steel twist. The captions include "Who's Chicago Steel Anyway? Ew.", "A Lot Going On At The Moment", "In My Chicago Steel Era", "Dopest Non-NHL Franchise in Hockey" and "I Bet You Think About Us."
Other elements of the jerseys pay tribute to many of the outfits that Swift wore to begin her Red era set during "The Eras Tour". They feature a shiny white print base layer with different elements spread around the sweater. The bottom of the jersey is wrapped with songs from the album and has bedazzled red and black stripes on either sleeve. Above the bedazzling on one sleeve are friendship bracelets and lipstick prints on the other sleeve. Laid across the shoulders is a red scarf, an ode to the Red album masterpiece "All Too Well". To complete the fit, each player will wear red and black bedazzled socks.
The jerseys will be available for auction online starting Thursday, Feb. 13 at 9:00 am and bidding will run through Thursday, Feb. 20 at 5:00 pm with net proceeds benefitting the Geneva Academic Foundation. Bidding starts at $150 per sweater.
In addition to the Red jerseys, the game will feature music from Red as well as all other Taylor Swift eras, plus special promotions, merchandise, drink specials, and more.
Perhaps the biggest element of the night is something that all fans will want to stick around for - a big surprise planned during the third period of the game.
Steel fans and Swifties can reserve their seats plus special merchandise by purchasing the Red Era Bundle which includes two tickets to the game plus two Red Era t-shirts and two Chicago Steel friendship bracelets for just $70.
Fans can visit the main lobby before the game where Hickory Knolls Discovery Center will join the Taylor Swift theme with live snakes on display, and Cherry Berry Blast will provide facepainting inside the arena.
The Steel will put a bow on the weekend when they celebrate Rusty's Birthday on Sunday, Feb. 16, complete with a slate of area mascots joining the party including Gus T. Bull from the Windy City Bulls, Hammy from the Rockford IceHogs, Supernova from the Chicago Stars, and more.
Rusty and his mascot friends will compete in what will be an entertaining mascot hockey game during the first intermission.
Sunday's game also features a great deal for four or more with the Lou Malnati's Family Pack. The package includes four tickets, hot dogs, chips, sodas or waters, chuck-a-pucks, and two Lou Malnati's personal pizza coupons for just $60.
The Steel (14-24-3-0, 31 pts.) delivered a pair of wins against conference rivals last weekend. Chicago won its first game of the season at Madison on Feb. 7 with a 4-3 overtime win over the Capitols as Ashton Schultz scored 19 seconds into the extra frame. Jack Parsons stopped 35 of 38 shots to help lift the Steel to the win. Parsons and the Steel followed up the triumphant victory with a 2-1 win in Green Bay the following night. Reid Conn scored the game-winning goal for Chicago with five minutes left in regulation.
For the second consecutive week, Parsons earned USHL Goaltender of the Week honors. He is believed to be the first Steel goaltender in franchise history to earn the award in consecutive weeks.
Parsons has started each game during Chicago's current four-game winning streak, compiling a 1.75 goals against average and a .953 save percentage having made at least 30 saves in each appearance. In his last nine starts, Parsons has recorded six wins and has a 2.33 goals against average and a .918 save percentage in those wins. He ranks tied for sixth among USHL goaltenders in save percentage (.904) and third in saves (766).
Conn has tallied a point in consecutive games. His goal against Green Bay was his fifth score and second game-winner of the season. In his last seven games, he has one goal and five assists. He leads team defensemen in points (16), goals (5) and shots (55).
Tobias Ohman scored his eighth goal of the season in Saturday's win over Green Bay to move into second place in team scoring. He has scored twice in the last three games and has four points and has a +3 rating in that span. He has recorded a point in six of his last nine games and has seven assists during that time. His 19 assists rank second on the Steel.
The Youngstown Phantoms (25-15-0-1, 51 pts.) split a pair of games in Iowa last weekend with a 3-2 win over Des Moines on Feb. 7 before falling to Waterloo 5-3 the following night. The Phantoms took a 3-1 lead into the third period and allowed a late power play goal but hung on for the win against Des Moines. Waterloo scored three first period goals before Youngstown tied the game at three with a three-goal second, but two goals in the third by the Black Hawks downed the Phantoms. Jamison Sluys and Luke Osburn each scored a goal and an assist for Youngstown in the loss.
Rookie forward Adam Benak has scored at a point-per-game clip in his first season in the USHL and has been one of the league's top rookies. He ranks tied for ninth in overall scoring with 41 points while his 29 assists rank third overall and first among rookies. His ability on the man advantage has been prominent, as he ranks fourth in power play assists (13) and third in power play points (18), both of which are tops for league rookies.
Benak was ranked 60th among North American skaters on the NHL Central Scouting Mid-Term Rankings for the 2025 NHL Draft. He has the league's second-longest active road point streak entering the weekend, an eight-game stretch that has seen him tally 11 points. He possesses the league's longest point streak this season at 13 games from November 8 to December 13.
Sluys, who was acquired by Youngstown in a trade with Omaha in November, has been white hot with his new team. In 20 games with the Phantoms, Sluys has scored 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points. In that same span, he has tallied four power play goals and six power play assists. He ranks 14th in league scoring with a combined 39 points between Omaha and Youngstown.
Goaltender Melvin Strahl, who was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft, has won five of his last six appearances and has recorded the second-most wins in the league (19). His 2.69 goals against average is seventh among USHL netminders and he has played the third-most minutes of all goalies (1,717).
Youngstown has won five of its last six games and has scored four or more goals in four of those outings, including a ten-goal outburst in a 10-2 win over the USA Hockey NTDP on Jan. 31. Their power play unit ranks third in the league with a 26.1% success rate, and they sit in third place in the Eastern Conference.
The Steel are 51-45-6-4 all-time against Youngstown and 25-26-2-1 at home. The Steel have earned at least one standings point in two of the three head-to-head matchups against the Phantoms this season (1-1-1-0). The last matchups between the two teams came in November in Youngstown, when the Phantoms recorded a 7-2 win on Nov. 8 before Chicago stole a point with a three-goal third period in a 5-4 overtime loss the following night. This weekend's games are the fourth and fifth of seven scheduled matchups between the two this season. The final two games will be in Youngstown on April 5 and 6.
All Steel tickets are digital, and fans are encouraged to purchase online in advance at ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com.
Group tickets and experiences, suites and other premium areas, including the Coors Light Chill Zone and Ice Side Tables, are also on sale now.
For more information, call 855-51-STEEL.
Chicago Steel Upcoming Schedule presented by Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush:
Saturday, February 15 vs. Youngstown Phantoms (7:05 pm CT) | The (Next) Eras Night presented by McCormick FONA | Special Jersey Auction to benefit Geneva Academic Foundation
Sunday, February 16 vs. Youngstown Phantoms | Rusty's Birthday | Lou Malnati's Family Pack Game
Friday, February 21 at Waterloo Black Hawks | 7:05 pm CT
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