Irish Night, Back to the Future and Skate with the Steel this Weekend
March 12, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Chicago Steel News Release
GENEVA, ILLINOIS - The Steel will round out their five-game home stretch with two games this weekend starting with Irish Night presented by Illinois Aviation Academy on Friday, March 14 at 7:05 pm. The Steel are scheduled to wear special Irish-themed jerseys for the night that will be available for auction online starting Thursday, March 13. Proceeds from the auction will benefit Breakthrough T1D, formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
For a limited time, fans can purchase the Irish Night Special for Irish Night presented by Illinois Aviation Academy. The bundle includes two tickets to the game plus two Chicago Steel Beer Steins for just $45.
Chicago will finish the weekend with the 40th Anniversary Celebration of the movie Back to the Future presented by Best Day Housecleaning. Fans are invited to stick around after the game and hit the ice with the team for the final Skate with the Steel this season. The Steel will host the Waterloo Black Hawks Friday and the Green Bay Gamblers Saturday.
Friday's Irish Night jerseys feature a green base layer and have a green, white and gold plaid stripe across the bottom of the jersey. Clovers ride up from the wrists of the sleeves and above the name bar, and, as an added Irish feature, players' last names will have an "O'" or "Mc" before it.
Breakthrough T1D's mission is to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent, and treat type 1 diabetes and its complications.
The Steel (16-30-4-1, 37 pts.) won their opener of a three-game weekend last week with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Fargo Force on March 7. Ben Yurchuk scored both Steel goals and goaltender Louka Cloutier stopped a penalty shot in overtime. Fargo came back with a 7-3 win the following night that saw Alex Hage score a pair of goals for Chicago in the loss. The Steel dropped a tight 3-2 matchup to Dubuque to close out the weekend.
Yurchuk continued to find the scoresheet last weekend, scoring three goals over the three-game span that created a four-game point streak at the time. Over the last seven games, the Merrimack commit has three goals and four assists for seven points with one power play goal and one game-winning goal. Yurchuk leads the Steel in points (26) and assists (24).
Defenseman Hudson Gorski tallied an assist in all three games last weekend for his first career three-game point streak. The second-year blueliner has posted an assist in five of the last seven games and has six helpers in that span. He ranks third among Steel defensemen in points (16) and is tied with Chris Reiniger for the lead in assists (14).
Adam Valentini secured a point in the final two games last weekend and has a point in five of the last seven games with four goals and two assists for six points during that span.
This weekend's games will cap off a five-game home stretch for the Steel that has also seen them play ten of their last 12 games on home ice. In the last eight home games during that stretch, they have been limited to three goals or fewer in seven games while allowing opponents to score an average of four goals per game.
The Waterloo Black Hawks (24-20-3-2, 53 pts.) coasted to a 5-1 win over Tri-City on March 7, scoring four unanswered goals to finish the game while outshooting the Storm 43-27. Brenan McMorrow scored a hat trick for Waterloo and Hunter Ramos tallied two assists in the win. The Black Hawks secured a standings point on March 8 in a 3-2 overtime loss to the league-leading Lincoln Stars. Waterloo scored twice in the final two periods to force overtime, including another tally for McMorrow.
McMorrow has been blazing a trail since February, scoring in seven of the last nine games and enters this weekend with a five-game point streak. The first-year Black Hawk has eight points (5G-3A) during his current streak as well as four power play goals. In the last nine games, he has 12 points with seven goals and five assists, six power play goals and two game-winning goals.
Dylan Compton has scored in four of the last five games for Waterloo and is the team leader in points (37) and assists (34). His 34 helpers are the third-most among USHL defensemen and are 11 more than the next top Waterloo scorer. The Northeastern commit has six points with five assists and one goal in the last five games.
Goaltender Kambryn Hendrickson appeared in both games for Waterloo last weekend and allowed just four goals on 53 shots over the two games. In 11 games with Waterloo this season, the NHL prospect owns an 8-2-1-0 record and a 2.27 goals against average. He has helped the Black Hawks earn a point in four of his last five starts.
The Steel are 28-49-3-3 all-time against Waterloo and 19-18-1-1 at home. The Black Hawks earned a 4-1 win over the Steel in Waterloo on Feb. 21 and held the Steel to a season-low 13 shots on goal. A different Waterloo skater scored each goal while Kolin Sisson scored the only Steel goal in the loss. Friday is the final scheduled matchup between the two this season.
The Green Bay Gamblers (25-25-1-1, 52 pts.) were swept at home by the USA Hockey NTDP U18 last weekend in a pair of feisty matchups that saw the Gamblers compile 83 penalty minutes over the two games. An NTDP shorthanded goal early in the third period doomed the Gamblers in a 3-1 loss on March 7 and three unanswered goals including two power play tallies in the third handed Green Bay a 6-3 loss on March 8. The Gamblers have lost seven of their last ten games and own just a three-point cushion in fifth place in the Eastern Conference ahead of Cedar Rapids.
Gamblers forward Aidan Park scored a goal in each game last weekend while recording ten shots on goal on March 8. In his third year with Green Bay, Park ranks third in USHL scoring with 57 points, second in goals (28) and first in power play goals (14). His 20 power play points are the fourth-most among league skaters and his 28.6% shooting percentage, which is a full percentage point higher than the next most-efficient skater, leads the USHL.
Will Zellers tallied a goal and an assist on March 8 and has been the top goal scorer in the league this season. The second-year Gambler leads the USHL in goals (38) and ranks second in points (60), just two behind the league's top spot. Zellers also has the most shots (193) and has scored more game-winning goals (7) than any other skater. Five of the last six games in which he has scored a point have been multi-point outings.
The Steel are 81-74-7-4 all-time against Green Bay and 45-36-2-3 at home. The Gamblers defeated Chicago 6-3 in the last head-to-head matchup in Geneva on Feb. 23 in which Green Bay scored four unanswered goals to finish the game. Will Zellers scored twice for Green Bay in the win. Saturday is the final scheduled matchup between the two teams during the regular season.
Following this weekend's action, Chicago will hit the road for three games against the USA Hockey NTDP March 21-23 starting the weekend with two matchups against the U18 team and closing out the set against the U17s.
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:
Friday, March 14 vs. Waterloo Black Hawks | 7:05 pm CT | Irish Night presented by Illinois Aviation Academy | Special Jersey Auction to benefit Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF)
Saturday, March 15 vs. Green Bay Gamblers | 6:05 pm CT | 40th Anniversary Celebration of Back to the Future presented by Best Day Housecleaning | Post-Game Skate with the Steel
Friday, March 21 at USA Hockey NTDP U18 | 6:00 pm CT
United States Hockey League Stories from March 12, 2025
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- Irish Night, Back to the Future and Skate with the Steel this Weekend - Chicago Steel
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