Star Wars Night Plus Rusty's Birthday this Weekend
Published on January 31, 2024 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Chicago Steel News Release
GENEVA, ILLINOIS - Fresh off their second consecutive weekend sweep, the Steel will look for more success at home with a pair of fun promotions on tap with Star Wars Night on Saturday, February 3, and Rusty's Birthday presented by Chasers Laser Tag with a mascot hockey game during intermission and the Steel Family Pack on Sunday, February 4 at 3:05 pm CT.
Saturday's game will feature a visit from members of the 501st Garrison, a LucasFilm-approved costuming club who will pose for photos with fans before and during the game. Fans are encouraged to dress up and can take advantage of a special Star Wars Ticket Pack that includes two white zone tickets and a red Steel lightsaber for just $40. During the game, fans will be selected to show off their accuracy with the "Lightsaber Ring Toss," and give their best Chewbacca impression during the "Chewbacca Roar" contest.
Rusty's Birthday presented by Chasers Laser Tag highlights Sunday, February 4 as the Steel welcome several Chicagoland mascots to help celebrate the Steel mascot. Scheduled mascots (subject to change) include Hammy (Rockford Ice Hogs), Gus T. Bull (Windy City Bulls), Supernova (Chicago Red Stars), Scoopie (Culver's), Squeeze (Chicago Dogs), Coop (Schaumburg Boomers), Jojo (Jewel Osco) and Bruce the Spruce (Batavia Park District).
Mascots will be in the main lobby prior to the game for photographs and will take part in promotions throughout the game including the much-anticipated mascot hockey game during the first intermission.
Chasers Laser Tag will have its gaming truck set up in front of Fox Valley Ice Arena for fans to enjoy before the game.
February 4 is a Steel Family Pack game where fans can get four tickets, hot dogs, chips, sodas/waters and chuck-a-pucks for just $60.
Before the pair of home contests, the Steel will travel to Dubuque, IA and take on the conference-leading Dubuque Fighting Saints on Friday, Feb. 2 at 7:05 pm CT.
The Steel (15-17-2-2) have been the hottest team in the league as of late, owning a five game winning streak, and the current longest point streak of eight consecutive games, six of them being regulation wins. Chicago returned to home ice for the first time in three weeks and immediately settled in with a 5-2 win over Cedar Rapids on Jan. 26 that saw the team explode for three unanswered goals in the third period. Battling against Des Moines the following night on Jan. 27, the Steel again had a tie game heading to the third period after erasing a 2-0 deficit, and again came through with clutch goals in the final frame, scoring twice to come away with a 4-2 win.
The Steel are 14-9-1-1 in their last 25 games following a difficult 1-8-1-1 start to the season. The Steel did not suffer a regulation loss in the month of January.
The main spotlight-earner over the weekend was goaltender Louka Cloutier, who allowed just two goals in each game to help the Steel extend their winning streak. Cloutier has been in net for each of Chicago's wins during the current streak and has allowed three goals or fewer in four of his last six games.
The Nebraska-Omaha commit took home USHL Goaltender of the Week honors with his masterful weekend performance that saw him post a cumulative .937 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average. Since a tough 2-7-0-0 start to his USHL career, the Quebec native has lost just one game in regulation and has a 6-1-1-1 record.
The Steel remained near perfect in games that were tied heading to the third period, moving their record to 5-1-1-2. Chicago entered the third period tied at two in each game last weekend and scored three and two unanswered goals, respectively.
Forward Joey DelGreco was the catalyst in the Jan. 26 win for the Steel, scoring consecutive goals to start the third and getting credit for the game-winner. A former USHL Forward of the Week, DelGreco has recorded at least a point in three consecutive games and has a point in nine of his last ten outings. The first-year forward has five points with four goals in the last five games.
The first line for Chicago continued to wreak havoc on opposing teams, with each Charlie Major, Mick Thompson, and Michael Hage scoring at least one point in both games over the weekend. Hage netted two goals and an assist, while Major and Thompson had nearly identical stat lines over two games. Each player recorded a goal and an assist with two shots on goal on Jan. 26. On Jan. 27, the duo duplicated their finishes to a T, with both recording two assists, four shots on goal, and finishing with a +2 rating. For the time being, the two Ivy commits have put their pending Cornell (Major) and Harvard (Thompson) rivalry aside and come together to amass 18 points in the last five games.
The Steel will assumably face their toughest test of the season to date with games against the top three teams in the Eastern Conference this weekend.
The Dubuque Fighting Saints (24-9-2-3) lead the conference by a six-point margin and have been the most consistent team in the East this season. They have lost consecutive games just once this season and are 5-3-1-1 in their last ten. The team recently played a pair of games in Dallas, TX for the USHL Frosty Cup against the Sioux Falls Stampede, falling in overtime 4-3 on Jan. 25 but flipped the script and won 3-2 in overtime on Jan. 26.
Dubuque has four skaters in the top 20 in league scoring, with two in the top ten. Forward Jake Sondreal leads all skaters in the USHL with 50 points and 17 goals in 37 games. Currently in his second year with the Fighting Saints, Sondreal enters the weekend with a nine-game point streak with 16 points with 13 assists during that span. The Boston College commit ranks at the top of league scoring in assists (33), second in power play assists (12), and is tied for first in power-play points with 20.
Dubuque ranks second in the USHL in goals per game at 4.29, placing only behind the league's top team, the Fargo Force, who is averaging 4.39 per game.
The Steel are 35-24-3-0 all-time against Dubuque. Friday is the first matchup between the conference rivals this season and the first since the 2023 Clark Cup Playoffs, where the Steel eliminated the Fighting Saints two games to none in the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the end of April. Chicago bounced Dubuque in Game 2 with a 5-4 win on April 20 in which current Steel forwards Charlie Major and Michael Emerson each scored a goal. The Steel are 13-11-3-0 on the road all-time against the RoughRiders.
The Muskegon Lumberjacks (22-14-1-1) enter the weekend in third place in the conference and just a point behind second place Green Bay. In their last ten games, the Lumberjacks are 6-4-0-0. Muskegon won one of its three games last weekend, the lone victory a 3-2 win over the Lincoln Stars on Jan. 27. The Lumberjacks dropped the opener of the weekend 2-1 against Des Moines on Jan. 26 and fell in the conclusion to Lincoln, 5-2, on Jan. 28.
Despite the rough weekend, the Lumberjacks still find themselves firmly planted in the top half of the standings and have received a bountiful amount of help from their top scorers.
Forward Matvei Gridin got on the board in each game over the weekend, collecting four points with three assists. Gridin comes in at second in league scoring with 45 points and 19 goals this season, and tied for third in power-play points with 16. The Michigan commit has recorded six game-winning goals, second in the league only behind Steel forward Charlie Major (7).
Gridin's teammate Sacha Boisvert has nearly matched Boisvert in each offensive category, and has surpassed him in some. Boisvert leads the league in power play goals with 10 this season, and ranks third in the league in goals with 21. His 38 points in ten games rank tenth in the USHL.
The Steel are 47-43-7-0 all-time against Muskegon. Saturday will be the fifth matchup between the two clubs this season. The Lumberjacks have won all four matchups against the Steel this season and have scored four goals or more in each matchup. The last game was the closest this year, a 4-3 win for the Lumberjacks on Dec. 16 at Muskegon. Chicago scored three consecutive goals in the second period that tied the game at two, but Muskegon scored the game-winner with two minutes left in regulation. The Steel are 23-22-3-0 at home all-time against the Lumberjacks.
The Green Bay Gamblers (21-9-2-3) have matched Dubuque with a 5-3-1-1 record in their last ten outings. The Gamblers played five consecutive games on home ice and won the opening two but dropped the next three, scoring four goals and allowing at least five goals in each of the three losses. Green Bay was swept by the Sioux City Musketeers last weekend, falling in a shootout, 5-4, to Sioux City on Jan. 27, and losing in regulation the night prior, 6-4.
Gamblers leading scorer Julian Lutz recorded at least a point in each game over the weekend, moving his point streak to nine games where he has 15 points. The first-year Gambler has amassed 34 points with 12 goals in just 25 games this season and ranks tied for third in the USHL in power-play points with 16 this season. Lutz has recorded a point in all but five games this season.
Helping Lutz has been rookie forward Lev Katzin, who ranks sixth in the league among rookies in points with 20 this season. The Ontario native has scored more shootout goals than any other rookie in the league and has recorded a league-high tying five-point game this season that came on Sept. 29 in a 6-2 win over the USA Hockey NTDP.
The Steel are 74-68-6-4 all-time against Green Bay. All four matchups between the two teams have provided great entertainment.
In early November, the teams played a pair of one-goal games with Green Bay capturing a 5-4 shootout victory on Nov. 3 before the Steel responded with a 1-0 overtime win the following night. The teams split their last series in December with the Steel winning in a 6-5 shootout on Dec. 8 after Green Bay scored the tying goal with just 36 seconds left in regulation. The teams traveled to Geneva the following night, and Green Bay got the better of the home team, defeating Chicago 6-2. The two were scheduled to play in Green Bay on Tuesday, Jan. 9, but inclement weather postponed the game. The makeup is scheduled for Wednesday, March 13 at 7:05 pm CT. The Steel are 43-34-1-3 at home all-time against the Gamblers.
Single-game tickets are on sale now, starting at just $10. 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 team's new 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, February 2 at Dubuque Fighting Saints (7:05 pm CT)
Saturday, February 3 vs. Muskegon Lumberjacks (7:05 pm CT) | Star Wars Night
Sunday, February 4 vs. Green Bay Gamblers (3:05 pm CT) | Rusty's Birthday presented by Chasers Laser Tag | Steel Family Pack Game
United States Hockey League Stories from January 31, 2024
- Storm Adds Forward Vsevolod Logvin to Roster - Tri-City Storm
- Star Wars Night Plus Rusty's Birthday this Weekend - Chicago Steel
- Lancers Go on a Three-Game Road Trip against Three Conference Rivals - Omaha Lancers
- Former USHL Players Cited for NCAA Performances - USHL
- Rock the Box on Battle of the Decades Night Saturday - Lincoln Stars
- Storm Ends Road Trip in Overtime Loss to Stampede - Tri-City Storm
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