Steel Host Biggest Home Weekend of Season
Published on February 14, 2024 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Chicago Steel News Release
GENEVA, ILLINOIS - A full slate of epic promotions highlights this coming weekend for the Chicago Steel, starting with Chicago Blackhawks Night featuring Tommy Hawk on Friday, February 16 at 7:05 pm, the highly-anticipated Chicago Steel: The Eras Night presented by McCormick FONA on Saturday, February 17 at 7:05 pm, and the Steel Trading Card Set Giveaway (Part 1) and Family Pack Game on Sunday, February 18 at 3:05 pm.
The Steel will take on Tri-City on Friday and Saturday before hosting Madison on Sunday.
Chicago Blackhawks mascot Tommy Hawk will make an appearance for Chicago Blackhawks Night, an evening that includes special prizes and more throughout the night. In-game promotions feature Blackhawks Trivia during media timeouts, and "Best Friends Challenge" with Rusty and Tommy Hawk during intermission.
Chicago Steel: The Eras Night presented by McCormick FONA is set to be one of the most popular nights of the season for the Steel. The initial announcement of the night garnered over 100,000 views across social media within the first few hours and continues to be shared across all platforms leading up to the night.
The Steel will wear special Eras-themed jerseys that feature images from different eras of Chicago Steel hockey, including championship moments, top players, and other memories from the club's 24-year history. The Taylor Swift-inspired sweaters include images familiar to Swifties far and wide, such as snakes, a clock set to midnight, a red scarf, diamonds, cowboy boots, and the face of the adorable Benjamin Button. Each of Taylor's album names is written on the sleeves, and the jerseys feature "Chicago" and "Steel" friendship bracelets on each wrist. Even the socks are an ode to the Reputation era outfit that Swift wears during the tour.
The jerseys will be available for auction online starting Thursday, Feb. 15 at 9:00 am through Thursday, Feb. 22 at 5:00 pm with proceeds benefitting the Geneva Academic Foundation. Bidding starts at $150 per sweater.
Fans will enjoy the music of Taylor Swift all night plus themed promotions including "Shake it Off," "Our Song (Scrambled Version)", and a "Blank Space(s)" Wheel of Fortune game.
The Steel will host the first of two parts of their Trading Card Giveaway on Sunday, Feb. 18, where the first 500 fans will receive a pack of Steel trading cards. Fans can complete the set on Sunday, March 10 for Part 2 of the giveaway. Full Team Post-Game autographs will commence following the game, allowing fans the perfect opportunity to get their new memorabilia signed.
Feb. 18 is a Steel Family Pack Game, where fans can get four tickets, hot dogs, chips, sodas/waters and chuck-a-pucks for just $60.
The Steel (17-19-3-2) split their two games last week, starting with a victory over the Madison Capitols 4-1 on home ice on Feb. 9, backed by a two-goal effort from Michael Hage and a solid effort from goaltender Christian Manz in his first action since Jan. 5. Brady Arneson played in his first game of the season after missing the first 39 games, and scored a goal. Chicago was unable to carry the momentum to Cedar Rapids, dropping the weekend finale to the RoughRiders 5-2 on Feb. 10. Charlie Major scored both goals for the Steel in the loss that saw the team set a new season-high for penalty minutes in a game with 57.
The Steel sit in the final playoff spot in the East heading into this weekend's games, ahead of Cedar Rapids by a single point with each team having 21 games remaining in the season. The Steel are 7-2-1-0 in their last ten games.
Second-year forward Charlie Major had another productive weekend, scoring two goals and two assists while recording a +3 rating and seven shots on goal. One of Major's two goals came shorthanded, the fourth shorthanded goal for the Steel this season. Major has managed a point in 11 of the last 13 games and has 21 points during that span, including two three-assist games and three two-assist games.
Forward Michael Emerson hasn't missed a beat since returning to the Steel in January, scoring in six of the nine games he's played in with three goals and four assists. Mick Thompson has scored a point in 11 of the last 13 games and has 19 points in that duration. Thompson has a four-point game and three-point game in that span.
The Tri-City Storm (20-13-4-4) sit comfortably in fourth place in the Western Conference and have managed a point in four consecutive games with three consecutive victories over the Omaha Lancers. The Storm set a new franchise record for goals scored in a regular season game in a 12-2 victory against Omaha on Feb. 4. Ten different skaters scored goals in the historic win. The Storm followed up the win with a 6-0 shutout of the Lancers on Feb. 9, and finished last weekend with a 6-3 win on Feb. 10.
The Storm are led statistically by forward Trevor Connelly, who has amassed 48 points in 34 games this season, fifth-most in the USHL. Skating in his second year with Tri-City, Connelly has recorded 15 power play assists, the most among any skater in the league, and has 20 power play points which rank second-most in the USHL. His 147 shots rank first among league skaters, just one shot ahead of Steel forward Charlie Major (146), and he has recorded a point in 11 consecutive games.
Goaltender Cameron Korpi ranks tied for fourth among league goaltenders in goals against average (2.91). In 32 games, Korpi has a league-leading 19 wins to just eight regulation losses, leads goaltenders in minutes played (1,897), and ranks second in saves (761). Korpi has posted two shutouts this season, tied for second in the league.
The Steel are 26-23-4-2 all-time against Tri-City. The last time the two clubs met was in the 2021-22 season when the Steel defeated the Storm 4-3 in overtime on Feb. 6, 2022. Nicholas Moldenhauer scored the game-winning goal three minutes into the extra frame to give the Steel the win. Jake Livanavage potted two assists in the game to help the Steel to victory, and Adam Fantilli recorded seven shots on goal and recorded an assist. The Steel are 16-11-2-1 at home all-time against the Storm.
Entering the weekend, the Madison Capitols (17-16-4-2) have dropped six consecutive games and sit just a point ahead of the Steel. After a 4-1 loss to Chicago in Geneva on Feb. 9, the Capitols returned home and dropped another 4-1 contest to the Green Bay Gamblers on Feb. 10. Before taking on the Steel for the second time in nine days, the Capitols will host the Youngstown Phantoms on Feb. 16 and 17.
Austin Burnevik has worked to provide a shining light for the team on offense, ranking third in the league in goals (26). He has recorded three goals in the last three games for Madison.
Goaltenders Carsen Musser and Patriks Berzins have continued to work in an every-other-game tradeoff, with Musser the leader between the two, ranking third in the USHL in goals against average at 2.73. Musser has dropped his last three starts and has allowed four goals in two of them. Berzins has also fell in the last three outings, and has allowed three, four, and five goals between the three.
The Capitols have allowed at least four goals in six straight games and have averaged just two goals per game in that stretch.
The Steel are 44-14-4-0 all-time against Madison. Sunday is the final regular season matchup between the two clubs and the second consecutive weekend the two will square off. The Steel are 4-3-0-0 this season and 24-28-3-2 at home all-time against the Capitols.
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 16 vs. Tri-City Storm (7:05 pm CT) | Chicago Blackhawks Night featuring Tommy Hawk
Saturday, February 17 vs. Tri-City Storm (7:05 pm CT) | Chicago Steel: The Eras Night presented by McCormick FONA | Special Jersey Auction to benefit the Geneva Academic Foundation
Sunday, February 18 vs. Madison Capitols (3:05 pm CT) | Steel Trading Card Set Giveaway (Part 1) | Family Pack Game | Full Team Post-Game Autographs
United States Hockey League Stories from February 14, 2024
- Mikhail Yegorov Commits to Boston University - Omaha Lancers
- Stars Home Twice this Weekend - Lincoln Stars
- Steel Host Biggest Home Weekend of Season - Chicago Steel
- 14 USHL Alumni Pickup NCAA Weekly Awards - USHL
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
