Steel Host One-Hit Wonders Night with Vinyl Record Coaster Giveaway this Saturday
USHL Chicago Steel

Steel Host One-Hit Wonders Night with Vinyl Record Coaster Giveaway this Saturday

Published on December 31, 2025 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Chicago Steel News Release


GENEVA, ILLINOIS - After a pair of overtime matchups at home last week, the Steel won't Take On Me (A-ha), but instead take on the Dubuque Fighting Saints and attempt to Sail (AWOLNATION) to victory on One-Hit Wonders Night presented by Meyer Signs & Graphics on Saturday, Jan. 3 at 6:05 pm.

The first 500 fans will receive a special Fox Valley Farewell Tour-themed Vinyl Record Coaster for the team's third music-themed tour stop of the season.

Chicago will play at Dubuque for the first portion of the home-and-home set on Friday, Jan. 2 at 7:05 pm before returning home to close out the weekend.

Saturday's game is a stop on the Fox Valley Farewell Tour, a season-long campaign to celebrate the club's final year of play at Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva. The promotion will pay tribute to the most memorable tracks to grace the airwaves throughout the years while also revisiting Steel rookies' first goals and memorable overtime winners. The next tour stop is Friday, March 3 for Chart Toppers Night, where the Steel will highlight music's top hits while also visiting the team's history of top NHL draft picks.

The Steel (12-12-4-1, 29 pts.) earned two of four possible points with two back-and-forth overtime losses to Youngstown last weekend. Chicago was seemingly on its way to victory on Dec. 27, but a Youngstown goal with 46 seconds left in regulation tied the game to force overtime. A Steel penalty in the extra frame gave the Phantoms a power play, and they scored halfway through overtime to skate away with a 3-2 win.

Timo Kazda scored two goals the following day for Chicago including tying the game in the third period, but the Steel were again penalized in overtime. Youngstown scored eight seconds into its power play to come away with another 3-2 win to sweep the Steel.

It marked the third time this season the Steel played in consecutive games that reached overtime. They have played in overtime in five of the last seven games and have come away with the extra point just once.

Defenseman Wyatt Herres scored a goal on Dec. 27 and added an assist on Dec. 28 to continue his excellent run with the Steel. Since joining the team in November, Herres has scored a point in seven of his eight games with the Steel (2G-5A) and has averaged almost 20 minutes of ice time per game.

Tobias Ohman scored a goal and an assist over the weekend to stay at the top of the Steel rankings in scoring with 26 points. He has scored in eight of the last nine games (2G-10A) and has not gone more than three games this season without registering a point. He enters this weekend's games with a five-game road assist streak dating back to Nov. 26. He has six helpers in that span.

Recently acquired goaltender Veeti Louhivaara made his Steel debut last weekend and was excellent in the crease. The New Jersey Devils prospect stopped 44 of 47 shots in Chicago's overtime loss on Dec. 28 after making 31 saves the night before. In his first two games with the Steel, Louhivaara has stopped 75 of 81 shots for a .926 save percentage.

Chicago was blanked on three power play opportunities last weekend against Youngstown and has not scored on the man advantage in six consecutive games. It has allowed opponents to score on the power play in four consecutive games and six of the last seven games.

The Dubuque Fighting Saints (18-9-2-0, 38 pts.) dropped each of their games against Green Bay during a home-and-home series last week. Dubuque hosted the Gamblers on Dec. 27 and got out to a 3-1 lead with two power play goals, but Green Bay scored five unanswered goals to shock Dubuque with a 6-3 win.

The Fighting Saints visited Green Bay on Dec. 29 and again held a lead, but the Gamblers tied the game at 2-2 with under two minutes left in regulation to force overtime. Green Bay scored at 3:47 of OT to knock off Dubuque and earn its 13th consecutive victory.

After a hot start, Dubuque finds itself in fourth place and seven points outside of first with both Green Bay and Youngstown surging. The Fighting Saints have lost six of their last ten games.

Fighting Saints forward Teddy Merrill leads the team in scoring with 31 points and 16 goals. In his third year, Merrill was named captain and has found the scoresheet in ten of the last 12 games and has 15 points (7G-8A) in that stretch. He has seven power play goals on the year, the fourth-most among USHL skaters.

Fourth-year forward Michael Barron enters the weekend with a five-game assist streak where he has seven helpers and a five-point performance that included a hat trick at Lincoln on Dec. 12. The Arizona State commit leads Dubuque in assists (23) and ranks fourth in the league in that category.

Defenseman Ludvig Lafton leads USHL blueliners with 20 assists this season and is fourth with 21 points. He has tallied 12 power play points, all assists, which ranks second and first, respectively, among USHL defensemen.

Dubuque averages 4.52 goals per game this season, the highest in the league, but ranks middle of the pack in goals allowed (3.14). Its two goaltenders Owen Crudale and Vojtech Hambalek have a combined .898 save percentage. The team has scored five or more goals 11 times this season, but has been held to three or fewer goals in five of the last eight games.

The Steel are 36-31-4-0 all-time against Dubuque, 13-16-4-0 on the road, and 23-15-0-0 at home. The two matchups are the third and fourth of five scheduled games this season. The two last met for a home-and-home set in October, where Dubuque squeaked out a 4-3 at Geneva on Oct. 10 before scoring a franchise record 11 goals in a lopsided 11-4 win at home the following night. The Fighting Saints went 6-for-7 on the power play in their historic win and had 14 of 19 skaters record a point.

Tickets for all Steel home games are on sale now starting at just $10.

The Star Wars Ticket Pack is now on sale. For just $40, fans can receive two white zone tickets to Star Wars Night on Saturday, Jan 24, plus one Steel light saber that lights up and makes sound.

For more information, call 855-51-STEEL or visit ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com.

Chicago Steel Upcoming Schedule presented by Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush:

Friday, January 2 at Dubuque Fighting Saints (7:05 pm CT)

Saturday, January 3 vs. Dubuque Fighting Saints (6:05 pm CT) | One-Hit Wonders Night presented by Meyer Signs & Graphics | Vinyl Record Coaster Giveaway (first 500 fans)

Friday, January 9 at Sioux City Musketeers (7:05 pm CT)

Check out the Chicago Steel Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2025


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