General 12/3/2025 9:37:00 AM Calvin Bush

Steel Host Holiday-Themed Game This Friday

Team celebrates 25th anniversary of hit holiday film How the Grinch Stole Christmas

GENEVA, ILLINOIS — With the calendar turning to December, the Chicago Steel will get into the holiday spirit and host "How Rusty Stole Christmas" presented by The Learning Experience against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Friday, December 5 at 7:05 pm.

Friday's promotion is a celebration of the classic live-action holiday movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas which hit theaters on November 17, 2000 and became the highest-grossing domestic film that year. It currently stands as the second highest-grossing holiday film of all time behind Home Alone.

During the night, fans can partake in holiday-themed games that include "Who Knows Who-ville?", "Wrap the Grinch", "Finish the Lyrics – Holiday Theme", and more.

The Steel (11-10-2-0, 24 pts.) earned three of six possible standings points during a three-game road trip during Thanksgiving week. Chicago scored just once on a Timo Kazda goal in its Thanksgiving Eve matchup against Green Bay on Nov. 25, falling 2-1.

Chicago visited Fargo for a two-game set and put up two of its best performances of the season against the Force. Down 2-1 after a period, Ashton Schultz completed his first career hat trick as the Steel scored three unanswered goals to defeat the Force 4-2 on Nov. 28 to end their six-game losing streak. Aidan Dyer scored an empty net goal and Sam Caulfield stopped 32 of 34 shots in the victory. Chicago was perfect on special teams, converting on each of its two power plays and killing the lone Fargo power play.

The Steel had their backs to the wall the following night after a late score gave Fargo a 2-1 lead, but Nate Chorlton found the back of the net to tie the game with two minutes left and force overtime. Fargo's Graham Jones scored just under three minutes into the extra frame to steal the extra point from Chicago. Wyatt Herres scored his first goal with the Steel, and Caulfield again played strong with 37 saves on 40 shots.

Chicago's special teams flourished in the three-game set, finishing the weekend with at least one power play goal in all three games. It has scored a power play goal in four consecutive games and is 5-for-11 (45.4%) in that span. The Steel's penalty kill has allowed just one power play goal in the last three games (7-for-8, 87.5%). Their power play ranks third in the USHL with a 26.5% overall success rate.

Chicago enters this weekend scoring an average of 3.26 goals per game, which ranks ninth in the USHL. The Steel have been limited to two goals or fewer in seven of the last eight games. Conversely, they rank 11^th in goals against (3.57) but have limited opponents to three or fewer goals in four of the last five games.

Herres tallied an assist in his Steel debut on Nov. 28 after joining the Steel in a trade with Waterloo on Nov. 26. He recorded his first goal the following night, a power play goal, while also recording four shots on goal. The UMass-Lowell commit appeared in 16 games with Waterloo this season and tallied two points (1G-1A).

The Steel will take on conference foes Cedar Rapids and Green Bay this weekend.

The RoughRiders (14-5-0-2, 30 pts.) secured a weekend sweep over Waterloo during a home-and-home series last weekend. The RoughRiders scored five straight goals, two by Connor Davis, during a 5-1 win at Waterloo on Nov. 27.

The two teams were scheduled to play in Cedar Rapids on Nov. 29, but the game was postponed to Nov. 30 due to inclement weather. The brief hiatus didn't slow down the RoughRiders, as Nick Romeo scored a pair of goals to help Cedar Rapids to a 3-2 victory.

Cedar Rapids has earned a standings point in six consecutive games and has lost in regulation just twice in the last ten games.

Forward Justin Graf leads the RoughRiders in scoring with 24 points (11G-13A) and has scored a point in eight consecutive games, the third-longest active point streak in the league. He has collected 12 points (5G-7A) during his current streak. He has also scored a point in four straight road games and has seven points (2G-5A) in that span.

Jason Musa trails Graf with 23 points (8G-15A) and has found the scoresheet in five of the last six games. Before Nov. 30, Musa scored in five consecutive games and had nine points (3G-6A). All three goals came during a hat trick performance at Green Bay on Nov. 15 during which the UMass commit recorded eight shots on goal. He has not gone more than one game without scoring a point since mid-October.

Goaltender Ryan Cameron has won six consecutive starts for Cedar Rapids and has allowed three or fewer goals four times in that span. He ranks 12^th among league netminders with a 2.93 goals against average and has the second-most wins (11).

The Steel are 54-59-5-4 all-time against Cedar Rapids and 28-28-2-2 at home. Friday is the second of four scheduled matchups between the two teams this season. The Steel earned a 5-4 win earlier this season at Cedar Rapids on Oct. 17 thanks to a hat trick from Tobias Ohman. Goaltender Louis-Felix Charrois stopped 42 of 46 shots.

The Green Bay Gamblers (14-7-2-1, 31 pts.) swept three games last week that included a 2-1 win over Chicago on Nov. 26. David Rozsival scored the lone two goals for the Gamblers in the win. Green Bay hosted Sioux City for two games and opened the set with a 5-0 win on Nov. 28. Four first period goals set the tone for the game that included two-goal games from Geno Carcone and Gunnar Conboy. Joey Slavick stopped all 31 shots to record his first shutout of the season.

The weekend finale was an entertaining one as the two teams combined for 173 penalty minutes, 43 total infractions, and a goalie fight in the second period on Nov. 29. Green Bay scored three straight goals before Sioux City got on the board, and the Gamblers scored another two in the third period to stonewall any comeback attempt. All five goals were scored by different Green Bay skaters, with Andrew O'Sullivan leading the way with one goal and two assists.

Rozsival finished November on a white-hot run with ten points (6G-4A) in five games. He recorded a point in seven of nine games during the month and had four multi-point games. He has a +9 rating during his current point streak and has scored a goal in six of the last eight games.

Similar to Rozsival, O'Sullivan had a productive month of November with a point in seven of ten games. He has not gone more than one game without a point since September and has tallied a point in four of the last five games (2G-5A). He leads USHL defensemen in points (21), has the second-most assists in the USHL (18), and has the third-most power play assists (11).

Slavick has won six consecutive starts and has allowed two goals or fewer in five consecutive starts.

The Steel are 82-75-7-4 all-time against Green Bay and 36-39-5-1 on the road. Saturday is the fourth of eight scheduled games this season and the first of three consecutive games between the two over the next eight days. The Steel will play at Green Bay on Dec. 10 before hosting the Gamblers Dec. 12 ahead of the league's holiday break.

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

For just $55, fans can purchase the Steel Holiday Plan and receive one ticket to three Steel games, including Chicago Blackhawks Night, plus one ticket to a select Chicago Blackhawks home game.

For a limited time, Steel Suites are on sale for just $30 per person (min. 12 tickets) when purchased online. This offer is valid for December home games, excluding Dec. 27.

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

Chicago Steel Upcoming Schedule presented by Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush:
Friday, December 5 vs. Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (7:05 pm CT) | How Rusty Stole Christmas presented by The Learning Experience
Saturday, December 6 at Green Bay Gamblers (6:05 pm CT)
Wednesday, December 10 at Green Bay Gamblers (7:05 pm CT)

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