Men's Ice Hockey 10/14/2026 9:32:00 AM Calvin Bush

Steel Look to Carry Momentum Into Madison

Chicago heads to Wisconsin riding two-game winning streak after sweeping Muskegon

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS — Fresh off a weekend sweep on home ice, the Chicago Steel will look to keep their early-season momentum when they travel north to face the Madison Capitols on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 6:05 pm CT.

Chicago (4-1-1-0, 9 pts.) enters the weekend on a two-game win streak after taking both games against the Muskegon Lumberjacks at USG Arena, opening with a 5-0 shutout win on Oct. 9 and a 5-4 triumph on Oct. 10. The Steel have earned points in five of their first six games this season, including points in three straight contests.

Friday's shutout victory was highlighted by a standout performance from Stepan Houdek, who stopped all 32 shots he faced to record his first career USHL shutout and third win of the season. The performance marked Chicago's first shutout since Jan. 18, 2026, and helped the Steel earn their first official regular season home victory at USG Arena.

Steel captain Jason Millett led the offensive charge Friday with his first two goals of the season, including a power-play tally in the opening period. Reese Tracy also impressed with his first USHL goal and an assist, while Matyas Svrcek scored his first career USHL goal in his Steel debut. Dallas Vieau rounded out the scoring with his first goal of the season.

Svrcek made an immediate impact in his first weekend with Chicago, scoring in both games against Muskegon after making his debut with the Steel on Oct. 9. The forward was one of four Steel players to record their first career USHL goal during the weekend, alongside Tracy, Nolan Shorter and Joe Erickson, who also achieved the milestone.

Saturday's comeback featured four consecutive Chicago goals in the second period, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 advantage. Svrcek started Chicago's second-period scoring surge with his second goal in as many days before Patrick Tolan tied the game with a highlight-reel individual effort. Nolan Shorter followed with his first career USHL goal to give Chicago the lead, and Joe Erickson added his first USHL tally just over a minute later.

After Muskegon rallied to tie the contest early in the third, MJ Campbell delivered the game-winning goal at 6:45 of the final frame to complete the weekend sweep. It was Campbell's second goal of the season and first game-winning goal.

The victory marked Chicago's fourth win of the season and continued an impressive start that began with consecutive victories at the USHL Fall Classic in September.

Cade Strom recorded an assist in each game for Chicago, bringing his point streak to three games (1G-2A). He has scored a point in four of the last five games and has a +3 plus-minus rating in six outings.

The Steel enter this weekend with the fifth-best goals for (3.50) and goals against average (2.83) after scoring five goals in consecutive games, marking the first time they scored five times in back-to-back games since March 6 and 7, 2026.

The Capitols (2-3-1-0, 5 pts.) traveled to Iowa last weekend for matchups against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Oct. 9 and Waterloo Black Hawks on Oct. 10. Madison earned an impressive 6-2 win over the then-undefeated RoughRiders. The Capitols concluded the weekend with a 3-2 overtime loss at Waterloo, earning a point after rallying from a two-goal deficit in the second period.

Madison outshot the RoughRiders 30-18 in the Oct. 9 win and scored five unanswered goals after trailing 2-1 following the first period. Four different Capitols skaters recorded multi-point games in the team's highest-scoring appearance of the season.

Harper Frey provided both Madison goals against Waterloo, scoring twice in a span of just 48 seconds in the middle frame to erase a 2-0 deficit. The Capitols held Waterloo to just three shots in the third period before the Black Hawks scored the game-winning goal 1:02 into overtime.

Frey's impressive weekend earned him USHL Defenseman of the Week honors after recording five points across Madison's two games. The Madison native scored his first four USHL goals, tallying two goals against Cedar Rapids along while adding an assist, and two more goals against Waterloo. He leads the Capitols in scoring with six points through six games.

It was the second consecutive week a Madison defenseman earned league recognition. Logan Lutner received the award the previous week after recording two goals and an assist against Muskegon on Oct. 2 and 3.

Lutner, a Minnesota Duluth commit, is in his first season with the Capitols after spending two years with the USA Hockey NTDP. The defenseman recorded 18 points in 53 USHL games with the NTDP and has provided steady offense on Madison's back end.

Landon MacSwain has also provided an offensive boost for the Capitols. The first-year Madison forward scored his first two USHL goals during the team's Oct. 2 and 3 series against Muskegon, finding the back of the net in consecutive games.

Trent Eigner steps into the role as Madison head coach, replacing Andy Brandt who joined the Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team as an assistant coach following three years as the Capitols Head Coach and General Manager. Eigner earned his first victory with Madison in a 4-3 shootout win over Muskegon on Oct. 3.

Saturday's game will be played at Bob Suter's LEGACY20 Arena in Middleton, Wisconsin, while construction is finalized on the Capitols new venue, LEGACY20 Arena at Deforest Yards.

The Steel are 50-21-6-0 all-time against Madison and 25-11-3-0 on the road. Saturday's game is the first of eight total games between the two clubs this season. The Steel went 4-3-1-0 in eight games against the Capitols last season and were 3-1-0-0 on the road.

Following the lone road matchup, the Steel will return to Chicago on Friday, Oct. 23 to host a Halloweekend with Friday Night Frights against Youngstown at 7:00 pm and Hat Trick or Treat with a Pre-Game Trick or Treat on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 6:00 pm. Fans can stay after the game for Full Team Post-Game Autographs.

Single-game, group, and premium seating tickets for the 2026-2027 season are on sale now.

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

Chicago Steel Upcoming Schedule:
Saturday, October 17 at Madison Capitols (6:05 pm CT)
Friday, October 23 vs. Youngstown Phantoms (7:00 pm CT) | Friday Night Frights
Saturday, October 24 vs. Youngstown Phantoms (6:00 pm CT) | Hat Trick or Treat | Pre-Game Trick or Treat | Full Team Post-Game Autographs

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