Men's Ice Hockey 11/6/2026 10:30:00 PM Calvin Bush

Steel Home Point Streak Ends in Loss to Des Moines

Grilz scores first USHL goal as Chicago suffers first home regulation loss

CHICAGO, IL — In a two-period game of cat and mouse, the Steel tied the game in the first and second frames, but the Des Moines Buccaneers (8-6-0-1, 17 pts.) scored in the third and fended off a push to hand Chicago (5-5-1-1, 12 pts.) a 4-2 loss Friday night at USG Arena.

Cal Grilz scored his first USHL goal that tied the game at one in the first period, and Cade Strom scored his second goal in the second period. Chase Pastor stopped 21 shots in the loss.

The loss was the Steel's fourth straight and marked the first time this season the Steel did not record a standings point at USG Arena.

The visitors went shorthanded just ten seconds into the game for a tripping call but kept Chicago off the board.

With 13:51 left, a five-minute major penalty against Des Moines was called, giving the Steel another early chance on the power play.

The Steel pestered the Buccaneers early on the lengthy power play, enough to force an error where a Des Moines defender covered the puck in the blue paint after a barrage of shots by the Steel. The officials were quick to call a penalty for delay of game, giving Chicago a penalty shot.

Leland Dulac got the nod for the penalty shot, but Des Moines goaltender Elias Hopeman was patient and made a blocker save.

A boarding call on Des Moines with 1:00 left on the existing Steel power play made it 5-on-3, but the Buccaneers second-best penalty kill unit staved off Chicago.

The Buccaneers immediately shifted to offense, and their third shot of the game was a goal on a breakaway when Stepan Rezvyi went top shelf on the forehand to give the Buccaneers a 1-0 lead.

The lead stood for six minutes before Cal Grilz received a perfect feed from below the icing line from Joe Erickson and fired through Hopeman to tie the game at 1-1.

Shots favored Chicago 11-7 through the first frame.

Des Moines went to the power play two minutes into the middle frame and scored with half a minute left when Eli Bimmerle found the back of the net, putting the Buccaneers on top 2-1.

Chicago responded just before the midway mark after Strom deflected a Brian McFadden point shot, tying the game at 2-2.

The Steel were penalized shortly after the goal during a post-whistle scrum and successfully killed the penalty to keep the game tied.

Chicago stayed in front in the shots department with a 18-15 lead heading to the third frame.

At the halfway point of the third, Pastor robbed Sam Wooten of a goal, sliding to his right to make a pad stop, but Des Moines stayed on the hunt and got the lead back on the same sequence when Luke Norcross lobbed a shot over Pastor to make it 3-2.

Chicago emptied its net with three minutes left for an extra attacker but Riley Zupfer fired into the empty net to seal the victory.

The Steel will close out the weekend against Des Moines on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 6:05 pm. Saturday's matchup will feature the 7^th Annual Turtle Races courtesy of Big Joe's 2 & 6 Pub, where five turtles will race for glory at center ice during first and second intermissions.

Single-game, group, and premium seating tickets for the 2026-2027 season are on sale now. Season ticket plans are also available starting at just 5 games.

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

Chicago Steel Upcoming Schedule:
Saturday, November 7 vs. Des Moines Buccaneers (6:00 pm CT) 7^th Annual Turtle Races Courtesy of Big Joe's 2 & 6 Pub
Wednesday, November 11 at Green Bay Gamblers (7:05 pm CT)
Friday, November 13 at USA Hockey NTDP U18 (6:05 pm CT)

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