CHICAGO, ILLINOIS — The Chicago Steel, in coordination with the United States Hockey League, released its 2026-2027 regular season schedule Tuesday, excluding games during the USHL Fall Classic which will be released separately at a later date.
The team's official home opener will be Saturday, October 3 in their new home on Chicago's west side at USG Arena inside Blackhawks Ice Center presented by Fifth Third Bank.
Prior to the official home opener, the Steel will play two home games at USG Arena during the 2026-2027 USHL Fall Classic which is being played at Blackhawks Ice Center September 16-20.
The Steel will once again face each of the 15 other USHL teams during the regular season. Home games will primarily be played on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Game times will be announced at a later date.
Chicago will compete in three preseason games before the regular season, playing a home-and-home series against the Dubuque Fighting Saints that opens in Iowa on Thursday, Sept. 3, before shifting to Chicago on Friday, Sept. 4. Preseason play will conclude against the Green Bay Gamblers in Wisconsin on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
After a weekend off following the USHL Fall Classic, Chicago will take on Cedar Rapids on the road on Friday, Oct. 2 leading into the home opener the following night.
The Steel will return to the Windy City and host the reigning Eastern Conference champion Muskegon Lumberjacks on Friday, Oct. 9 and Saturday, Oct. 10. Muskegon appeared in its second consecutive Clark Cup Final last season after winning its first-ever title in 2025.
Chicago will play its first of eight games against the Madison Capitols on Saturday, Oct. 17. Chicago faces Green Bay ten times this season, the most against any opponent, while meeting Madison eight times.
The Steel will get spooky with a pair of home matchups against the Youngstown Phantoms on Friday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 24, the only two scheduled home contests against the 2026 Anderson Cup champions for the most regular season points.
Following a Halloween weekend road trip to face the Tri-City Storm on Friday, Oct. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 31, the Steel will return home to host the Des Moines Buccaneers on Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7.
A three-game road stretch follows, starting in Green Bay on Wednesday, Nov. 11. The Steel then travel east to face the USA Hockey NTDP U18 team on Friday, Nov. 13 and Saturday, Nov. 14.
For the first time since 2015, the Steel will play a Thanksgiving Eve matchup on home ice, welcoming Madison to USG Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 25.
Chicago will travel to Iowa and square off against Des Moines on Friday, Nov. 27 and Saturday, Nov. 28.
December features six games split evenly between home and road. Chicago will play consecutive games against Cedar Rapids, starting on the road on Saturday, Dec. 5 before moving to Chicago the following week on Friday, Dec. 11.
Chicago will return from the USHL holiday break with two road games in three days, opening in Green Bay on Tuesday, Dec. 29. Six games are on the New Year's Eve slate in the USHL, and Chicago is one of them, taking on the Lumberjacks in Michigan on Thursday, Dec. 31. The Steel will then travel to Chicago to close out a stretch of three games in five days on Saturday, Jan 2.
Six of ten games in January are on the road and all during a six-consecutive road swing early in the month. The Steel will play their first three-game weekend halfway through the month with two games at Green Bay on Friday, Jan. 15 and Saturday, Jan. 16. Chicago will wrap the weekend in Madison on Sunday, Jan. 17.
Chicago returns home to host Fargo on Friday, Jan. 29 and Saturday, Jan. 30, marking the team's first back-to-back home games in over a month.
Another extended road stretch follows for Chicago, which will play at Waterloo on Tuesday, Feb. 2, before another trip to Green Bay on Saturday, Feb. 6.
Four of the next five games are scheduled against Madison, including road matchups on Sunday, Feb. 7 and Friday, Feb. 12, and home games on Presidents' Day weekend on Saturday, Feb. 13, and the final regular season contest between the teams on Sunday, Feb. 21.
Consecutive three-game weekends wrap February and open March for the Steel, who will play six of ten games at USG Arena in March.
Chicago will welcome the reigning Clark Cup Champion Sioux Falls Stampede on Friday, March 5, before a two-game set at home against the USA Hockey NTDP U17s on Saturday, March 6 and Sunday, March 7.
Another three-game home set comes just two weeks later when the Steel host the Lincoln Stars on Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20. Chicago will conclude the busy weekend against the U17s on Sunday, March 21.
Chicago will travel to Sioux Falls and battle the Stampede to conclude the month on Friday, March 26 and Saturday, March 27.
A set of three games against three different opponents closes out the regular season. Cedar Rapids comes to town on Thursday, April 1, before Chicago's final road matchup in a clash against Dubuque on Friday, April 2.
The regular season will conclude at home against Muskegon on Saturday, April 3.
Theme nights and giveaways will be announced soon, prior to single-game tickets being made available for purchase.
Season ticket memberships for the Chicago Steel's inaugural 2026-2027 season at USG Arena are on sale now. More information regarding group tickets and experiences and premium seating areas will be available soon with these packages expected to go on sale in July.
For more information, call 855-51-STEEL or visit ChicagoSteelHockeyTeam.com.
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