Men's Ice Hockey 9/18/2026 11:00:00 PM Calvin Bush

Steel Score Three in Third to Earn Season-Opening Win

Pace scores twice, Tolan tallies goal as Chicago tops Lincoln

CHICAGO, IL — It only took 26 years, but the Chicago Steel finally have a regular season victory in the City of Chicago. Playing in their opening game of the USHL Fall Classic at USG Arena inside Blackhawks Ice Center presented by Fifth Third Bank, Easton Pace scored two goals in the third period to help lift the Chicago Steel (1-0-0-0, 2 pts.) to a 4-3 victory over the Lincoln Stars (0-2-0-0, 0 pts.) Friday night.

Trailing 2-1 entering the third, Chicago came to life with three goals in a span of 6:30. Cole Bumgarner scored the Steel's opening goal early in the second period. Patrick Tolan tied the game with his first goal in the third, and Pace, playing in his first game in nearly a year, scored consecutive goals including the eventual game-winner.

Netminder Stepan Houdek stopped 18 of 21 shots to record his first USHL win.

The game's first goal was a wacky one. As a penalty against Chicago was about to expire, Houdek got his signals crossed, believing a delayed penalty was upcoming against Lincoln. As a result of the confusion, Houdek left the Steel cage, allowing Henry Steele to fire into an empty net from near center ice to put the Stars ahead 1-0.

The Stars were penalized twice in the opening frame, allowing the Steel to outshoot the opposition 5-4.

The middle frame was busy with infractions, but Chicago capitalized after a successful kill early in the period. Harrison Smith knocked a breakout pass down in the neutral zone and fed Bumgarner on a breakaway who rifled a shot over Lincoln goaltender Lukas Stuhrmann to tie it 1-1.

Chicago was penalized twice more in four minutes but kept the Stars off the board.

Fans were entertained when Joe Erickson dropped the gloves against Brady Sloper following a hit in the corner.

The Stars scored the tie-breaking goal 34 seconds later when Jackson Holland got behind the Steel defense and wristed a shot past Houdek to give Lincoln a 2-1 lead.

Shots were even at 12 heading to the third period.

Just over one minute into third period, Tolan corralled a Lincoln turnover and skated down the right wing before lifting a shot past Stuhrmann to tie the game 2-2.

Only two minutes later, Nolan Shorter made a great play, nudging the puck to Pace in the slot who wired a shot over Stuhrmann's shoulder to make it 3-2 Steel.

Pace recorded the game-winning goal at 7:52 of the period after jumping on a rebound outside the crease and feeding it home to extend Chicago's lead to 4-2.

Lincoln's Jackson Rudh brought the Stars back within a goal just over two minutes remaining, but the Steel shut the door to secure the win.

The Steel will take on the Omaha Lancers on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 7:00 pm CT at USG Arena to close out the Fall Classic.

Chicago will take to the road after the Fall Classic and face Cedar Rapids on Friday, Oct. 2 at 7:05 pm. The Steel will return home for their inaugural Opening Night on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7:00 pm against Green Bay. After the game, fans can hit the ice for the first Skate with the Steel this season.

Single-game, group, and premium seating tickets for the 2026-2027 season are on sale now. Season tickets are also available and start at just $15 per game.

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

Chicago Steel Upcoming Schedule:
Saturday, September 19 vs. Omaha Lancers (7:00 pm CT) | USHL Fall Classic | Chicago, IL
Friday, October 2 at Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (7:05 pm CT)
Saturday, October 3 vs. Green Bay Gamblers (6:00 pm CT) | Inaugural Opening Night at USG Arena | Post-Game Skate with the Steel

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