Men's Ice Hockey | 9/17/2026 7:28:12 PM

The first USHL Fall Classic in Chicago and kickoff to the USHL's 25th Anniversary as a Tier-I League started with a bang as hundreds of NCAA and NHL personnel converged at Blackhawks Ice Center Presented by Fifth Third Bank, the Chicago Steel's new home, for a three-game opening slate.

By the Numbers
19 - Saves for Cedar Rapids RoughRiders goalie Joseph Skidmore, who posted the first shutout of the 2026-27 season en route to Cedar Rapids’ 3-0 win against the Fargo Force.

3 - Goals by Dominik Bednar, Sioux City’s tender, who recorded a natural hat trick in his first USHL game. There were 19 combined power plays between the Sioux City Musketeers and Green Bay Gamblers in a lopsided 8-3 victory for the Musketeers.

1 - Assist for Des Moines Buccaneers tender Chris Pinko, who assisted on the Buccaneers’ opening goal. Des Moines defeated the Muskegon Lumberjacks 4-1 in the opening game of the Fall Classic.

14 - Different players found the back of the net on Wednesday. Brock Stevenson, Juho Kuisma, Ethan Drabicki joined Bednar in scoring more than once.

About the USHL

The United States Hockey League (USHL) and its 16 teams are committed to being the world's leading junior hockey league. This season, more than 50% of NCAA Division I men's hockey players and nearly 25% of NHL players have USHL experience. The USHL has developed more than 315 direct NHL Draft picks since 2020, and nine of the last 10 Hobey Baker Award winners, including Macklin Celebrini (Chicago Steel).

Elevated through the recently announced Declaration of Excellence with the NHL and USA Hockey, the league's player-first approach, including a 2:1 practice-to-game ratio and a schedule with 90% of games played on weekends, provides its players with the optimal environment for athletic and personal growth, creating pathways for the next generation of stars like Auston Matthews (NTDP), Kyle Connor (Youngstown Phantoms), Jeremy Swayman (Sioux Falls Stampede), and Johnny Gaudreau (Dubuque Fighting Saints).