| Chicago Steel |
|
|
| City |
Bensenville, Illinois |
| League |
USHL |
| Division |
East |
| Founded |
1996 |
| Home arena |
Edge Ice Arena |
| Colors |
Black, Red, Gray
|
| Owner(s) |
Bruce Liimatainen |
| General manager |
Scott McConnell |
| Head coach |
Scott McConnell |
| Franchise history |
| 1996–2000 |
Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks |
| 2000–present |
Chicago Steel |
The Chicago Steel is a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team formed in 2000. It plays all of its home games at the Edge Ice Arena, located in Bensenville, Illinois. The Steel play in the Eastern Division of the United States Hockey League. The current GM and Head Coach of the Steel is Scott McConnell. McConnell was promoted from assistant coach to his current role on the morning of Thursday, February 24, 2011, when Jon Waibel was relieved of his duties as head coach and GM, having led the injury-plagued team to a 9-27-7 record to that point. Before the 10/11 season, Waibel had spent five seasons as the assistant coach under former NHL'er Steve Poapst, who left late in the off-season to take a job with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs. McConnell was named full-time head coach and GM on May 16, 2011 - before this, he'd been the interim head coach and GM.
[edit] History
The Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks moved to Chicago, Illinois and became the Steel in 2000. For the most part, the team hovered around the .500 mark, until 2003-04. Under the direction of rookie Head Coach Wil Nichol, the Steel won their first-ever East Division title, besting the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders by one point.
The feat was remarkable considering the Steel didn’t have a scorer or a goaltender ranked among the league leaders. Danny Charleston led the team in scoring and Curt Hammer award winner Topher Scott also provided clutch goals. Shane Connolly and Adam D’Alba split the goaltending duties and Nichol claimed league coach of the year honors.
The division title didn’t bring post-season success, however, as the Steel fell to eventual Clark Cup champion Waterloo Black Hawks in a tight, five-game, first-round series.
[edit] Roster
As of October 6, 2011.
|
Forwards
|
| # |
St/Pr/Co |
Player |
Shoots |
Height |
Weight |
Birthday |
Hometown |
College commitment |
| 23 |
 |
Aidan Cavallini |
L |
5' 11" |
186 lbs. |
Jan 1, 1992 |
St. Louis, Missouri |
None |
| 16 |
 |
Theo DiPauli |
|
5' 10" |
180 lbs. |
Feb 28, 1991 |
Woodridge, Illinois |
Union |
| 12 |
|
Jimmy Devito |
|
5'11" |
165 lbs. |
Apr 2, 1994 |
Bloomingdale, Illinois |
RPI |
| 27 |
|
Michael Fallon |
|
5' 11" |
175 lbs. |
Jul 8, 1991 |
Glenview, Illinois |
UMass Lowell |
| 13 |
 |
Christian Heil |
L |
6' 2" |
178 lbs. |
Mar 25, 1994 |
Westminster, Colorado |
Colorado College |
| 18 |
|
Jeff Kubiak |
L |
6' 3" |
205 lbs. |
Jan 18, 1994 |
Tinley Park, Illinois |
None |
| 10 |
 |
Daniel Kucerovy |
|
5' 10" |
165 lbs. |
Jan 23, 1994 |
Bethel Park, Pennsylvania |
None |
| 9 |
 |
Phillip Marinaccio |
|
5' 11" |
180 lbs. |
Apr 14, 1993 |
Maple, Ontario |
None |
| 11 |
|
Andrew Miller |
R |
6' 1" |
185 lbs. |
Jun 18, 1991 |
West Dundee, Illinois |
RIT |
| 21 |
|
Charlie O'Connor |
|
5' 11" |
174 lbs. |
Feb 23, 1993 |
Elk Grove Village, Illinois |
None |
| 24 |
 |
Bo Pieper |
L |
5' 11" |
177 lbs. |
Dec 17, 1994 |
Roseville, Minnesota |
None |
| 14 |
|
Canon Pieper |
L |
5' 10" |
178 lbs. |
Dec 15, 1993 |
Roseville, Minnesota |
None |
| 17 |
 |
Zach Saar |
R |
6' 5" |
200 lbs. |
Jun 22, 1993 |
Plainwell, Michigan |
Penn State |
| 15 |
 |
Ali Thomas |
L |
6' 3" |
206 lbs. |
Sep 22, 1992 |
Harlem, New York |
None |
|
Defensemen
|
| # |
St/Pr/Co |
Player |
Shoots |
Height |
Weight |
Birthday |
Hometown |
College commitment |
| 3 |
|
Joel Benson |
|
6' 1" |
195 lbs. |
Apr 18, 1992 |
Marquette, Michigan |
None |
| 25 |
 |
Kyle Buffardi |
|
6' 2" |
180 lbs. |
Apr 22, 1993 |
Westminster, California |
None |
| 8 |
|
Ryan Fraser-Lee |
|
6' 2" |
195 lbs. |
Feb 2, 1993 |
Grand Rapids, Michigan |
None |
| 5 |
|
Chris Joyaux |
|
6' 1" |
195 lbs. |
Apr 19, 1992 |
Bloomingdale, Illinois |
Miami |
| 20 |
|
Christian Neumann |
|
6' 0" |
185 lbs. |
Sep 1, 1993 |
Naperville, Illinois |
None |
| 7 |
|
Jaccob Slavin |
|
6' 2" |
170 lbs. |
May 1, 1994 |
Erie, Colorado |
Colorado College |
| 2 |
|
Ryan Trenz |
|
6' 0" |
190 lbs. |
Dec 27, 1991 |
St. Louis, Missouri |
Northern Michigan |
[edit] Notable alumni
- Matt Clackson, forward for the AHL Chicago Wolves
- Tom Gilbert, defenseman for the Edmonton Oilers
- Joe Loprieno, San Jose Sharks prospect
- John Moore, defenseman for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and 2011 AHL All-Star
- Travis Morin, Dallas Stars prospect
- Danny Richmond, member of 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks
- Lee Sweatt, retired
- Philip Samuelsson, Defenseman for the Boston College Eagles, prospect for the Pittsburgh Penguins, son of Ulf Samuelsson
[edit] Team spirit
The team mascot is a dog named Rusty. Occasionally also seen at Steel home games is a puppy named Rascal.
[edit] External links
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| East Division |
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| West Division |
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