Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin – The Chippewa Steel announce their 2023-24 season schedule, which opens at home on Saturday, Sept. 9 vs. the Kenai River Brown Bears at Chippewa Area ice Arena. The Steel will be home bodies for the first month of the season with the first six games of the season coming in Chippewa Falls with visits from the Minnesota Wilderness on Sept. 23, Fairbanks Ice Dogs on Sept. 30, a weekend series on Oct. 6 and 7 against the Springfield Jr. Blues and wrapping up with the Janesville Jets on Oct. 13. The Steel hit the road for the first time with a short trip to Janesville on the back end of a home and home with the Jets on Oct. 14 at the Janesville Ice Arena. The month of October finishes with four straight games against the Minnesota Wilderness split between the Chippewa Area Ice Arena and the Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet, Minnesota.
As the Steel enter November, this will be the busiest month in terms of miles traveled with an Alaskan road trip built right in the middle of the month. November, 10, 11, 12 begins a weekend series vs. Kenai River Brown Bears, followed by two games vs. Fairbanks Ice Dogs on the 17th and 18th, then ending the trip in Minnesota taking on the Wilderness on the 22nd. The Wisconsin Windingo bookend the 10 game month for the Steel back in the Chippewa Area Ice Arena on Nov. 24, and 25.
December is a relatively light month with seven of the eight games coming at home, starting out with two at Red Baron Arena in Marshall, Minnesota on Dec. 1 and 2 against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. The lone road game is the start of a home and home matchup with the Windingo on Dec. 8 at the Eagle River Sports Arena. The final games before the new year see the Steel and Anchorage Wolverines meeting for the first time on Dec. 29 and 30 marking the end of the first half of the season.
The first game of the new year is on Jan. 5 vs. Janesville, followed by the first trip to Illinois to visit the Springfield Jr. Blues at Nelson Center on Jan. 12 and 13. The final months of the season really begin to ramp up, February may have to be named the Alaskan Blizzard, all nine games will feature the three Alaskan teams along with the second and final road trip to Alaska for five games against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs on Feb. 16 and 17, then a three game set with the Anchorage Wolverines on the 23, 24, and 25 to finish the month.
March obtains the most amount of game within a month with 11, six of those games will be held at the Chippewa Ice Arena and the longest road trip of the month is back to the Nelson Center against the Jr. Blues on March 15 and 16. As March passes the 56 game season ends with one last matchup with each Wisconsin foe, at Eagle River Sports Arena on April 6 vs. Wisconsin Windingo and the regular season finale at home taking on the Janesville Jets on April 11.
The Chippewa Steel are looking to build off a season ago where they went to the Robertson Cup Playoffs for the first time as a franchise after an amazing second half. Main camp begins on July 20 in Andover, Minnesota where the final roster will begin taking shape in order to be ready for the season opener in September!