CHICAGO STEEL:  The Chicago Steel come into the week in last place in the USHL's Eastern Conference, having earned 18 points through 23 games with an 8-13-1-1 record. They picked up one point in a home-and-home set with the Green Bay Gamblers last weekend, stealing a point in a shootout loss in Green Bay, and then returned home for a 6-2 loss at Fox Valley Ice Arena. 

The Steel are led by second-year forward Michael Hage, a University of Michigan commit, as his 13 assists and 21 total points both lead the team. Charlie Major has potted a dozen goals to give him the team lead, while Jeoy DelGreco has matched Major's 18 points to tie for second on the team.

Michael Hagens, older brother of U18 forward James Hagens (Hauppauge, N.Y.), paces the Steel blue line with 13 points (2g-11a) from 23 games played. Thor Byfuglien has pitched in a pair of goals and nine total points.

In the cage, Christian Manz leads the way for Chicago, palying in 16 games with a 6-8-1-1 record, 4.50 GAA and .878 SV%. Louka Cloutier has a 4.71 GAA and .870 SV% in his seven appearances.

Wednesday's matchup is the first of two between the U18s and Steel this season; Chicago will return to USA Hockey Arena on Saturday, January 20 for the other contest in the season series.

YOUNGSTOWN PHANTOMS: The U18s round out their weekend with a home-and-home set with the Youngstown Phantoms, beginning Friday evening in Ohio.

The back-to-back will be the first regular season matchups of the season after the two sides kicked off the campaign with a pair of preseason matchups in Michigan.

The Phantoms are currently in third place in the USHL's Eastern Conference, but just two points off of the division-leading Green Bay Gamblers with a game in hand. Youngstown has picked up 13 of their last 20 possible standings points, going 6-3-1-0 over their last 10 matchups.

The Phantoms are led by NTDP product Charlie Cerrato, whose 18 assists and 20 points both lead the team. Michael Burchill (7g-10a--17pts) and Ryan Botterill (9g-7a--16pts) have both aided in the offensive attack.

Youngstown has one of the most offensively productive blue lines in the league, as a trio of its defensemen have already hit double-digits in points. Andrew Strathmann (5g-13a--18pts) is third among all USHL defenders in scoring, while Tory Pitner (7g-9a--16pts) is seventh and Sascha Boumedienne (1g-12a--13pts) sits in the top-20. 

Team USA will likely see each of the Phantoms' two goaltenders over the weekend. Owen Bartoszkiewicz has taken nearly two-thirds of the time in net, producing a 10-4-1-0 record, 2.64 GAA and .903 SV% in 15 games played. Colin Winn has a 5-2-1-0 record in backup duty to pair with a 3.09 GAA and .884 SV%. 

EUROPEAN TOUR: In a new-look schedule, the Under-17 Team is forgoing the annual December Four Nations Cup and instead traveling Europe this week to take on some of the top U20 teams in Germany and Switzerland. 

The U17s will square off with Mannheim U20 twice (Tues./Thurs.) and Kolner Junghaie U20 sandwiched in the middle on Wednesday afternoon. They round out their four-game trip Saturday night against Bern U20, a roster which includes  a handful of Swiss players that were at USA Hockey Arena last season for the U18 Five Nations in February.