Chippewa Steel
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The Chippewa Steel is a Tier II junior ice hockey team based in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, that plays in the North American Hockey League (NAHL).
History
The franchise began in 2005 as the North Iowa Outlaws based in Mason City, Iowa, where the team played for five seasons until moving to Onalaska, Wisconsin, in 2010 under owner Mark Motz as the Coulee Region Chill. The team was then sold to Michelle Bryant in 2012 and the franchise was eventually moved in 2014 to nearby La Crosse, Wisconsin, with games at the Green Island Ice Arena.
After the 2017–18 season, Chill owner Michelle Bryant sold the franchise to Steve Black of JB Black Enterprise, LLC, the owner of the NA3HL's New Ulm Steel. Black relocated the Chill franchise to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, as the Chippewa Steel to play out of Chippewa Area Ice Arena. Bryant would then rename her NA3HL team from La Crosse Freeze to Coulee Region Chill while continuing to play out of La Crosse. Al Rooney was named the Steel's first head coach and general manager, but was relieved of duties 23 games into his first season with a 5–16–1–1 record. Assistant coach Carter Foguth was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season before be given the role permanently at the end of the season.
In March 2021, it was reported that Steve Black sold the Steel and the Tier III New Ulm Steel to an ownership group led by Kelly Kasik. The sale was confirmed on April 16 along with the announcement of new general manager and head coach Mike Janda. However, Janda was then given a two-year suspension in August 2021 by USA Hockey for manipulating records to use non-eligible players when he held a previous coaching job on a youth team and was subsequently released by the Steel. The Steel then hired Casey Mignone, the assistant coach of the St. Cloud Norsemen.
After Casey Mignone left for a coaching job at Alaska-Farianks, on July 8, 2023, owner Kelly Kasik and the Steel hired Chris Ratzloff, who had previously coached for the Rochester Grizzlies(NA3HL) for the past 4 years. Chris Ratzloff went 29-25-6 in his first season as coach. The Steel also adopted a new slogan in 2023, which is currently "Rally the Valley!"
Current division opponents for the Steel are the Anchorage Wolverines, Fairbanks Ice Dogs, Janesville Jets, Kenai River Brown Bears, Minnesota Wilderness, Springfield Jr. Blues, and Wisconsin Windigo(previously Minnesota Magicians)
Season-by-season records
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Iowa Outlaws | ||||||||||
| 2005–06 | 58 | 18 | 37 | 3 | 39 | 149 | 219 | 1439 | 5th of 5, Central 19th of 20, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2006–07 | 62 | 27 | 29 | 6 | 60 | 174 | 198 | 1446 | 4th of 6, Central 12th of 17, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 2–3 (Fargo-Moorhead Jets) |
| 2007–08 | 58 | 38 | 16 | 4 | 80 | 195 | 137 | 1209 | 1st of 8, Central 4th of 18, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Springfield Jr. Blues) |
| 2008–09 | 58 | 35 | 18 | 5 | 75 | 229 | 171 | 1107 | 2nd of 5, Central t-7th of 19, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 1–3 (Owatonna Express) |
| 2009–10 | 58 | 15 | 37 | 6 | 36 | 147 | 234 | 915 | 5th of 5, Central 18th of 19, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| Coulee Region Chill | ||||||||||
| 2010–11 | 58 | 33 | 20 | 5 | 71 | 204 | 180 | 982 | t-2nd of 6, Central t-10th of 26, NAHL | Won Div. Semifinal series, 3–1 (Owatonna Express) Lost Div. Final series, 2–3 (Bismarck Bobcats) |
| 2011–12 | 60 | 18 | 35 | 7 | 43 | 162 | 229 | 996 | 4th of 5, MidWest t-23rd of 28, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (St. Louis Bandits) |
| 2012–13 | 60 | 16 | 39 | 5 | 37 | 157 | 224 | 849 | 6th of 6, Central 23rd of 24, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2013–14 | 60 | 31 | 28 | 1 | 63 | 181 | 181 | 1011 | 5th of 6, Midwest 15th of 24, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2014–15 | 60 | 28 | 23 | 9 | 65 | 176 | 182 | 987 | 3rd of 5, Midwest 12th of 24, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 2–3 (Minnesota Wilderness) |
| 2015–16 | 60 | 33 | 26 | 1 | 67 | 177 | 165 | 883 | 4th of 6, Midwest t-11th of 22, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 1–3 (Fairbanks Ice Dogs) |
| 2016–17 | 60 | 31 | 27 | 2 | 64 | 220 | 220 | 920 | 4th of 6, Midwest 16th of 24, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Janesville Jets) |
| 2017–18 | 60 | 17 | 34 | 9 | 43 | 162 | 214 | 661 | 5th of 6, Midwest 21st of 23, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| Chippewa Steel | ||||||||||
| 2018–19 | 60 | 19 | 38 | 3 | 41 | 149 | 220 | 1019 | 6th of 6, Midwest 22nd of 24, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2019–20 | 51 | 29 | 18 | 4 | 62 | 171 | 146 | 798 | 2nd of 6, Midwest 11th of 23, NAHL | Postseason cancelled |
| 2020–21 | 48 | 14 | 29 | 5 | 33 | 116 | 169 | 904 | 5th of 5, Midwest 22nd of 23, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2021–22 | 60 | 25 | 31 | 4 | 54 | 168 | 206 | 772 | 7th of 8, Midwest 24 of 29, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2022–23 | 60 | 31 | 25 | 4 | 66 | 186 | 172 | 806 | 4th of 8, Midwest 13 of 29, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Wisconsin Windigo) |
| 2023–24 | 60 | 29 | 25 | 6 | 64 | 170 | 188 | 646 | 5th of 8, Midwest 20 of 32, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2024–25 | 59 | 30 | 23 | 6 | 66 | 182 | 186 | 1024 | 4th of 8, Midwest 14 of 35, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 1–3 (Wisconsin Windigo) |
| 2025-26 | 59 | 11 | 44 | 4 | 26 | 119 | 260 | 1322 | 8th of 8 Midwest, 34th of 34 NAHL | Did not qualify |
Rivalry
The Chippewa Steel and Janesville Jets have one of the most fierce rivalries in the Midwest Division. The history of this rivalry dates back to 2018, when the Steel were "New" to the league, where the Jets and Steel fought for a milk can, which is called the Dairyland Milk Can Trophy, which was sponsored by Blain's Farm & Fleet. The battle for this milk jug ran from 2018-2022, but it was stopped in the 2023-24 season.