Chicago, IL – The Dubuque Fighting Saints (0-0-0-0, 0 pts) open the 2026-27 regular season on Thursday against the Lincoln Stars (0-0-0-0, 0 pts) at the USHL Fall Classic in Chicago.
Here are five things to know ahead of the matchup:
1. Defend Dubuque
The Fighting Saints open the USHL regular season with a pair of cross-conference matchups against Lincoln and Tri-City at the Fall Classic.
Evan Dixon is set for this third season as head coach in Dubuque. Dixon is the only coach in Saints history to have multiple 40-win seasons, reaching that mark in each of his first two seasons.
2. Saints Standard
Melvin Ekman will be the Saints' captain this season and Kris Richards will serve as an assistant. Ekman is skating in his third season for the Fighting Saints and enters after a career-high 48 points last season.
Richards helped Dubuque to a fifth-ranked penalty kill last season (81.5%) and had the most points (22) of any returning defenseman for Dubuque.
3. Returners Ready
Ekman and Richards are part of a group of 10 players returning to Dubuque from last season's final roster, a group that combined for nearly 200 points. Ekman led the way with 23 goals and 48 points among the returners, while Caden Dabrowski was next with 35 points.
Dabrowski finished fifth among rookies in points last season and defenseman Lincoln Krizizke was named to the USHL All-Rookie First Team after his debut season.
4. New Names
Luke Carrithers joins the Saints this season after a pair of seasons with the USA NTDP. Carrithers logged an .899 save percentage last season, his second in the league playing for Team USA.
Top pick Nikolai Zhukov will suit up on the blue line for Dubuque this season. Zhukov was selected in the first round of the Phase I Draft last spring and enters the season after becoming the first freshman to play varsity hockey at Hermantown High School in Minnesota.
5. Shining Stars
The Stars enter the season with a new head coach, Artt Brey, as they look to replace a few key contributors from last season.
Lincoln is without reigning USHL Player of the Year Alex Pelletier after his departure for Boston College. Pelletier led the league with 48 goals and 85 points. Lincoln also saw Layne Loomer depart for Miami University after he finished third in the league with 72 points.
Thursday's game begins at 4:00 p.m. at the Blackhawks Ice Center in Chicago and is available on Eagle 102.3 and FloHockey.
