The Waterloo Black Hawks will face the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Dubuque Fighting Saints during the 2025 DICK'S Sporting Goods USHL Fall Classic, the United States Hockey League announced on Tuesday.

The games will be played at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.  Waterloo will meet Muskegon on Wednesday, September 17th at 6 p.m. Central Time in the season-opening contest for each team.  The Hawks encounter the Fighting Saints the following evening at 7 p.m..
 
The Waterloo-Muskegon tilt will be a rematch of the 2025 Clark Cup Final.  Muskegon won the best-of-five series on May 20th at Young Arena.  Game Three, Game Four, and Game Five each went to overtime, making it the first USHL championship series with three overtime contests since the league was granted Tier 1 status by USA Hockey in 2002/03.

September 17th will also mark the debut of new Black Hawks Head Coach Scott Gordon.  Earlier this summer, Gordon took the reins after Matt Smaby's departure for the University of North Dakota.  Gordon was previously an NHL head coach for the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers, also spending assistant coaching stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks.

The second game in Cranberry Township will be a renewal of a very familiar rivalry.  Waterloo and Dubuque have met at least six times per season each year since the Fighting Saints returned to the USHL in 2010.  Prior to Tuesday's announcement, the teams had only been slated to square off four times in 2025/26.  The first of those original matchups was not due until February 27th.

After the Fall Classic, the Black Hawks return to Young Arena for their first home game on September 27th against the Des Moines Buccaneers.  Season tickets for all Hawks home games are now on sale.  View available seats and order directly online from tickets.waterlooblackhawks.com or call the Black Hawks at (319) 232-3444 for assistance.

For the Black Hawks' complete 2025/26 schedule, click here.