Steelheads Shocked As Thunder Rally For Win

Taggart Desmet tallied twice in the first period, but the Steelheads were blanked over the final two frames as the Thunder rattled off three goals to edge the Steelheads 3-2 in front of 7,810 fans at Stockton Arena on Friday night.The Steelheads (33-20-9) have now lost three in a row in regulation for the first time all season, while dropping to 2-3-0 against the Thunder (24-32-3) this season.Just 1:55 into the contest Desmet buried his first of two, opening period goals to give the Steelheads a 1-0. Skating through the slot, Desmet buried a rebound off Andrew Martin?s initial shot for his 25th of the campaign. Jeremy Scherlinck picked up the second assist on just the 18th first period road goal for the club this season.Desmet then converted on a power play with 51 seconds left in the opening period to make it 2-0. Martin got another assist on the play, as he took Matt Craig?s pass below the goal line and fed a wide open Desmet, who shifted to his backhand before sliding the puck under Thunder goaltender Glenn Fisher (33 saves).Through one period the Steelheads held a 2-0 lead and a 13-6 shot advantage.With under 10 seconds left in the second period former Steelhead Tim Verbeek found a loose puck at the top of the Steelheads? crease and amidst a scramble, he was able to flip the puck over a prone Kellen Briggs (21 saves) and into the top shelf to cut the Thunder deficit to 2-1. Geoff Paukovich snagged the lone helper on the shorthanded goal, the 11th the Steelheads have allowed this season and the third on this road trip.Zanoski pulled the Thunder even at 2-2 midway through the third period, banging home Lance Monych?s rebound for a power play goal, his seventh of the season. Joel Stepp got the other assist on the goal that snapped the Thunder?s one-for-40 man advantage funk in their last 11 outings.Then off a right wing rush, Zanoski slipped a shot inside the short side post to give the home team their first lead at 15:06. Brandon Schwartz and David Rohlfs picked up the assists.Lance Galbraith was awarded a penalty shot just under a minute later, but he was denied by the right pad of Fisher to essentially preserve the Thunder come-from-behind win. The defeat is the Steelheads fourth loss in regulation when scoring first, and their second in as many nights, while they slip to 24-3-6 when leading at the second intermission.The final shots favored the Steelheads 33-24. The Steelheads ended the contest one-for-seven on the power play, while the Thunder finished one-for-six. Briggs is now winless in three games for the first time in his pro career, while Fisher improved to 13-14-1 on the season and 2-1-0 against the Steelheads. The Steelheads are right back at it tomorrow night in Bakersfield as they take on the Condors on Saturday, March 8. The puck drops at 8:05 p.m. MST. All the action can be heard live on 1350 AM, KTIK ?The Ticket? or via the B2 Networks. Don?t forget, Steelheads? single-game tickets can be purchased via www.idahosteelheads.com (using the print-at-home feature), by calling 331-TIXS or from the Qwest Arena box office.