Steelheads Stunned By Falcons 4-3 In Shootout

Three different skaters tallied for the Steelheads, who failed to hang on to a late, one-goal cushion before eventually falling to the Falcons 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday night from the SaveMart Center.The Steelheads (38-22-10) are now unbeaten in their last five games as they finish their road portion of their regular season schedule at 17-16-3. Meanwhile, the Falcons (40-20-8) snapped their season-high, three-game losing streak to help further secure their second place ranking in the nine-team National Conference.Just 16 seconds into the opening period Mark Bomersback took Aaron Gagnon?s pass and slid the puck past the right pad of Falcons? goaltender Jake Moreland (30 saves) to give the Steelheads a 1-0 advantage. The goal, Bomersback?s 18th of the season, was the club?s fastest goal to start a road game this year. Taggart Desmet picked up the second assist.Exactly three minutes later the Falcons tied the game when Josh Prudden swept home his own rebound for his sixth goal of the campaign. Taking Igor Gongalsky?s pass, Prudden one-handed a chance that Steve Silverthorn (34 saves) kicked aside, but Prudden deposited the rebound. Daryl Marcoux got the other helper.Through one period the shots favored the Falcons 18-11.Matt O?Dette gave the Falcons their first lead of the game, smacking home a power play goal from the top of the right circle 45 seconds into the second period. Prudden and Luke Curtin registered the assists on the veteran defenseman?s fourth of the season.Midway through the second period Kory Scoran drew the Steelheads even, poking a rebound past Moreland from just outside the crease for his fifth of the season. While on a power play, Andrew Martin controlled the puck along the right wing side before blasting a shot that bounced off the right pad of Moreland allowing Scoran to knock it underneath the net-minder. Blake Forsyth also got an assist.Entering the third period the score was tied at two and the Falcons led in shots 29-23.With just over five minutes left in the third period Lance Galbraith scored on the power play to give the Steelheads a 3-2 lead. Darrell Hay and Marty Flichel grabbed the assists on Galbraith?s 21st of the campaign. O?Dette?s second man advantage goal of the evening with 48 seconds left in regulation forced an eventual scoreless overtime and kept the Steelheads from their first win against the Falcons this season (0-4-2). Gongalsky and Curtin got the helpers on the game-tying marker.In the shootout, Prudden and Matt Stefanishion beat Silverthorn, while only Galbraith scored out of five Steelheads? shooters. The final shots favored the Falcons 38-33, and both teams finished with two power play tallies. Silverthorn is now 9-7-5 on the year, while Moreland (21-9-5) improved to 5-0-0 against the Steelheads.The Steelheads return home for their final two games of the regular season against the Falcons beginning on Friday, April 4. The puck drops at 7:10 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.