Steelheads Dumped By Aces 4-1 In Game One

Aces? goaltender Marek Schwarz fought off 47 shots while teammates Matt Shasby and Josh Soares each picked up one goal and one assist, as the Steelheads fell 4-1 in Game One of their National Conference Quarter Finals best-of-seven series in front of 2,233 fans at Qwest Arena on Wednesday night. The Steelheads (0-1), who won the Kelly Cup last season with a 16-6 mark, are now 7-3 against the Aces (1-0) in ECHL playoff action. The loss also snapped the Steelheads? seven-game winning streak and 10-game unbeaten streak at Qwest Arena dating back to the regular season.In a spirited and physical, yet scoreless first period the Steelheads out-shot the Aces 20-12.The Aces earned the game?s first tally when defenseman Corbin Schmidt, who scored five times in the regular season, jumped into an offensive zone rush and tipped home Brett Hemingway?s right wing feed for a 1-0 lead. Soares registered the second helper on the goal at 2:37.Late in the middle stanza Aces? blue-liner Peter Metcalf ripped a right point shot that glanced off Steelheads? defenseman Jeremy Scherlinck?s stick and over the left shoulder of Steve Silverthorn (25 saves) for a 2-0 advantage heading into the second intermission. Cam Keith and F.P. Guenette grabbed the assists on Metcalf?s first of the playoffs.Soares tallied tallied at 11:14 of the third period to give the visitors a 3-0 lead, a power play marker that saw Shasby and Kimbi Daniels pick up the assists.Less than four minutes later the Steelheads finally got on the board when Mark Bomersback tipped Kory Scoran?s point shot over the head of Schwarz and off the glass, where the puck came back into the Aces? crease. A sprawled out Schwarz then helplessly watched as the disc caromed off Desmet?s body and over the goal line.With Silverthorn at the bench for an extra attacker, Shasby floated the puck into an empty net with 2:01 left in regulation to round out the scoring and give the Aces an eventual 4-1 victory. The goal, Shasby?s first of the postseason, was unassisted. The final shots favored the Steelheads 48-31. The defending Kelly Cup Champions ended the night zero-for-five on the man advantage and they allowed two power play goals to drop to 1-4 in their last five series opening tilts. Silverthorn saw his career playoff mark dip to 17-8, while Schwarz earned his first professional playoff win. The 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs, presented by RC Willey, continue as the Steelheads and Aces hook up again, with Game Two of the National Conference Quarter Finals coming on Thursday, April 10. The puck drops at 7:10 p.m. MST. All of the Steelheads? postseason action can be heard live on 1350 AM, KTIK ?The Ticket? or via the B2 Networks. Don?t forget, Steelheads? single-game playoff 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.