Steelheads Win Game Three, Will Try for Sweep Friday

The Idaho Steelheads topped the Utah Grizzlies 6-1, and now own a 3-0 series lead in the second round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Idaho will try to complete a sweep of Utah and punch a ticket to the National Conference Finals on Friday night. John Swanson has scored in all three playoff games for Idaho, giving him four goals in the playoffs. John Swanson started the Steelheads? first period offensive onslaught with a wrist shot from the point on the power play; the puck soared from the center of the blue line, bounced off Utah netminder Mike Morrison, and fell behind the goal line for the game?s first goal, and Swanson?s third of the playoffs. Matt McKnight and Kevin DeVergilio earned assists on the goal at 7:33. At 13:36, Mark McCutcheon received a pass between the bottom of the right circle and the goal post from Mark Derlago in the corner, and flipped a backhand into the goal to give Idaho a 2-0 lead. The goal was McCutcheon?s third of the postseason, and Marty Flichel also gathered an assist on the goal. DeVergilio extended Idaho?s lead to 3-0 at 14:49 of the first period when he slammed home the rebound from a Guillaume Monast point shot. Also assisting on the goal was Dustin Friesen. At 1:47 of the second period, Mark Derlago made it 4-0 for Idaho with his first of the playoffs. Derlago redirected a point shot from Friesen into the Utah net, and McCutcheon also assisted on the goal. John Swanson extended the lead to 5-0 at 12:22 of the second period with his fourth of the playoffs. Evan Barlow found Swanson open in front and connected on a tape-to-tape pass, as Swanson scored from the top of the crease. John-Scott Dickson also assisted on the goal. Former Steelhead Matt Sorteberg scored the first goal of the third period, cutting Idaho?s lead to 5-1, before DeVergilio netted the game?s last goal to make the score 6-1. The goal was the second of the game, and second of the playoffs for DeVergilio. Richard Bachman improved to 3-0-0 in the playoffs, stopping 24 of 25 shots. Mike Morrison stopped 38 of 44 shots, and falls to 1-4-0 in the playoffs in the Utah loss. The Steelheads will have a chance to close-out Utah on Friday night; game four starts at 7:05 PM.