800 and counting for The Captain

(Loveland, CO) ? Wednesday night?s game at the Budweiser Events Center didn?t end the way the Idaho Steelheads wanted ? a 5-4 overtime loss to the Colorado Eagles ? but it did include a piece of history as Marty Flichel skated in his 800th professional game in North America. And, of course, Flichel buried the game-tying goal to force overtime on his signature slap shot from the right circle with 2:26 left in the third period. ?It was a power play and my job is to shoot the puck,? Flichel said of his tally. ?(Kael) Mouillierat gave me a good feed and I was able to knock it in.? Another Flichel bomb earlier in the game, a second-period rip, beat Colorado goaltender Kyle Jones but clanged loudly off the goalpost or else Idaho?s captain would have had a pair of tallies in the historic game. Flichel is already the organization?s all-time leader in games played, goals, assists, and points. He?ll play his 500th game as a Steelhead later this season as the milestones continue to mount for the winger from Saskatchewan. ?I don?t know how much most guys think about that (games-played milestones),? Flichel continued. ?My goal was to quit when I wanted to quit. I didn?t want anyone else telling me I was done.? The 35-year-old isn?t done yet, still anchoring the team?s power play unit in his 16th professional season. He has three goals in nine games so far this season. Flichel?s professional career began in the 1996-97 season with the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL. The journey has seen Flichel play in the International Hockey League, United Hockey League, and the West Coast Hockey League ? playing both for and against Idaho before the league went under and its remaining teams joined the ECHL prior to the 2003-04 season. He played two seasons in England as well. He came back to Idaho for good in the 2004-05 season and has been a mainstay ever since, making it his full-time home with his wife, Rachel, and two daughters. He also owns and operates his own business, Flick?s Landscaping. The captain has a championship ring, from 2006-07, when he was named first-team All-ECHL after banging home 39 goals and scoring 87 points. He was also named to the ECHL?s ?All-Decade Team? last season, as voted on by fans throughout the league. He owns the team record with seven points in a game, scoring a goal and adding six assists in a win over Bakersfield in March 2008. He also had six points in a game (three goals, three assists) in January 2011 against Utah. Flichel?s 800 games in North America are second among active players in the ECHL. Kalamazoo?s Kory Karlander, who turns 40 in March, has played in 983 through November 23. Alaska?s Wes Goldie has skated in 644 professional games in North America in his career. ?We?re proud of Marty,? said Steelheads team President Eric Trapp, who has seen the entire Flichel era with the team from start to finish. ?Eight hundred professional games is a lot of hockey and he has represented the Steelheads and the city of Boise very well.? Steelhead fans didn?t get to witness no. 800 in person, but they will have an opportunity to see no. 805, when the team returns home on December 7 to take on the Colorado Eagles at CenturyLink Arena. Tickets are available by calling the CenturyLink Arena box office at 208.331.TIXS.