Idaho completes sweep of road trip with shootout win

(West Valley City, UT) ? Marc Rancourt scored in regulation and the shootout and Jerry Kuhn turned aside all four Utah shooters in the shootout as the Idaho Steelheads edged the Utah Grizzlies, 2-1, Monday night at the Maverik Center. Idaho has now won three straight games, though Monday's two points were difficult to obtain against an undermanned but spirited Utah team. Utah, playing with four local players signed just prior to game time due to injuries and callups, played Idaho even through 20 minutes and took the lead on a Paul McIlveen power-play goal at the 6:31 mark of the second period. Late in the second, Idaho's Andrei Plekhanov was whistled for a five-minute boarding penalty and was issued a game misconduct, giving the Grizzlies a five-minute power play bridging the second and third periods. Kuhn, Idaho's goaltender, made a pair of dazzling saves as the Steelheads killed off the penalty without allowing Utah to extend its lead. That penalty kill seemed to give Idaho the life it had been lacking through the first two periods. Idaho finally evened the score at 4:05 of the third when Marc Rancourt tucked a rebound past Shane Owen off of a Kory Scoran shot from the top of the right-hand circle. Rancourt's fourth of the season evened the game at one. Brent Cornelius also had an assist on Rancourt's tally, his first professional point. Neither team would score again, through regulation or the overtime, sending the game to a shootout. In the first round, Rancourt snapped a shot through Owen's legs for a shootout tally and Derek LeBlanc ended the shootout with a pretty forehand-to-backhand move to beat Owen and give Idaho the second point in the standings. Kuhn stopped all four shooters in the shootout and has now turned aside 15 of 19 shooters in Idaho's four shootout games this season as the Steelheads improved to 3-1 in games decided by a shootout. Kuhn stopped 25 of 26 shots in the win while Owen stopped 36 of 37 shots in the loss. It was just the second time all season Idaho has outshot its opponent. Each team scored its goal in regulation on the power play. Idaho (12-12-3) returns home for contests against rival and defending Kelly Cup champion Alaska on December 21, 22, and 23. Tickets are available by calling the CenturyLink Arena box office (208.331.TIXS) or by logging on to www.idahosteelheads.com.NOTE: Prior to the game, Idaho traded forward Ryan Watson to Utah in exchange for future considerations. Watson, a rookie out of Western Michigan, skated in six games with the Steelheads prior to the trade, picking up one assist. Watson drove from Boise to the Maverik Center Monday afternoon and was in the lineup for Utah against the Steelheads.COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME - Marc Rancourt AQUA FINA "3 STARS" - (1) Shane Owen (UT) (2) Paul McIlveen (UT) (3) Matt Sorteberg (UT) Group outings at a Steelheads game are a great way to gather friends, colleagues, or co-workers for a fun night out in downtown Boise. Ticket prices are discounted and you can get a Pepsi, Double-R Ranch Hot Dog, and bag of Tim?s Cascade Chips with each ticket. Contact the Steelheads front office at 208.383.0080 or log on to www.idahosteelheads.com for more information.