Idaho picks up road win in Alaska

(Anchorage, AK) - Jacob Cepis scored twice and assisted on a third goal as the Idaho Steelheads came away with a hard-fought victory over the Alaska Aces, 4-2, in Anchorage Friday night. With the win, Idaho has five consecutive victories over the Aces this season as the Steelheads improve to 18-17-3 overall. Alaska (29-6-5) has lost eleven total games, five of them to Idaho. Alaska struck first on a Wes Goldie goal in the first period. Tyler Ruegsegger threaded a pass to Goldie who had gotten free in the slot. Goldie snapped it home for his 21st of the season at 3:27 of the opening fram as the first period would end with the Aces on top, 1-0. Idaho evened it up in the second when David Fredriksson's wrap-around attempt deflected into the net off the skate of Patrick Kennedy, his fourth of the season at 5:34 of the middle stanza. Goldie gave Alaska the lead back on the power play at 11:47 of the second, his 357th ECHL goal, the second-most in league history. The Steelheads answered just 17 seconds later when Derek LeBlanc found Cepis alone on top of the crease. Cepis made a quick move and jabbed the puck past Adam Courchaine for his 12th of the season to tie the game at two. The game would stay tied into the third period before Idaho broke the tie at 6:35. Jace Coyle snapped a wrister from the top of the left circle toward Courchaine. Cepis stepped in front of the Alaska netminder and redirected the puck over Courchaine's shoulder for his second of the night and 13th of the season. Idaho killed off a late Alaska power play before adding an empty-net goal in the final minute - Cepis patiently carried the puck up the left-hand side before feeding Michael Gergen for his first goal as a Steelhead - to provide the final two-goal margin for Idaho. Jerry Kuhn was strong in net for Idaho, turning aside 31 of 33 shots in the win. Courchaine stopped 16 of 19 Idaho shots in the loss. Both teams went 1-3 on the power play. The same two teams will do battle Saturday night in Anchorage with puck drop at 9:15 (Mtn) on KTIK's FM signal, 93.1, in the Treasure Valley. The team returns home on Tuesday, January 24, to host the Stockton Thunder. Tickets are available by calling the CenturyLink Arena box office (208.331.TIXS) or by logging on to www.idahosteelheads.com. COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME - Jacob Cepis AQUA FINA "3 STARS" - (1) Jacob Cepis (ID) (2) Jerry Kuhn (ID) (3) Wes Goldie (AK) 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.