Steelheads win wild affair in Utah

(West Valley City, UT) - Forward Tommy Lange scored and handed out two assists in a wild, fight-filled contest Monday night as the Idaho Steelheads defeated the Utah Grizzlies, 4-1, in front of 2,715 fans at the Maverik Center. It was Lange's Steelheads' debut. Cody Purves and Tyson Hobbins each had a goal and assist in the win. Jimmy Spratt turned aside 37 of 38 Grizzly shots in his first start in net for Idaho since November 26. Idaho got on the board in the first when Purves dug a puck loose behind the Utah net. He got the puck to Lange who fed a nifty pass to Hobbins at the top of the crease. Hobbins tucked the puck past Andrew Engelage at 10:57 to give Idaho a 1-0 lead. The Steelheads added a pair in the third. First, it was Purves from a low angle past Engelage for his first of the season. Then, at 14:45 of the second, Lange forced a turnover in the Utah zone and buried a shot from the bottom of the left-hand circle to give Idaho a 3-0 lead. Early in the third period, the game turned ugly as the teams combined for 111 penaty minutes in the final frame alone. Utah drew 81 of them, including 17 for Danick Paquette, 15 for CJ Severyn, 19 for Tysen Dowzak, and 16 for Derick Martin as several fights broke out and several misconducts were issued by referee Ryan Murphy as well. Utah got a tally on the board at 15:13 of the third period with a power-play tally, but Idaho provided the final cushion on an empty-net goal from Jacob Cepis, his 11th, with less than a minute to go in the contest. Idaho (17-17-3) was 0-for-8 on the power play, while Utah was 1-4. The Steelheads remain on the road this coming weekend, playing Friday and Saturday night in Anchorage against the defending Kelly Cup champion Alaska Aces. 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 - Tommy Lange AQUA FINA "3 STARS" - (1) Tommy Lange (ID) (2) Jimmy Spratt (ID) (3) Nick Tuzzulino (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.