Big second period lifts Colorado past Idaho

(Loveland, CO) - Four Colorado goals over the final 12 minutes of the second period were more than the Idaho Steelheads could overcome, as the Eagles defeated Idaho, 5-1, Wednesday night. After a scoreless first period where both goaltenders, Idaho's Bryan Hince and Stockton's Kyle Jones, came up with nice ssaves, Colorado came to life in the second frame. Aaron Schneekloth, Chad Costello, Joey Sides, and Riley Nelson found the back of the net, starting at the 7:42 mark, to take a 4-0 lead. The fourth goal just beat the final horn at the 19:59 mark as the Steelheads appeared to dispute whether or not the puck crossed the line before the period expired. Idaho (23-22-6, 52 points) got on the board in the third period on Michael Neal's fifth of the season - tying a career high in goals - at 8:53 of the period but Colorado tacked on another goal with less than eight minutes to play to end the scoring. Sides, who is from Sun Valley, had a goal and an assist in the win for Colorado. Bryan Hince took the loss, stopping 24 of 29 shots through two periods before giving way to Jerry Kuhn for the final frame. Kuhn stopped 12 of 13 shots in the third period for Idaho. Kyle Jones got the win, stopping 27 of 28.Idaho was 0-4 on the power play while Colorado did not have a power-play opportunity in the game. NOTE: The start of the second period was delayed by a half an hour due to some inadvertant damage to the end boards near the zamboni tunnel. Idaho travels to Stockton to take on the Thunder Friday night in northern California. The game can be heard on KTIK (1350 AM) with the St. Luke's Pregame show beginning at 8:15 PM. The Steelheads return home on February 22 to host the Utah Grizzlies in Boise. 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 - Michael Neal AQUA FINA "3 STARS" - (1) Aaron Schneekloth (COL) (2) Joey Sides (COL) (3) Riley Nelson (COL) 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.