Colorado rallies late to defeat Steelheads

(Loveland, CO) - Michael Forney's second goal of the night with less than 20 seconds left in regulation forced extra time and the Colorado Eagles went on to defeat the Idaho Steelheads, 3-2, in a shootout on Tuesday night at the Budweiser Events Center. The loss overshadowed another strong outing in net for Idaho goaltender Jerry Kuhn, who stole the show with 51 saves - the fourth time this season he has made at least 50 saves in a game. Idaho (23-21-2-4) did gain one point in the standings, moving the Steelheads past Stockton into fifth place in the ECHL's Western Conference standings. After a Michael Forney goal gave Colorado a 1-0 lead, Kuhn came up with a big save late in the first period to keep Idaho close. A Colorado shot was deflected into the crease and was rolling toward the goal line but Kuhn was able to get his glove hand back on the puck just inches before it crossed the line. Idaho came back strong in the second period. First, at the ten-minute mark of the period, Aaron Lewicki redirected Matt Case's shot from the top of the right-hand circle past the glove hand of Kyle Jones to even the game at 1. Lewicki now has three goals in four games with Idaho and 12 goals overall on the season. Then, in the final minute of the second period, Idaho's Ian Lowe deflected an Andrei Plekhanov shot from the blue line past Jones to give the Steelheads a 2-1 lead at the 19:18 mark. The goal was Lowe's eighth of the season and first since December 9. That score held deep into the third period as both Kuhn and Jones came up with several key saves. With less than 30 seconds to play, Colorado had an extra attacker on the ice after pulling Jones out of the net. The Eagles were able to create a scramble in front of the Idaho crease and Forney was able to nudge the puck into the net with 19 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and force overtime. The Steelheads had an opportunity to win it late in the overtime session, but Jones denied Jacob Cepis on a breakaway attempt in the final minute of OT. In the shootout, Jones denied all four Idaho shooters while Colorado got two pucks past Kuhn to secure the win. Jones picked up the win with 29 saves on 31 Idaho shots. Idaho was 1-2 on the power play while Colorado went 0-6 on the man advantage. Idaho and Colorado play again Wednesday night in Loveland at 7 PM. The game can be heard on KTIK (1350 AM) with the St. Luke's Pregame show beginning at 6:50 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 - Ian Lowe AQUA FINA "3 STARS" - (1) Michael Forney (COL) (2) Kyle Jones (COL) (3) Ben Chiarot (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.