Steelheads squander opportunities in loss

West Valley City, UT (12/19/12) ? The Idaho Steelheads came up empty on nine power-play chances and, despite outshooting the Utah Grizzlies, fell 4-2 on the road at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, UT, Wednesday night. Idaho's loss dropped the team's overall record to 18-7-3 going into the team's final pre-Christmas game Saturday night at home against the Las Vegas Wranglers. Utah scored early off a defensive-zone turnover as Brad Mills found Adam Estoclet alone in the slot and Estoclet snapped a shot past Josh Robinson to make it 1-0 at 1:33 of the first period. Idaho appeared primed to tie the game midway through the period, but the puck hopped over the stick of a wide-open David deKastrozza at the right-hand post for what would have been a slam-dunk goal. The one-goal Grizzlies lead held up until the opening 90 seconds of the second period when a Sam Carrick blast from the right-hand circle beat Grant Rollheiser at 1:33 of the second to even the score up at one. Carrick's goal was assisted by Andrew Carroll and Gord Baldwin. Idaho would take the lead less than four minutes later at 5:09 on a spectacular move from Carroll, dragging the puck through a Grizzlies defender and onto his forehand for a quick snap past Rollheiser to put Idaho up, 2-1. It was Carroll's first goal in nine games but it did extend his scoring streak to four consecutive games. Utah tied the game on an Estoclet redirection at 7:54 and took the lead when Tommy Maxwell went top shelf with less than three minutes to play in the second period to make it 3-2 in favor of the Grizzlies. Idaho would have four power-play chances in the final frame but could never net the equalizer. Austin Smith had a bouncing puck roll off his blade on one golden scoring chance and another Steelhead shot rang off the crossbar as the team kept steady pressure on Rollheiser but was unable to score. Utah would finally get a power play with seven minutes to go and they cashed in for a big insurance goal when Riley Armstrong went top shelf on Robinson at 13:53 of the third to finish the scoring. Robinson suffered his first professional loss in regulation, stopping 18 of 22. Rollheiser played well in the win, stopping 36 of Idaho's 38 shots as the Steelheads put 16 more shots on net than Utah did. The Steelheads play their final home game of 2012 on Saturday, December 22, against the Las Vegas Wranglers. Tickets are available by calling the CenturyLink Arena box office at 208.331.8497 or by going online at www.idahosteelheads.com NOTE: The Steelheads played the game without defensemen Hubert Labrie (Texas) and Patrick Cullity (Springfield), each of whom was called up by American Hockey League teams over the past three days.COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME - Sam Carrick CENTURYLINK THREE STARS: 1) Adam Estoclet (UT) 2) Grant Rollheiser (UT) 3) Tommy Maxwell (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.