Steelheads pick up road win in South Carolina

Charleston, SC (1/25/13) - Tyler Beskorowany made 37 saves and the Idaho Steelheads picked up a pair of power-play goals on Friday night, defeating the South Carolina Stingrays, 4-3. The game marked the first-ever for Idaho (26-10-5) in South Carolina. The only two previous meetings were played in Boise in 2004, both won by South Carolina, who plays in the ECHL's Eastern Conference. After a sluggish, scoreless first period, Idaho picked up the pace in the second. The Steelheads would score first for the 24th time this season as Ian Watters redirected a Patrick Cullity point shot on the power play past Jeff Jakaitis at 7:09 to make it 1-0. South Carolina tied it up at 10:58 on Justin Courtnall's third of the season. Idaho would regain the lead less than one minute later on Sam Carrick's tenth of the season, a goal-mouth tuck at 11:57 to give Idaho a 2-1 lead going into the third. The Steelheads picked up a big break early in the third when South Carolina defenseman Colby Cohen appeared to knock a loose puck into his own net after an Austin Fyten shot. Fyten was credited with his 13th at 1:10 of the final frame, allowing the Steelheads a little breathing room. A Tyler McNeely rebound goal at 3:13 tightened the game right back up, but the Stingrays would get no closer. A couple of big Tyler Beskorowany saves and an Andrew Carroll redirection of another Cullity power-play point shot at 16:17 gave Idaho a two-goal lead. South Carolina would add a goal with two seconds to play, but the Steelheads held on for the win. Beskorowany was solid, picking up his 11th win of the season after stopping 37 of 40 shots, including all 17 he faced during the first period. Jeff Jakaitis took the loss, allowing four goals on 24 shots. Idaho was 2-2 on the power-play, while South Carolina went 1-4. Idaho will play at Gwinnett Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon to conclude the rare eastern swing for the Steelheads. The team returns home on February 6 against the Utah Grizzlies. Tickets are available by calling the CenturyLink Arena box office at 208.331.8497 or by going online at www.idahosteelheads.com COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME - Patrick Cullity CENTURYLINK THREE STARS: 1) Austin Fyten (ID) 2) Tyler McNeely (SC) 3) Patrick Cullity (ID) 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.