Toews' late tally lifts Idaho to key win

Stockton, CA (2/1/13) - David Toews went top-shelf over the blocker side of Tyler Bunz with less than a minute in regulation, lifting the Idaho Steelheads to a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the homestanding Stockton Thunder Friday night. With the win, Idaho (28-11-5, 61 points) creeps to within seven points of first-place Alaska, who lost in a shootout in Las Vegas. It also stretched Idaho's lead over Stockton in the Western Conference race to seven points. Each win is worth two points in the standings. Stockton got the only goal of the first period on a Maxime Boisclair rebound tally at 16:46. The Thunder would hold that lead well into the second period, in part to two defensive plays by Thunder blueliner Colton Hayes. Hayes thwarted a pair of 2-on-1 Idaho rushes with sliding plays to break up Idaho passes. Idaho would finally get the equalizer on Tyler Gron's marker from the top of the crease, assisted by Toews, at 14:44 of the second. Stockton would answer quickly, though, on a 5-on-3 power play when Harrison Reed notched his 19th of the season from the edge of the crease to give the Thunder a 2-1 lead after two periods. Idaho would tie things up midway through the third period as Jace Coyle blasted a power-play shot from the top of the left-hand circle over Bunz to knot the game up at 11:16 of the final frame. The game seemed destined for overtime as the squads battled it out for the next ten minutes. But Idaho would get a big break with less than a minute left in regulation. Toews picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and carried it in the right-hand wing. As he did, Stockton's Kevin Noble lost his footing and fell into Tony DeHart, taking out the two Thunder defensemen between Toews and Bunz. Toews carried it in and, from the bottom of the right circle, lifted the game-winner over the blocker shoulder of Bunz at 19:17 for his sixth of the season, four of them coming in 11 games since being acquired by the Steelheads in early January. A busy Josh Robinson picked up the win, stopping 43 of 45 Thunder shots for his 15th pro victory. Bunz was the loser, making 23 saves on 26 shots. Both teams went 1-for-5 on the power play. Idaho and Stockton play again Saturday night at Stockton Arena with game time set for 7:30 PM (Pacific). 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 - David Toews CENTURYLINK THREE STARS: 1) David Toews (ID) 2) Maxime Boisclair (STK) 3) Josh Robinson (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.