Slow start dooms Steelheads in opener

West Valley City, UT (10/18/13) - Jamie MacQueen notched all four goals as the Idaho Steelheads could not overcome a sluggish first period Friday night, falling to the Utah Grizzlies, 4-2, in the regular-season opener for both teams in Utah.Rookie forward William Rapuzzi notched a pair of assists for Idaho (0-1) in his professional debut.Utah put Idaho on its heels early Friday with a pair of goals in the first ten minutes and out-shooting Idaho, 21-8, in the first period overall. Idaho was able to level the ice in the second frame but Utah goaltender Igor Bobkov denied all 12 shots that the visitors took as the Grizzlies took a 2-0 lead into the third period.In the third, Idaho would get three cracks on the power play trailing by two goals but came up empty each time. Then, moments later, Utah wold turn the tables on the power play on MacQueen's third goal of the night, a rebound goal at 11:31 of the third that gave the Grizzlies a 3-0 lead.The Steelheads finally got on the board with 3:46 to play when Ryan Button's blast from the left circle was deflected up over Bobkov's shoulder to cut Utah's lead to 3-1, but any hopes for a dramatic comeback were dashed 80 seconds later when MacQueen's shot on the rush from the left wing trickled through Nagle's legs to re-up the lead to 4-1. Tommy Grant netted his first goal as a Steelhead, a blistering wrist shot from the right circle, closed out the scoring with ten seconds left in the game.After being out-shot badly in the first, Idaho recovered to out-shoot Utah, 36-35, for the game. Bobkov picked up the win, stopping 34 of 36 shots for Utah. Nagle took the loss with 31 saves on 35 shots. Idaho came up empty on six power-play opportunities while Utah was 1-2 on the man advantage.Idaho plays its home-opener on Wednesday, October 23, at CenturyLink Arena when the Steelheads host the San Francisco Bulls. Tickets are available by calling 208-331-8497.NOTE: Prior to game time, the Steelheads announced they had received D Carl Sneep from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League. Sneep signed an ECHL contract with Idaho during the offseason but made the season-opening roster with Iowa before being released in time to join Idaho on Friday night.COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME - William Rapuzzi (2 A)CENTURYLINK 3 STARS:1) Jamie MacQueen (UT)2) Igor Bobkov (UT)3) Derick Martin (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 free Pepsi, Double-R Ranch hot dog and bag of Tim's Cascade chips with each ticket as part of the Group Meal Deal. Contact the Steelheads' front office at 208-383-0080 for more information.