"Team USA" wins 3rd-Annual Skills Challenge

The Idaho Steelheads held their third-annual Skills Competition Monday night, an exclusive event for Season Ticket Holders, at CenturyLink Arena.“It’s something we want to do for our Season Ticket Holders,” Team President Eric Trapp said. “It’s an opportunity for them to get up-close with our coaches and players in a more-relaxed setting.”The event consists of food, beverages and a skills display by the Steelheads players. The crowd has steadily grown each year and includes ample opportunity for fans to meet their favorite Steelheads player."The guys really enjoy it," Head Coach Brad Ralph said. "It's a good chance for them to have fun and show off their skills. Always nice to meet the people who support us night-in and night-out in an informal setting."The Skills Competition, since it is an Olympic year, was set good-naturedly to a Team USA – versus – Team Canada competition. There were five competitions: Hardest Shot, Rapid-Fire Shot, Target Shots, Team Skating Relay and Breakaway/Trick Shot. The top three finishers in the individual competitions were:Hardest Shot: Steven Whitely (93 MPH); David deKastrozza (91 MPH); Tommy Grant (90 MPH)Target Shot: Mitch Wahl 4/6; Joe Caveney 4/6; William Rapuzzi 3/6Breakaway/Trick Shot: Andrew Conboy 2/2; Joe Caveney, Damon Kipp and Steven Whitely all 1/2Rapid-Fire: David deKastrozza, Andrew Conboy and Matt Walters all 6/8Team USA won the Team Skating Relay as well, winning the overall competition, three events to one (Rapid Fire was a tie).“We’re already talking about ways to make it better for next year,” Trapp concluded. “We want it to keep growing and getting better.”