Balanced Steelheads end week with 7-3 victory

Loveland, CO (11/8/14) – Jason Bast and David deKastsrozza each scored twice while Alex Belzile and Colton Beck had three points apiece to lead a balanced attack as the Idaho Steelheads topped the Colorado Eagles, 7-3, on Saturday night in Loveland.

With the win, Idaho improved to 7-2-1 on the season.  Colorado is now 7-3.

Coming off Friday's overtime loss, Idaho got a quick start by scoring twice in its first three shots.  First, it was Bast from the right-wing circle on the team's first shot at 1:53 to make it 1-0.  Then, just over a minute later, deKastrozza scored from the right edge of the crease at 2:59 to put Idaho on top, 2-0.  Idaho nearly doubled that lead, but Scott Valentine's blast from the point rang off the post and Colorado's Kent Simpson denied Belzile in close.

The Steelheads didn't wait long to add to the lead in the second period.  Just 47 seconds into the period, Jesse Root won a face-off cleanly back to Colton Beck, who rifled a shot from the left wing into the net for his second goal of the season, making it 3-0.  At 13:01, Bast scored his second of the night on the power play as he finished a long break-out pass from James Livingston to make it 4-0.  The two goals on the evening give Bast a team-best nine tallies through ten games this season.

Colorado pushed back in the third.  A centering pass bounced off Nick Craven's skate and just over the goal line 21 seconds into the final frame to make it 4-1 before Wade MacLeod's third goal of the season at 2:35 re-established Idaho's four-goal lead at 5-1.  Belzile and Valentine assisted on what turned out to be an important goal as Colorado scored twice in a 40-second span midway through the third to cut Idaho's lead to 5-3.  Olivier Roy made a pair of tremendous saves to keep the Eagles at bay before a deKastrozza unassisted empty-netter at 19:05 to make it 6-3.  The Steelheads tacked on one more as Beck and Branden Troock teamed to feed Belzile for his second goal of the season at 19:39 to add an exclamation point on the victory.

Roy picked up his ECHL-best sixth victory of the season by stopping 25 of 28 shots.  Simpson played better than his numbers suggest in defeat for Colorado, stopping 34 of 41 Idaho shots, many coming from point-blank range.

Belzile (G, 2A),  Beck (G, 2A), Bast (2G), deKastrozza (2G) and Valentine (2A) all had multi-point nights.  Patrick Cullity (A), Steve Quailer (A), Root (A), Troock (A) and Livingston (A) each added points as well.  Defenseman Matt Case finished the night with a plus-3 rating and is now plus-8 through ten games.

Idaho returns home on Tuesday, November 11, to host the Alaska Aces at CenturyLink Arena.  Tickets are available online at www.idahosteelheads.com or by calling the CenturyLink Arena box office at 331-8497.

COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME –  Alex Belzile (G, 2A)

CENTURYLINK THREE STARS:1)   Jason Bast (ID)2)   Colton Beck (ID)3)   Nick Craven (COL)

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 Chips with each ticket. Contact the Steelheads front office at 208.383.0080 or log on to www.idahosteelheads.com for more information.