Idaho comes up one goal short in Alaska

Anchorage, AK (11/29/14) – A seeing-eye shot from Chris Francis found a tiny opening over the shoulder of Henri Kiviaho midway through the second period and that wound up being the game-winning goal as the Alaska Aces edged the Idaho Steelheads, 2-1, Saturday night in Anchorage.

Idaho (11-7-1, 23 points) remains on the road with a game Monday at Utah.  Game time is 7 PM (Mtn) and can be heard live on KTIK (1350 AM) in the Treasure Valley.

The Steelheads struck first at 3:46 of the first period when Jason Bast knocked home a rebound of a Matt Case point shot for his team-leading 13th goal of the season.  That total is tied for most in the league with Orlando's Greg Miller.  Kiviaho kept Idaho on top by stopping Brendan Connolly on a breakaway, Ryan Tesink from the slot and Greg Wolfe from the bottom of the right-wing circle in the opening frame.

Alaska tied the game in the second period after a successful Idaho penalty kill.  The Steelheads appeared primed to take the puck out of the zone but it was knocked free and a quick pass found Brendan Connolly, who went from dramatically out-of-position to in the right place at the right time as he tapped home the loose puck from the right edge of the crease at 3:06 of the second to tie the game.  Five minutes later, Francis carried the puck in the left-wing circle and put a shot over Kiviaho's shoulder, just inside the near post, to give Alaska a 2-1 lead.

Idaho pressed for an equalizer in the third and appeared primed to go on the power play with about seven minutes to play as Ludwig Karlsson was slashed coming into the offensive zone, but there was no call.  Compounding the problem was Karlsson was then whistled for a penalty himself about 20 seconds later to put Alaska back on the power play.  The Steelheads killed off the Aces man advantage but ran out of time as they pressured the Aces net over the final minute to no avail.

The Steelheads penalty-kill unit responded in a big way on Saturday, stopping all six man-advantage opportunities for Alaska.  Kiviaho was solid in net despite the defeat for Idaho, stopping 25 of 27 shots.  Niklas Lundstrom was solid in net for Alaska as well, turning aside 27 of 28 Idaho shots.

The Steelheads have a Monday date in Utah against the Grizzlies before returning home for a three-game set next week against the Bakersfield Condors.  Idaho will wear specially-themed, blue and orange jerseys that will be auctioned off via silent auction with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the St. Luke's Children's Hospital.  Tickets for all three games are available online at www.idahosteelheads.com or by calling the CenturyLink Arena box office at 331-8497.

COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME –  Jason Bast (G)

CENTURYLINK THREE STARS:1)   Chris Francis (AK)2)   Niklas Lundstrom (AK)3)   Brendan Connolly (AK)

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.