Roy, Steelheads stifle Colorado

Loveland, CO (1/3/15) – Olivier Roy stopped all 23 shots he faced Saturday night as the Idaho Steelheads posted their second consecutive shutout over the Colorado Eagles, 1-0, at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, CO.

Idaho (20-10-3, 43 points) defeated the Eagles, 6-0, on Friday night behind 29 Roy saves.  The margin for error was much smaller on Saturday.

The Eagles opened the game with tremendous energy, attacking the Idaho zone from the opening puck drop.  Roy came up with a big leg-pad save on Chris Knowlton midway through the frame and also fought off a tough shot from the slot through a screen to keep Colorado off the board over the game's opening 20 minutes.

Roy provided a critical save off a rush in the second period as well before his counterpart, Colorado's Doug Carr, robbed Wade MacLeod with a glove save on a wrister from the left-wing circle.  Idaho's penalty-kill unit would be put to the test in the second as the Eagles high-powered power play unit, ranked fourth in the ECHL at over 20 percent, had three cracks on the man advantage but Idaho limited Colorado to just six shots as the game stayed scoreless into the third period.

Idaho continued to clamp down defensively in the third and even received three power-play opportunities of its own, including an abbreviated two-man advantage.  As the third power-play expired with the game still scoreless, defenseman Matt Case fired a shot from the high slot toward the Colorado net.  Gaelan Patterson redirected the puck toward Carr, who got a piece of it, but the puck still trickled over the goal line at 13:46 of the third to give Idaho a 1-0 lead.  Patterson's sixth goal was also assisted by David deKastrozza.  Colorado got one more power-play opportunity after that, which was snuffed out by Idaho as the Steelheads held off a frantic final charge from the home team.

Roy now leads the ECHL with 17 wins and his three shutouts are tied for the most in the league as well.  Carr played well in defeat, stopping 19 of 20 Idaho shots.  Both teams excelled on the penalty kill, Idaho going 7-for-7 and Colorado going 6-for-6.

The Steelheads return home on Friday, January 9, to host the Alaska Aces.  Tickets are available by calling 208-331-8497.

COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME – Gaelan Patterson (G)

CENTURYLINK THREE STARS:(1) Gaelan Patterson (ID)(2) Olivier Roy (ID)(3) David deKastrozza (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 chips with each ticket. Contact the Steelheads front office at 208.383.0080 or log on to www.idahosteelheads.com for more information.