Steelheads land Smith, Panzarella from elite NCAA programs

Boise, ID (09/22/15) - Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Neil Graham announced on Tuesday that the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads have agreed to terms with rookie forward Quinn Smith and rookie defenseman Andrew Panzarella for the 2015-16 season. Both players come to Boise from elite college programs.

Smith, 23, finished his four-year career at Boston College last season as an alternate captain, scoring seven goals and seven assists for a single-season high 14 points. Smith totaled 18 goals and 42 points in 148 games for the Eagles, and ranks 48th all-time on the program’s games-played list. He won an NCAA National Championship in 2012.

Panzarella, 25, played four seasons at the University of North Dakota, recording ten points (two goals, eight assists) in 77 games. He tallied a goal and three assists last season in nine games for North Dakota, and earned the program’s Coaches’ Unsung Hero Award.  Panzarella has a reputation for bringing a physical edge to his game, racking up 654 penalty minutes over four season in the United States Hockey League, prior to college. The defenseman played in two games at the end of last season for the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps.

“Quinn is a high-character player and he competes every shift. He comes from a winning program and is a player that leads by example," said Graham.  “Andrew plays a heavy game, works extremely hard, and will be a big part of our defense this season."

The Steelheads open the regular season on Friday, October 16, at home against the Rapid City Rush.  It is the first of 36 home games, each of which will be played at CenturyLink Arena.

Season tickets are on sale now with full-season packages starting as low as $275 per seat for all 36 home games.  Partial-season packages are also available.  Contact the Idaho Steelheads at 208-383-0080 for more information or log on to www.idahosteelheads.com.