Welcome Home: The Steelheads return to Boise this weekend for their home opener at CenturyLink Arena after dropping a pair of games in Utah this past weekend to start the regular season. They’ll be seeing more of the Grizzlies, who come to town for the third and fourth consecutive meetings between the teams to open the schedule. Friday night marks the 20th Opening Night in Steelheads history, and the team is 7-4-2 in home-openers during the ECHL era.
Faust and Foremost: Joe Faust had the Steelheads’ lone goal of the weekend, a power play goal in the third period on Friday night. It was the second power play goal of Faust’s career and his fourth career goal overall. Faust was also one of Idaho’s best defensive players on the weekend, drawing an even plus/minus rating.
PK Prowess: The Steelheads had the second-best penalty kill in the ECHL last season, and they appear to have picked up right where they left off. Idaho killed off 13 of 14 disadvantages in Utah this weekend, including two separate 5-on-3 situations on Saturday night in the second period. Their 14 times short-handed is tied for the most in the league.
Milestone Within Reach: Forward Rob Linsmayer will have an opportunity to join an exclusive list on home ice this weekend. The fifth-year Steelhead is just two points shy of 100 for his professional career and four points shy of 100 in his Steelheads career. With four points this weekend, Linsmayer would become just the 12th player in the ECHL era to collect 100 points in a Steelheads uniform.