WEEKEND QUICK HITS: Allen comes to town

An American Story: The Idaho Steelheads welcome the defending Kelly Cup champion Allen Americans to CenturyLink Arena this weekend for two contests, the first meeting between the two teams since the Americans’ defeated Idaho in overtime of Game 7 in the first round of last year’s playoffs. Two teams that were already laying the groundwork for a rivalry now have even more in common after the Americans joined the Steelheads in the newly-formed Mountain Division this year. The Steelheads went 2-1-1 against Allen in the regular season last year, and Idaho currently leads the Americans by six points in the division.

Putting up points: The Steelheads went 2-0-1 in Norfolk this past week to extend their unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1). The Steelheads have earned at least a point in nine of their last 11 contests, with eight of those games coming against opponents from the Eastern Conference. The Steelheads will now get a chance to make noise against divisional opponents and extend their first-place lead. The Steelheads play 23 consecutive games against Mountain Division opponents starting Friday night.

Dahl’in: Jefferson Dahl began a new points streak on the road in Norfolk, scoring a goal in three straight games and adding two assists as well. All three of Dahl’s goal this week came in the third period, and the offensive burst moved him past the 100-point mark for his Steelheads career. Dahl is the 13th Steelhead to reach 100 points in an Idaho uniform, in the ECHL era, currently eight points behind teammate Rob Linsmayer on the Steelheads’ ECHL scoring list.

Power Prevails: The Steelheads boast the ECHL’s top-ranked power play unit, scoring four more power play goals in Norfolk including the third period game-winner on Saturday night. The Steelheads netted three power play goals on Wednesday, a single-game high for them this season, with two coming from rookie Will Merchant. Merchant has scored five career goals, all coming with the man-advantage. The Steelheads power play has managed to score in 13 of 16 games this season,

Rock-Solid Rookie: Rookie goaltender Landon Bow won both of his starts in Norfolk, stopping 35 shots to get the win on Saturday night. Bow has won six of his last seven decisions, and his seven wins rank second among ECHL rookie goaltenders. Bow ranks sixth in goals-against average and save percentage among rookies as well.