QUICK HITS: Allen & Kansas City visit Boise this week

Fighting for Position: The Steelheads return from their six-game road swing for three games at CenturyLink Arena this week, hosting two teams that are hoping to secure a playoff spot in the final weeks of the season. The Allen Americans visit on Wednesday night, winners of two straight but only three of their last ten. The Americans have fallen to sixth in the Mountain Division, one point behind Tulsa and Utah. The Kansas City Mavericks make their first visit to Boise since April 2016, playing two games over the weekend. The Mavericks are one point out of the final playoff spot in the Central Division.

Peak Parizek: Justin Parizek notched his first four-point game in Wichita on Friday night, with two goals and an assist coming with the man-advantage. Parizek also rang a post in the final minute of Sunday’s failed comeback effort against the Thunder.  Parizek has 13 points in his last 12 games, and he is tied for second place among ECHL rookies with eight power play goals.

Home Stretch:  The Steelheads have 14 games left in the regular season, eight of which will be at home. Idaho is 16-9-3 on home ice this season, where they have played little hockey of late. Wednesday will mark Idaho’s first home game since February 17th, and just their sixth home game since January 13th.

Getting the Call: As the Steelheads try to lock down a playoff berth, they may have to do so without several of their regulars. Five Steelheads have been called to the American Hockey League since February 12th. Henrik Samuelsson has played eight games with AHL Rockford and Ryan Faragher has appeared in three games for AHL Stockton. The Texas Stars recalled forwards Steve McParland and Max French last week after the Steelheads’ series in Rapid City, and on Tuesday Philippe Desrosiers was recalled to AHL Texas as well. Desrosiers had appeared in ten consecutive games for Idaho.