RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Idaho Steelheads (9-8-3) were led by a 41-save shutout to take a 6-0 win over the Rapid City Rush (8-8-3) on Saturday night from Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.
The Steelheads came out of the gates efficient on their first two power plays of the night. Starting at 8:23 of the first period, Steelheads forward Kyle Schempp followed up his own shot to push in a rebound for his first power play goal of the season and an early 1-0 lead. On the next advantage at 11:05, Steelheads defenseman Colton Saucerman fed forward Alex Dahl for a deflection under the crossbar to double the lead, 2-0. Steelheads forward A.J. White scored the first even-strength goal on another rebound coming at 18:16, spreading the lead to 3-0.
In the second period, the Steelheads gained one more power play and scored one more time. At 16:22, Schempp deflected a shot from defenseman Eric Sweetman to slide it through the legs of the netminder and open the lead to 4-0.
The Steelheads capped off a perfect performance on special teams in the third period thanks to a back door goal by defenseman Nolan Gluchowski at 6:10 to take a 5-0 lead. Steelheads forward Kale Kessy helped gain a Gordie Howe hat-trick with his own goal at 13:27 on even-strength, helping the Steelheads to a 6-0 victory.
The Steelheads finished the night 4-for-4 on the power play and penalty kill, marking the first time this season with a perfect special teams record.
Steelheads goaltender Sholl (4-3-0) notched his second shutout of the week, stopping all 41 shots in the win, while Rush netminder Michael Bitzer (3-3-0) turned aside 21 of 27 shots in the loss. The Steelheads return to CenturyLink Arena on Friday, Nov. 30 at 7:10 p.m. against the Jacksonville Icemen. Tickets are available by going to IdahoSteelheads.com or calling 208-383-0080. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on 1350AM KTIK and ECHL TV as well as 7:00 p.m. on CableOne Channel 72.
Single-game tickets and season ticket packages are on sale, with full-season packages starting as low as $300 per seat. Contact the Idaho Steelheads at 208-383-0080 for more information or log on to idahosteelheads.com.
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