PREVIEW: IDAHO STEELHEADS (14-9-3) VS. KANSAS CITY MAVERICKS (14-7-2)

SATURDAY, DEC. 15, 2018 | 7:10 PMCENTURYLINK ARENA | BOISE, IDRADIO: 1350AM KTIK | TV: CABLEONE CH. 72 | STREAM: ECHL TV

Tonight’s Game: The Steelheads conclude their three-game weekend against the Kansas City Mavericks on Nickelodeon Night featuring Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from CenturyLink Arena.

Head-To-Head: The Steelheads extended their win streak to four games against the Mavericks, all coming at home. With the win, the Steelheads have now won six of their eight games against the Mavericks, boasting a 6-2-0 record head-to-head, all coming since the ECHL/CHL merger. The two sides will play three more games in Missouri crossing into March.

Last Night: The Steelheads shut out the Mavericks with a 3-0 win on Friday night at CenturyLink Arena. Steelheads forward Robbie Payne (PP, 15:55 1st) opened the scoring for the second-straight night to take a 1-0 lead. Steelheads forward Reid Petryk (PP, 19:36 1st; 3:48 2nd) scored two-straight goals crossing through two periods to double then triple the lead, 3-0. The Steelheads would hold the Mavericks off the scoreboard despite a goal called back to take the win. Ryan Faragher (3-2-1) turned away all 21 shots in the win, while Ben Halford halted 26 of 29 shots in the loss.

Shut ‘Em Down: The Steelheads recorded their third shutout of the season, following a similar progression in these results to last season. After the Steelheads conceded the first shutout loss, the team went undefeated in their remaining shutout results with eight last season and thus far three wins. Ryan Faragher earned his first shutout of the season and third with the Steelheads, his first since Jan. 12, 2018 against Kalamazoo (22 saves). Now, Faragher has 10 career shutouts in his professional career and now has saved 51-of-52 shots this week, moving to his best numbers with the Steelheads at a 2.66 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage.

Close No More: The earlier trend of close games has slowly gone by the wayside as the Steelheads charge through the second quarter of the season. The Steelheads began the season with seven-straight one goal results as well as 14 of the 18 games in the first quarter of the season. Now, the Steelheads have only had only one game with a one-goal differential (Dec. 1 vs. JAX, 3-2 OTW) and the Steelheads have won six of eight games in that section compared to eight wins in 18 games. Five of their six wins in the second quarter have been by more than one goal.

Closing Speed: Much of the success of the Steelheads during the home stand has been the ability to close out games while spreading the goal differential. In only three of the six games so far, a team has had a lead through the first period with the Steelheads taking two of those games while combining just 11 goals. In the second period, the Steelheads and their opponents split their scoring 4-4 with two leads for either side. However, the third period has been the Steelheads’ bread and butter, outscoring opponents 9-2 including overtime games and expanding their goal differential in that frame to +9 and owning the second-fewest goals-against in the third period (15), only trailing Cincinnati (9) across the ECHL.

Reid Running: Steelheads forward Reid Petryk posted a multi-goal game for the second-straight night and continues to be the hottest scorer on the roster. The Edmonton native is on a team-high three-game goal streak, scoring five goals in the last seven days as part of a hot streak. After just two points in his first 12 games, Petryk now has points in seven in his last eight games, posting 10 points with eight goals in that time and soaring into the top-six in team scoring and second in goals. In 20 games, he owns nine goals and three assists for 12 points.

Goose Egg: For the third time this season, the Kansas City Mavericks were shut out in a game without getting a positive result in that same scenario. Their previous two shutout losses came on November 16 against Wichita (4-0) and on November 30 against Tulsa (1-0) but were able to earn a win in their following games against the same opponent (Nov. 17, 4-3 SOW; Dec. 1, 6-4 W). However, the Mavericks’ loss coupled with Wednesday’s result shows a troubling trend, falling in three of their last five games as well as six in nine games, going 3-5-0-1 in that time after starting the season with a 11-2-1-0 record.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS:

Next Game: The Steelheads open their final weekend of the home stand against the Utah Grizzlies on Friday, Dec. 21 at 7:10 p.m. from CenturyLink Arena. Tickets are available by calling 208-383-0080 or going to IdahoSteelheads.com. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. MT on 1350-AM KTIK and ECHL TV as well as at 7:00 p.m. on CableOne Channel 72.