Steelheads Weekly – Dec. 31, 2018

BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads (18-10-3) finish their five-game road trip with one more tonight in Rapid City followed by two games in Tulsa, Okla. to keep their spot atop the Mountain Division

LAST WEEK…

Friday, December 28 @ Rapid City Rush: 9-1 W Shots: Steelheads 27, Rush 29PP: Steelheads 3-for-6, Rush 1-for-4

The Steelheads came out of the holiday break with a strong 9-1 win from Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. Steelheads forward A.J. White (4:15 1st) opened the scoring early to take an initial 1-0 lead before forward Tony Calderone (PP, 12:05 1st) doubled the advantage, 2-0. Steelheads defenseman Jeff King (5:07 2nd) added his own tally on a breakaway, and forward Kale Kessy (8:38 2nd) was returned the favor of an earlier assist to quadruple the lead to 4-0. The Rush broke the shutout just 11 seconds before Calderone (12:34 2nd) scored his second, taking a 5-1 lead. The Steelheads scored four more unanswered goals from forward Mitch Moroz (PP, 19:06 2nd), forward Brad McClure (8:12 3rd), Kessy (PP, 10:30 3rd) and forward Reid Petryk (SH, 15:33 3rd) to take away the 9-1 win. Tomas Sholl (10-4-0) halted 28 of 29 shots in the win.

Saturday, December 29 @ Rapid City Rush: 6-1 W Shots: Steelheads 28, Rush 29PP: Steelheads 3-for-6, Rush 0-for-7

The Steelheads finished ahead in a wild 6-1 win from Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. Forward Elgin Pearce (PP, 12:11 1st; 14:10 1st) scored the opening two goals to vault the Steelheads ahead 2-0 before forward A.J. White (14:53 1st) quickly tripled the lead, 3-0. Forward Alex Dahl (13:23 2nd) spread the lead again before the Rush cut into the lead, 4-1. Forward Brad McClure (PP, 5:56 3rd) and defenseman Nolan Gluchowski (PP, 15:56 3rd) ensured the victory at a 6-1 scoreline. Tomas Sholl (11-4-0) halted 28 of 29 shots in the win.

THIS WEEK…

Monday, December 31 @ Rapid City Rush – 7:05 p.m. MTSaturday, January 5 @ Tulsa Oilers – 6:05 p.m. MTSunday, January 6 @ Tulsa Oilers – 3:05 p.m. MT

The Steelheads finish their three-game weekend against the Rush but then finish their road trip against the Tulsa Oilers. The Steelheads have points in three of their previous five meetings with the Oilers, owning a 2-2-1 record midway through their 10-game season series. The Steelheads split their two previous games at the BOK Center on October 13-14 with a shootout win on the second game. The Steelheads own a

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS…

Jayden DeLuca Foundation Auction: The Steelheads and St. Luke’s come together to raise funds for the Jayden DeLuca Foundation on January 18-19 for the second jersey auction of the season when the Steelheads host the Allen Americans. More information will be released in 2019. Call the Steelheads at 208-383-0080 for tickets.

$2 Beer Wednesday: Enjoy $2 Bud Light every Wednesday during the 2018-19 season, including when the Steelheads return to CenturyLink Arena on January 9. For tickets, call the Steelheads at 208-383-0080 or go to idahosteelheads.com.

Four For $48 Friday: Bring the family to enjoy a Steelheads home game every Friday night this season. For just $48, you’ll receive four tickets, four fountain drinks, and four Double R Ranch hot dogs. Call the Steelheads at 208-383-0080 for more information.

STEEL STATS…

Quick Bites:

- Nolan Gluchowski​ and Kale Kessy both recorded the first five-point nights of the season in consecutive games with Kessy (2+3=5) starting on Friday and Gluchowski (1+4=5) finishing on Saturday. Gluchowski is on a team-high six-game point and assist streak (1+10=11).

- Tomas Sholl officially qualifies for the Steelheads’ all-time ECHL standings records and now sits with the best GAA (1.66) in ECHL franchise history over Jack Campbell’s mark (1.70) set from 2014-16, and his .942 SV% is the 2nd best behind Campbell’s mark (.944).

- The Steelheads scored nine goals for the first time this season and stands as the most goals since their ECHL franchise record of 12 goals on Feb. 8, 2005 against the Victoria Salmon Kings. They’re the second team in the ECHL to score nine goals, following Cincinnati in November.

- The 113 penalty minutes recorded on Saturday night set a team ECHL franchise record, surpassing their previous high of 102 minutes set back on Nov. 5, 2005 against the Phoenix Roadrunners.- The Steelheads have notched multi-power play goal games in three-straight contests, going 8-for-17 (47.1%) in that span. Their 30.9% rate on the road is the best in the ECHL. The Steelheads are 10-for-19 (34.5%) over their last six games with four multi-power play goal efforts.

- The Steelheads have three-straight games with at least six goals scored for the first time this season, outpacing their opponents 22-5 while converting on 28.9% of their 76 total shots.

Team Leaders:GOALS:                        13 – Brad McClureASSISTS:                     15 – Kale Kessy/A.J. WhitePOINTS:                       25 – Brad McClurePP GOALS:                   5 – Reid PetrykSH GOALS:                   1 – McClure/McParland/Parizek/Payne/Petryk/Saucerman/SchemppGW GOALS:                  3 – Brad McClurePIMS:                          188 – Kale KessyPLUS/MINUS:           +13 – Keegan Kanzig/Jeff KingSHOTS:                       101 – Steve McParlandWINS:                           11 – Tomas ShollGAA:                           1.98 – Tomas ShollSAVE %:                     .935 – Tomas Sholl

Mountain Division Standings:

BROADCAST INFORMATION…

All road games during the 2018-19 regular season are broadcast on 1350AM KTIK “The Ticket” and online on ECHL.TV. Pre-game coverage begins 20 minutes before puck drop on 1350AM KITK and ECHL.TV.

Tune in every Tuesday-Thursday from 6:00-7:00 p.m. to the Bud Light Idaho Steelheads Hockey Show, featuring Steelheads news, analysis and insight from around the ECHL.

The Steelheads return to CenturyLink Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 7:10 p.m. against the Toledo Walleye. 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.