PREVIEW: IDAHO STEELHEADS (29-14-3) @ UTAH GRIZZLIES (27-13-4-1)

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 6, 2019 | 7:05 P.M.MAVERIK CENTER | WEST VALLEY CITY, UTRADIO: 93.1FM KTIK | STREAM: ECHL TV

Tonight’s Game: The Steelheads begin the final leg of their nine-game road trip and open a three-game weekend against the Utah Grizzlies from Maverik Center.

Head-To-Head: The Steelheads took a one-game edge in the season set thanks to a win on January 21 to open the road trip in the only non-two game weekend of the series. The Steelheads currently own a 5-4-0 record against the Grizzlies heading into their last meetings until the final weekend of the regular season. Historically, the Steelheads are three wins from reaching 100 victories against an opponent for the first time in Steelheads ECHL history, owning a 97-46-24 record in the franchise series.

Last Game: The Steelheads edged out the Americans in a 4-3 overtime win on Saturday night from Allen Event Center to close the season series. The Americans jumped out first on a penalty shot by defenseman Alex Breton (PS 3:24 1st) before Steelheads forward Brad McClure (PP, 7:51 1st) tied the game at 1-1. The pattern continued through the second period with Americans forward Alex Ranger and defenseman David Makowski (PP, 14:41 2nd) leading followed by Steelheads forward Steve McParland (6:49 2nd) and defenseman Nolan Gluchowski (PP, 19:57 2nd) to answer the call to send the game to overtime, 3-3. Steelheads defenseman Brady Norrish (0:40 OT) sealed the 4-3 victory with a re-direction in front of the net. Colton Point (5-1-1) turned aside 24 of 27 shots in the win, while C.J. Motte (13-13-6) halted 32 of 36 shots in the overtime loss.

Road Tripping: The Steelheads are now in the final week of their nine-game road trip after breaking out of their up-and-down pattern. So far, the Steelheads own a 4-2-0 record, earning their first back-to-back wins of the trip and scoring four goals or more in all four wins while averaging 4.33 goals per game in that time. The Steelheads are now 13-9-1 on the road this season, which is tied for second among all ECHL teams in road wins and only trails the Florida Everblades (16 road wins). In 2019, the Steelheads have won five of their eight road games.

Extra, Extra: The Steelheads remain dominant in overtime games, picking up their seventh win of the season in eight attempts. Overall, the team has won five-straight overtime games and six-straight post-regulation appearances since their shootout loss on November 14 against Tulsa. The Steelheads have played in overtime games in three of their last eight contests since January 18 and own a 4-1-0 record in one-goal games in that time. They now have the most overtime wins in the ECHL and the second-best overtime record, only trailing Kalamazoo (4-0) and Maine (2-0) as the only undefeated teams. The Steelheads also own the best post-regulation win percentage (.750) in the ECHL.

Power Level Rising: The Steelheads added another notch to their power play numbers in Saturday’s win, slowly climbing up the ladder across the league. So far, the Steelheads have extended their power play goal streak to four games, going 5-for-23 (21.7%) in that span and also scoring their first multi-power play goal of the road trip and since December 31 in Rapid City (2-for-4). The Steelheads now have eight multi-power play goal games this season and have risen to seventh across the ECHL for the season. This streak is their longest since their season-high five-game stretch from December 22 through January 5.

Magic Mac: Through six games in the road trip, Steelheads forward Steve McParland has jumped out as the leader in point production. In that time, the Schreiber, Ont., native leads the team with 10 points (5g, 5a) with four points coming last week against Allen and a three-point night (1g, 2a) in Saturday’s win, which was his third of the road trip (Jan. 21 @ UTA; Jan. 30 @ ALN). Since returning from the AHL on January 6, he has points in nine of his last 13 games and 17 points (8g, 9a). McParland leads the Steelheads in scoring with 40 points (18g, 22a).

Another Roadie: The Utah Grizzlies are returning from their longest road trip of the season to-date and make their return to Maverik Center to play the team they last played at home on January 21. During their six-game road trip, the Grizzlies earned points in five of their six games with a 4-1-1 record, only conceding losses on January 26 in Kansas City (4-3 L) and on February 2 in Wichita (5-4 OTL) in their last game. The Grizzlies also have scored four goals or more in four of their last six games while averaging 3.67 goals per game and holding opponents to two goals or less in four of six contests. The Grizzlies now sit two points behind the Steelheads for first place in the Mountain Division and have climbed back to second place.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS:

Next Game: The Steelheads and Grizzlies meet again on Friday, Feb. 8 at 7:05 p.m. from Maverik Center. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on 1350AM KITK and ECHL TV.