PREVIEW: IDAHO STEELHEADS (32-17-4) VS. TULSA OILERS (30-19-6)

FRIDAY, FEB. 22, 2019 | 7:10 P.M.CENTURYLINK ARENA | BOISE, IDRADIO: 1350AM KTIK | TV: CABLEONE CH. 72 | STREAM: ECHL TV

Tonight’s Game: The Steelheads head into the midway game of the weekend with the Tulsa Oilers from CenturyLink Arena.

Head-To-Head: Thanks to the win on Wednesday, the Steelheads have not only leveled the season series at 4-3-1 but also the home portion of the 10-game set at 2-1-1 with two games remaining. The Steelheads split the road portion of their series with the Oilers at two wins, and each side has earned one post-regulation victory. The Steelheads are 14-6-1 overall against the Oilers in the ECHL franchise series.

Last Game: The Steelheads utilized early scoring in a 5-2 win over the Oilers on Wednesday night from CenturyLink Arena. Steelheads forward A.J. White (0:28 1st) tallied on the first shot of the game and was followed up by forward Kyle Schempp (6:16 1st) on an odd-man rush to swiftly double the lead, 2-0. The second period has a similar track starting with Steelheads defenseman Geoff Crisfield (1:59 2nd) in the opening minutes followed by forward Reid Petryk (6:08 2nd), doubling the lead again to 4-0. The Oilers answered thanks to forwards Alex Pleskach (PP, 11:32 2nd) and Roman Ammirato (2:26 3rd), cutting the lead to 4-2. However, Steelheads forward Kale Kessy (EN, 18:10 3rd) put the game away late for the 5-2 win. Tomas Sholl (18-9-0) saved 38 of 40 shots in the win, while Keegan Asmundson (2-5-1) stopped 26 of 30 shots in the loss.

Mojo Flowing: The Steelheads posted another game with at least one point in Wednesday’s win, extending their point streak to four games overall and six games at CenturyLink Arena. While at home, the Steelheads have posted more than 30 shots in six-straight games while winning their first non-single goal game and holding opponents to two goals or less in four of six games. Additionally, last night was the first time since February 1 that the Steelheads scored at least five goals in a game (seven games). Both point streaks are the second-longest for each category with the longest overall point streak at five games (December 28 to January 5) and home point streak at seven games (November 10 to December 7).

Deep In The Well: Two more Steelheads players reached the 10-goal mark on Wednesday, now enlarging the team to nine players with at least a decade’s worth of tallies after two-straight games with two players jumping into that category. Kyle Schempp and Kale Kessy add their names to the list of 10-goal scorers, and now the Steelheads have become one of eight teams with nine players with 10 goals or more as well as one of three teams that also have 12 players with 20 points or more, joining Cincinnati and Wheeling in that category. Nine of those 12 Steelheads players are on the active roster, and three skaters are defensemen (Gluchowski, King, Norrish).

Double Dipping: A pair of Steelheads skaters reached individual firsts in Wednesday’s win: one with a goal and one with an assist. Defenseman Geoff Crisfield killed two birds with one stone thanks to his first career ECHL goal in the second period that also doubled as the eventual game-winning goal, and forward Zach Franko earned his first professional point on the same play, finding Crisfield for the goal. Crisfield has points in four of his last five games (1 goal, 3 assists) since January 11 and owns five points through 13 games this season along with two professional goals. Franko played in his fourth professional game on Wednesday following 22 games this year at the University of Manitoba.

Updating The Books: Four Steelheads players have breached career numbers that rival the history of the team in the ECHL with three players becoming new members. Forward Steve McParland has 51 wins in 116 career games, sliding into 10th all-time in Steelheads career goals, and forward Kale Kessy also rose to ninth all-time in career penalty minutes (279), becoming one of two players on the list doing so in just one season (Greg Hornby: 264 PIMs in 2005-06). Defenseman Charlie Dodero is tied for fifth in career penalty minutes (346) but also sits fifth for career points as a defenseman (68), moving above Jonathan Zion (66 points, 2004-06) with his three points in 10 games this season. Goaltender Tomas Sholl is now tied for sixth in career wins (27) with Tyler Beskorowany (2010-13) and Matt Climie (2008-09) while also sitting second in career goals-against average (1.92), save percentage (.934) and shutouts (6).

Top Heavy: Oilers forwards Adam Pleskach and Jared Thomas have been league leaders in their respective stages of their careers while also bolstering the Oilers offense. Pleskach added to his league-leading goal total (28) with a power play goal and his assist later in the game helped him to third in the ECHL in scoring (57). Jared Thomas has now slid into fourth in scoring among rookies (45) and tied for fifth in rookie assists (28) with his two-assist night on Wednesday. Pleskach and Thomas are two of three players with at least 45 points on the Oilers this season (Ryan Tesink - 48 points) and two of four players with at least 30 points (Dylan Bredo - 30 points).

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS:

Next Game: The Steelheads close their season series against the Tulsa Oilers on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:10 p.m. from CenturyLink Arena for Marvel Super Hero™ Night. Tickets are available by calling 208-383-0080 or going to idahosteelheads.com. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on 1350AM KITK and at 7:00 p.m. on CableOne Ch. 72 and ECHL TV.