ALLEN, Texas – The Idaho Steelheads (28-14-3) navigated a turbulent middle frame to ensure a 6-3 win over the Allen Americans (15-29-5) on Friday night from Allen Event Center.
The Steelheads bounced ahead quickly with two goals separated by just 12 seconds in the back half of the first period. At 13:25, a shot by defenseman Nolan Gluchowski kicked off a leg in the slot right to the stick of forward Alex Dahl, who slipped the puck into the open net and gave the road side a 1-0 lead. Forward Elgin Pearce slotted the second goal just 12 seconds later at 13:37 after being set up for an open net by forward Mitch Moroz drawing a crowd in the slot, and that tally doubled the Steelheads lead to 2-0.
The second period was heavy with action in the opening minutes starting at 1:06 with a power play goal from Americans forward Zach Pochiro to cut the lead in half, 2-1. Just 16 seconds later at 1:22, Dahl nabs his second goal of the night on another rebound to spread the lead back to two, 3-1. The Americans scored two-straight goals at 2:53 on a shorthanded goal from forward Riley Bourbonnais and a goal called on the ice at 3:44 for forward Alex Ranger, tying the game at 3-3. However, the Steelheads took back the lead, 4-3, with a power play goal from forward Reid Petryk at 12:13 from low in the left circle.
Defense became the focal point of the third period, opening the opportunity for the Steelheads to seal the game late. A pair of empty net goals starting with Steelheads defenseman Keegan Kanzig at 18:42 followed by a final tally by Pearce at 19:59 gave the road side a 6-3 victory.
Steelheads goaltender Ryan Faragher (7-3-1) stopped 21 of 24 shots in the win, while Americans netminder C.J. Motte (13-13-5) turned away 29 of 33 shots in the loss. The Steelheads and Americans finish their season series on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 6:05 p.m. MT from Allen Event Center. Coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. on 1350AM KTIK and ECHL TV.
The Steelheads return to CenturyLink Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 7:10 p.m. to open a three-game weekend against the Rapid City Rush. 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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