BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads (39-23-5) outshot the Rapid City Rush (27-32-8) by a 48-27 spread but fell 5-3 on Wednesday night from CenturyLink Arena.
The Rush struck first at 11:56 of the first period on a penalty shot goal by forward Dexter Dancs to take the 1-0 lead before Steelheads forward Will Merchant took away a pass in the offensive end and followed his takeaway up by sliding the puck under the netminder at 14:02 to tie the game, 1-1. Rush defenseman Brandon Fehd found a friendly bounce into the net at 19:09 to take a 2-1 lead.
In the second period, the Steelheads kicked up the offensive pressure; however the Rush scored the lone tally at 14:38 with a tally by forward Cedric Montminy to double the lead, 3-1.
The Steelheads pressed back in the third period and started early at 4:45 when Steelheads forward A.J. White slipped a shot by the netminder with a head fake to come within one again, 3-2. Montminy added his second of the night at 9:30 followed by an answer from Steelheads forward Kyle Schempp at 10:45 with a deflection on the power play to keep the game at a one-goal differential, 4-3. However, an empty net goal by Rush forward Justin Faryna at 19:55 sealed the result at 5-3.
Rush goaltender Adam Carlson (20-16-5) stopped 45 of 48 shots in the win, while Steelheads netminder Tomas Sholl (24-12-0) halted 22 of 26 shots in the loss.
The Steelheads and Rush pick up their series again on Friday, Mar. 29 at 7:10 p.m. at CenturyLink Arena. Tickets are available by calling 208-383-0080 or going to idahosteelheads.com. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on 1350 KTIK-AM and at 7:00 p.m. on Cable One Channel 72 and ECHL.TV.
Tickets for the 2019 U.S. Bank Kelly Cup Playoffs, presented by SmileDirectClub, will be available in the coming weeks, so follow idahosteelheads.com to see when tickets go on sale. Single-game tickets and ticket packages are available for the rest of the 2018-19 season. Contact the Idaho Steelheads at 208-383-0080 for more information or log on to idahosteelheads.com.
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