PREVIEW: IDAHO STEELHEADS (5-0-1) @ ALLEN AMERICANS (3-2-0)

SUNDAY, OCT. 27, 2019 | 3:05 P.M. MTALLEN EVENT CENTER | ALLEN, TXRADIO: 1350 AM KTIK | STREAM: ECHL TV

Today’s Game: The Steelheads complete their three-game Midwest road trip with the second game of the weekend against the Allen Americans from Allen Event Center.

Head-To-Head: The Steelheads have now won three-straight games against the Americans at Allen Event Center dating back to February 1, winning their last two games by a 4-3 scoreline. The Steelheads have also won four of their last five road meetings and now 5-1-1 since the 2017-18 season. Overall, the Steelheads own a 15-7-3 record against the Americans in their regular season series and are now 7-4-1 at Allen Event Center. The Steelheads play the Americans 11 times this season.

Last Night: The Steelheads overcame another three-goal deficit in a 4-3 comeback win over the Americans on Saturday night from Allen Event Center. Americans forwards Spencer Asuchak (0:32 1st) and Gabriel Gagne (3:02 1st) quickly pushed the home side ahead, 2-0, with two early strikes followed by one more from forward Jared VanWormer (1:24 2nd), tripling the lead to 3-0. The Steelheads began the comeback on a deflection by forward Brett Supinski (19:03 2nd) to get the first answer, 3-1. Steelheads forward Tony Calderone (2:11 3rd) and defenseman Nolan Gluchowski (PP, 6:17 3rd) continued the charge back to tie the game, 3-3, and defenseman Tanner Jago (12:19 3rd) finished off the comeback with his first pro goal in the 4-3 victory. Colton Point (2-0-0) halted 37 of 40 shots in the win, while Evan Weininger (0-1-0) turned aside 28 of 32 shots in the loss.

Still Streaking: With their win last night, the Steelheads are off to one of their best starts in their ECHL franchise history, sitting on a six-game point streak and atop the ECHL. The six-game stretch matches their perfect 6-0-0 run to open the 2009-10 season, and a win of a post-regulation result will mark the best start since entering the ECHL in 2003-04. During their run, the Steelheads have had two comebacks of three goals to illicit a positive result, edged out opponents in three of their four one-goal results, and already have two games with points in two attempts after trailing following the second period while doing so only six times in 2018-19. Speaking of last year, the Steelheads already eclipsed their season-high five-game point streak done three different times.

Lock Down D: The Steelheads defense continues to be the darling of the ECHL early in the season both overall and on the penalty kill. The Steelheads lead the ECHL in goals allowed per game (2.17) and owns the fourth-fewest goals-against (13) overall, only trailing Cincinnati (11), Florida (12) and Worcester (12). The penalty kill has now been perfect in four of their last five games, going 14-for-15 (93.3%) while climbing into the top-5 across the league. The goaltending tandem of Tomas Sholl and Colton Point both sit in the top-15 among ECHL goaltenders individually at sixth and 11th in goals-against average as well as fifth and eighth in save pct., respectively.

Eye of The Tiger: Steelheads forward Tony Calderone joined the team from the Texas Stars before Saturday’s game in Allen, and the second-year pro had an immediate impact on the team with a two-point night (1g, 1a) and a helper on the game-tying goal on the power play. The Trenton, Mich. product played 22 games with the Steelheads last season, totaling six goals and nine assists for 15 points with two power play goals, and for the second-straight season he earned one point in his season debut in Idaho. Calderone also owns 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists) in 38 career AHL games with AHL Texas. Last night was his fourth multi-point game of his ECHL career, last doing so on Dec. 28, 2018 (2-2–4).

Superman: Steelheads forward Brett Supinski has been on fire since joining the team ahead of opening weekend, earning another two-point night in last night’s win. The Collegeville, Penn. native has points in five of his first six games while also earning two multi-point games and two-straight games with goals. Additionally, he’s on a four-game road point streak, netting four points (2-2–4) and siting one game back of South Carolina’s Casey Bailey (5 games) for the longest streak in the league. In his first full professional season, he now shares the team lead in points (7) with forward Marc-Olivier Roy while also owning the top mark in goals (4). 

Veteran Leader: Americans forward Spencer Asuchak earned his second multi-point game of the season and is a key returning aspect of the Allen offensive core. He owns a four-game point streak totaling his six-point season mark (3g, 3a) and is off to a solid start, leading the Americans in scoring. The Kamloops, B.C. product is now in his sixth full season with the Americans and in the ECHL, and he owns a career 0.78 point-per-game clip, amassing 191 points (77g, 114a) through 244 ECHL games with the Americans and the Ontario Reign (3 games) in 2011-12. Last season, Asuchak played all 72 games and owned 48 points (19g, 29), and his best individual performance came in the 2016-17 campaign. (26-40–66).

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS:

Next Game: The Steelheads return to CenturyLink Arena on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7:10 p.m. to open a three-game home-and-home weekend againt the Utah Grizzlies. Tickets are available by calling 208-331-TIXS or going to idahosteelheads.com. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on 1350 KTIK-AM "The Ticket" and at 7:00 p.m. on Sparklight Ch. 72 & ECHL.TV.