Steelheads Finish Preseason with 5-1 Win Over Grizzlies

BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads (1-1-0) closed out their preseason schedule with a 5-1 win over the Utah Grizzlies (1-1-0) on Saturday night from CenturyLink Arena.

BOX SCORE: http://ow.ly/sWoM30pFFH3

The Steelheads started off the scoring at 2:30 of the first period when forward Will Merchant snuck a shot from above the right circle through traffic to gain the early lead, 1-0. At 12:02, Grizzlies forward Yuri Terao answered back on a blueline shot to tie the game, 1-1.

In the second period, the Steelheads sprung ahead with three more goals. Forward Anthony Nellis fed a pass from below the net to find forward Joe Basaraba for a one-time shot at 2:41 to re-gain the lead, 2-1. A few minutes later at 5:26, forward Spencer Naas led a 2-on-1 break and sniped a shot from the left side to increase the gap before forward Zack Andrusiak buried a power play goal from the left circle with the help of defenseman Colton Saucerman at 16:50, spreading the lead to 4-1.

Despite pressure from the Grizzlies, the Steelheads capped off the night with one more goal in the third period. At 16:04, defenseman Brady Norrish found captain A.J. White for a wrist shot in the right circle to seal the final score at 5-1.

Steelheads goaltender Tomas Sholl (1-0-0) halted 25 of 26 shots in the win. Grizzlies netminder Jeff Smith (0-1-0) stopped 14 of 17 shots in 29:15 minutes during the loss, and Blake Wojtala saved 16 of 18 shots in 30:45 minutes of relief.

The Steelheads open the 2019-20 regular season against the Utah Grizzlies on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7:10 p.m. from Maverik Center. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on 1350AM KTIK “The Ticket”.

The Steelheads open the 2019-20 home schedule at CenturyLink Arena on Friday, Oct. 18 against the Wichita Thunder to kick of Home Opening Weekend. Call the Steelheads Front Office at 208-383-0080 to plan your seats for this season, including single-game, flex plans and season tickets. Stay connected to the Steelheads on idahosteelheads.com or by following the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

CenturyLink 3 Stars of the Night:1. Zack Andrusiak (1g, 1a)2. Joe Basaraba (1g)3. Tomas Sholl (W, 25-26 SV)