BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads (11-5-4) combined for four goals in less than three minutes with the Rapid City Rush (12-5-3) in the third period and came away with a 4-3 overtime win on Wednesday night from CenturyLink Arena.
The Rush earned the opening goal at 6:53 of the first period on a play from the end boards, and forward Stephane Legault pushed in a second attempt off the goaltender’s pad for his first goal and a 1-0 lead. The Rush posted 18 shots in the first period compared to seven for the Steelheads.
In the second period, the Steelheads got on the board and leveled off the scoring. At 3:28, forward Marc-Olivier Roy turned a shot toward the net and found forward Max Coatta for a deflection in the middle of the slot, netting his first professional goal and a tie game, 1-1.
The final regulation frame saw all four goals scored in a 2-minute, 46-second span in the heart of the frame, going back and forth starting with Rush forward Tyler Coulter on a stab in during a power play at 10:55 to edge back ahead, 2-1. Steelheads forward A.J. White then deflected a blueline shot within the first four seconds of their next power play at 12:28 to knot the game again, 2-2. The Rush came back 17 seconds after that at 12:45 thanks to forward Peter Quenneville before Roy tipped a shot from defenseman Ondrej Vala in the slot at 13:41, finally ending the scoring flurry and forcing both sides to overtime at 3-3.
Less than one minute into overtime at 0:38, Steelheads forward Anthony Nellis capped off the night by squeezing a shot from the right circle through the arms of the netminder after going the length of the ice to take both points and the 4-3 overtime win.
Steelheads goaltender Tomas Sholl (8-2-3) turned away 39 of 42 shots in the win, while Rush netminder Tyler Parks (5-1-3) halted 29 of 33 shots in the overtime loss.
The Steelheads and Rush resume their weekend set on Friday, Nov. 29 at 7:10 p.m. from CenturyLink Arena. Tickets are available by calling 208-331-TIXS(8497) 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.
The Steelheads welcome the Rapid City Rush for a three-game weekend beginning tonight at 7:10 p.m. from CenturyLink Arena. 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.
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