BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads (5-1-2) suffered their first regulation loss of the season in a 5-4 loss to the Utah Grizzlies (3-3-2) on Friday night from CenturyLink Arena. The Steelheads earned their second sellout of the season with 5,077 fans.
The Steelheads struck first early in the first period at 4:37 when forward Marc-Olivier Roy batted in a rebound in front of the net to jump out to a 1-0 lead. The Grizzlies answered quickly back on a breakaway by forward Ryan Wagner at 5:28 to knot the game, 1-1. The goal began three-unanswered for the road side followed by a tally from forward Tim McGauley at 18:13 to give the Grizzlies the 2-1 lead.
Grizzlies forward Patrick McGrath stretched the lead by two, 3-1, at 5:40 of the second period before the Steelheads began their push back. At 14:13, Steelheads forward Spencer Naas found forward Kyle Schempp waiting net front for a one-time shot to come within one, 3-2. Then, at 18:54, Steelheads forward Brett Supinski chipped in a rebound off the end boards while on a 4-on-3 power play to level the score, 3-3, heading into the third period.
The back-and-forth scoring continued at 8:15 with a strike from Grizzlies forward Griffen Molino, edging back ahead at 4-3. Steelheads forward Joe Basaraba blasted a one-time shot from the slot on the power play late at 17:10 to tie the game up, but a late goal by Grizzlies forward Yuri Terao at 18:01 gave the road side the 5-4 win.
Grizzlies netminder Jeff Smith (3-0-0) halted 35 of 39 shots in the win, while Steelheads goaltender Colton Point (2-1-0) stopped 23 of 28 shots in the loss.
The Steelheads and Grizzlies travel to Maverik Center on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 7:10 p.m. to continue their home-and-home weekend. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on 1350-AM KTIK & ECHL.TV.
The Steelheads return to CenturyLink Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 20 against the Orlando Solar Bears to open a four-week home stand. 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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