PREVIEW: IDAHO STEELHEADS (11-7-4) VS. ALLEN AMERICANS (14-4-2)

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 4, 2019 | 7:10 P.M. MTCENTURYLINK ARENA | BOISE, IDTICKETS: CLICK HERETV: SPARKLIGHT CH. 72 | RADIO: 1350-AM KTIK | STREAM: ECHL TV

Tonight’s Game: The Steelheads open a three-game weekend series against the Allen Americans from CenturyLink Arena.

Head-To-Head: The Steelheads have dropped two of their three games against the Americans but have points in two of those three contests, owning a 1-1-1 record in two different trips to Texas. The Steelheads and Americans meet six times in December with five of those six contests at CenturyLink Arena. The Steelheads own a 15-8-4 record in the franchise series while going 8-3-2 at home.

Last Game: The Steelheads overpowered the Rapid City Rush but fell 4-2 on Saturday night from CenturyLink Arena. The Rush scored three-unanswered goals through the middle of the second period thanks to forwards Keeghan Howdeshell (8:48 1st), Brennan Saulnier (SH, 8:10 2nd) and Giovanni Fiore (11:20 2nd) before an answer came from Steelheads forward Anthony Nellis (15:57 2nd) began the comeback bid and draw the Steelheads within two, 3-1. The Steelheads earned their first shorthanded goal of the year thanks to forward Max Coatta (SH, 10:34) to come within one, but an empty net goal by Fiore (SH, EN, 19:58 3rd) sealed off the 4-2 result. Tyler Parks (7-1-3) halted 49 of 51 shots in the win, while Tomas Sholl (9-3-3) saved nine of 12 shots in the loss.

Home Stand So Far: After a pair of losses, the Steelheads are back level heading into the second half of their four-week, 12-game home stand. The Steelheads are 3-3-0 through six games with overtime victories in two of their three wins and have only finished one game with a larger than two-goal differential: November 20 against Orlando (3-0 L). The Steelheads ended a four-game streak of three-goals or more on Saturday but have been outscored 18-16 in the last two weeks. The Steelheads are 5-4-0 at CenturyLink Arena this season.

No-November: The Steelheads closed November on a down note with back-to-back losses, finishing with a 6-7-0-2 record in their 15-game schedule. The Steelheads equaled their win total from last year’s total for the month with two more games played than the 2018-19 campaign (6-5-1-1 record). The pair of six-win Novembers come after recording eight wins in 2016-17 and 2017-18, but all four seasons are an improvement on the three-win month in 2015-16. November 2019 included an eight-game road trip with a 3-3-2 record and a 3-4-0 record at home. The Steelheads play 12 games in December with eight of those at CenturyLink Arena.

Vive la France-Canadian: The Steelheads were led last week and in November by two French-Canadian players in production. Forward Marc-Olivier Roy picked up 13 points (3-10–13) in 15 games during November to continue his point-per-game season total (3-17–20), and forward Anthony Nellis led Steelheads rookies with ten points (5-5–10) while the pair both earned a five-point week (2-3–5) against Rapid City and are on a three-game point streak as a result. Roy has been a leader throughout the season, sitting tied for second in assists across the ECHL and in the top-20 in scoring, and Nellis is now third on the team in scoring with 13 points (6-7–13).

Rookie Shorty: Steelheads forward Max Coatta scored his first career shorthanded goal in Saturday’s loss to cap off his most productive week of his career. The Minnetonka, Minn. product scored his first professional goal on Wednesday and now has points in three of his last six games (2-1–3) since November 8. The shorthanded goal is the first for the Steelheads this season but have also allowed four with two coming on Saturday night. Only two teams have as many shorthanded goals allowed: Jacksonville (six) and Newfoundland (four). Coatta owns four points (2-2–4) in 14 games with the Steelheads this season.

U-S-A! U-S-A!: The Allen Americans ended a season-best seven-game point streak in their loss on Sunday afternoon to kick off the new month. In their run, they boasted a 5-0-2-0 record while keeping opponents to three goals or less in all seven games and playing at home in four of their seven contests (3-0-1-0 record). The Americans averaged 3.57 goals per game since November 14, which is above their season average of 3.45, and they’ve stayed in the top-two of the Mountain Division throughout the month. The Americans were 10-1-2 in November heading into their first full series of December.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS:

Next Game: The Steelheads and Americans meet again on Friday, Dec. 6 at 7:10 p.m. from 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 "The Ticket" as well as 7:00 p.m. on Sparklight Ch. 72 & ECHL.TV.