PREVIEW: IDAHO STEELHEADS (12-8-5) VS. FORT WAYNE KOMETS (14-7-2)

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 11, 2019 | 7:10 P.M. MTCENTURYLINK ARENA | BOISE, IDTICKETS: CLICK HERETV: SPARKLIGHT CH. 72 | RADIO: 93.1-FM KTIK | STREAM: ECHL TV

Tonight’s Game: The Steelheads play their first game against the Fort Wayne Komets and open a three-game series from CenturyLink Arena.

Head-To-Head: The Steelheads and Komets open a five-game season series with the final two games coming in Indiana during their first franchise meeting. This is the third time in two seasons that the Steelheads have begun a franchise series against a Central Division opponent, and last year the Steelheads went 4-2-0 against the Indy Fuel and Toledo Walleye. This is also the first three of seven games against Central Division teams this season.

Last Game: The Steelheads couldn’t hold their lead in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Allen Americans on Saturday night from CenturyLink Arena. Steelheads forward Brett Supinski (9:58 1st) sent the teddy bears flying early to take an initial 1-0 lead. After the Americans tied the game thanks to forward Tyler Sheehy (6:23 2nd), Steelheads forwards A.J. White (12:24 2nd) and Max Coatta (13:24 2nd) took back the lead, 3-1, on tallies separated by just one minute. The Americans made their comeback in the third period with goals from defenseman Jack Sadek (PP, 3:07 3rd) and forward Jared VanWormer (EA, 18:40 3rd), and forward Alex Guptill (5:25 OT) closed out with the overtime winner during the 4-3 result. Zach Sawchenko (7-1-1) stopped 36 of 39 shots in the win, while Tomas Sholl (9-4-4) saved 37 of 41 shots in the overtime loss.

One Final Week: The Steelheads head into their final week of the season-high 12-game, four-week homestand looking to get on the positive side of their current stretch. The Steelheads are now 4-4-1 heading into the final three games with points in back-to-back games. The Steelheads have been streaky during this stand, earning a three-win streak followed by a three loss streak as well as points in two-straight. However, the Steelheads have dropped three of their last four games with two of those coming in third period slips. The Steelheads are 6-5-1 at CenturyLink Arena this season and have remained in third place during this entire home run.

Over & Over Again: The Steelheads found themselves in yet another overtime result on Saturday night, breaking a four-game win streak in overtime games. The last overtime loss came on October 27 in Allen (2-1 L) prior to Saturday night after beating four different teams in over one month. On the season, the Steelheads have seen the most post-regulation play along with the Americans at 10 games played, and thus far the Steelheads are 5-3 in overtime results. In his homestand, four of the nine games have reached overtime, and the Steelheads are 3-1 in that stretch.

Home Leaders: With the team’s recent uptick in scoring, the Steelheads are also finding a few near point-per-game producers during their last nine games. Forwards Anthony Nellis (3-5–8), Marc-Olivier Roy (2-6–8) and A.J. White (2-6–8) all lead the way with eight points, and A.J. White shared the team lead last weekend with a five-point performance (1-4–5), which included a three-assist game on Friday. Roy has points in six of nine games while Nellis has points in five of nine contests. All three sit in the top-five for team scoring with Roy (3-19–22) leading the team and both Nellis (6-9–15) and White (3-10–13) rounding out the top-five.

Rookie Boost: In addition to Nellis, two other Steelheads rookies have been very productive over the last few weeks. Forward Brett Supinski not only scored the teddy bear toss goal on Saturday night but also is on a three-game point streak, boasting five points (3-2–5) in that time while also grabbing points in four of six games in the homestand (4-2–6). Forward Max Coatta has found his scoring touch, owning back-to-back games with goals and now all four professional goals over his last six contests since November 27. Supinski is third on the team in scoring (9-7–16), and Coatta shares the team lead in goals (4) with Supinski during this home stand.

Lift Off: The Fort Wayne Komets come into their first games in Boise on a hot run, ending a six-game win streak during their loss in Kansas City on Saturday. During their previous streak, the Komets won all three overtime games played and were held below three goals only in their final game in Tulsa on Friday (1-0 W) before another one-goal output on Saturday. Additionally, the Komets earned both shutouts in that time and saw game-winners from six different players against four different teams. The Komets moved from three games above .500 to second place in the Central Division (14-7-2, 30pts), and with three of those games coming on the road have also moved back to .500 away from Fort Wayne on the season (5-5-1 record).

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS:

Next Game: The Steelheads and Komets continue their three-game weekend on Friday, Dec. 13 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.