PREVIEW: IDAHO STEELHEADS (33-17-7) VS. UTAH GRIZZLIES (33-16-10)

SATURDAY, FEB. 29, 2020 | 7:10 P.M. MTCENTURYLINK ARENA | BOISE, IDTICKETS: CLICK HERETV: SPARKLIGHT CH. 72 | RADIO: 1350 KTIK-AM | STREAM: ECHL.TV

Tonight’s Game: The Steelheads close their three-game Rivalry Week against the Utah Grizzlies from CenturyLink Arena.

Head-To-Head: The Steelheads have now won four-straight games against the Grizzlies since February 7 and now have at least a share of the season series with eight wins for their 16-game season set, boasting a 8-1-1 record with three of the four post-regulation wins. The Steelheads also continued the trend of the home team winning all five games so far in the 2020 portion of the season set following the road team winning all five games in the 2019 section. The Steelheads have three-straight home meetings with the Grizzlies remaining through mid-March, and in total the Steelheads are 106-51-27 against the Grizzlies.

Last Night: The Steelheads made a late comeback to pick up a 2-1 overtime win over the Utah Grizzlies on Friday night from CenturyLink Arena. Grizzlies forward Ty Lewis (5:14 1st) opened the scoring on a put back shot from the right post to snag the 1-0 advantage. That score held until early in the third period when Steelheads forward Brady Norrish (2:05 3rd) snuck a one-timer from the blue line through traffic to eventually force overtime, 1-1. On the first line change, Steelheads forward Marc-Olivier Roy (1:01 OT) finished off the night with a shot from the left circle to take the extra point in the 2-1 win. Tomas Sholl (26-8-5) halted 24 of 25 shots in the win, while Martin Ouellette (22-10-4) stopped 28 of 30 shots in the loss.

Hot, Hot, Hot: The Steelheads remain red hot heading into the final game of the week with a five-game win streak as well as a seven-game home win streak thanks to their overtime win last night. The Steelheads have not lost since returning home on February 19 against Kansas City with three of their five wins coming in post-regulation play. Their home streak began on February 7 against the Grizzlies, and the overall stretch is one win shy of tying their season-best six-game streak spanning from December 13-27 that included three home wins and three road wins. The Steelheads are 9-2-0-0 since January 31 in the start of this long home stretch with 13 of 15 games at CenturyLink Arena ending on March 7.

Extra Domination: The Steelheads earned their ninth overtime win last night in 12 attempts this season while also tabbing their fourth-straight overtime win since January 31. The result puts them one win shy of the league lead for overtime wins held by the Allen Americans (9) and also sets a new team best since online records were kept in the 2007-08 season, beating last year’s eight-win total. The Steelheads lead the ECHL in post-regulation games (20) and own a 13-7 record, which is the most combined overtime and shootout wins in that same span, eclipsing their 2008-09 season record (12-4 overall). The Steelheads have played three of their last four games in at least overtime, winning all three games.

Mr. Brady: Steelheads defenseman Brady Norrish was a facilitator in last night’s game, factoring in on both goals during their overtime win. With his assists, the Strongfield, Sask. native now has three points in his last two games as well as points in three of four contests over the last eight days (1-3–4). While his point production isn’t as high as last season’s 34-point total (10-24–34), Norrish still reached the 20-point plateau (5-15–20) last night with a plus-seven rating and another two power play goals. His 54 points slots him solely in 10th for Steelheads ECHL era career points for a defenseman and is four points from tying Blake Forsyth (58 points, 2005-08) for ninth on the all-time list.

No Soup For You: Steelheads forward Brett Supinski saw his eight-game point streak and four-game goal stretch come to an end in last night’s game, but his run was one of the best this season. His goal stretch is the longest for a Steelheads player this season and broke a six-way tie on Wednesday with his tally. His point streak is tied with forward A.J. White for the second-longest streak of the season and sits one game shy from sharing forward Marc-Olivier Roy’steam-high of nine games. In Supinski’s streak, he owned 10 points (5-5–10) since February 7 with the most goals in a point streak this season. He leads Steelheads rookies in scoring (17-16–33) and sits tied for third on the team in scoring and second in goals.

Lew-Is Heating: Grizzlies forward Ty Lewis broke through with the only goal in last night’s overtime loss on a depleted Utah roster. The Brandon, Man. native now has points in back-to-back games and ended a nine-game goalless drought since his last tally on February 1 against Greenville. While team leaders like Tim McGauley (20-24–62) and Griffen Molino (22-37–59) are with AHL Colorado, Lewis remains the active leader in team scoring and the overall goals leader, boasting 23 goals and 44 points through 41 games in his first full ECHL season. Now, he owns 57 points (28-29–57) in 48 ECHL games with the Grizzlies.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS:

Next Game: The Steelheads host the South Carolina Stingrays for a three-game weekend beginning on Wednesday, Mar. 4 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" as well as 7:00 p.m. on Sparklight Ch. 72 & ECHL.tv.