PREVIEW: IDAHO STEELHEADS (34-17-7) VS. SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS (43-11-4)

WEDNESDAY, MAR. 4, 2020 | 7:10 P.M. MTCENTURYLINK ARENA | BOISE, IDTICKETS: CLICK HERETV: SPARKLIGHT CH. 72 | RADIO: 1350 KTIK-AM | STREAM: ECHL.TV

GAME NOTES: CLICK HERE

Tonight’s Game: The Steelheads open a three-game weekend against the ECHL-leading South Carolina Stingrays from CenturyLink Arena.

Head-To-Head: The Steelheads last met the Stingrays during the 2017-18 season as part of a three-game road weekend and shut out South Carolina in back-to-back games with 3-0 and 1-0 scores on Mar. 15-16, 2018. Their only other meeting in South Carolina came on Jan. 25, 2013 in a 4-3 win for the Steelheads. This is the first meeting in Boise since the team’s inaugural ECHL season in 2003-04 when the Stingrays won back-to-back games. The Steelheads are 3-2-0 against the Stingrays overall with the road team winning all five franchise meetings, and this season the Steelheads are 3-0-0 against South Division teams.

Last Game: The Steelheads leapt ahead on Leap Day for a 4-0 win over the Utah Grizzlies on Saturday night from CenturyLink Arena. Steelheads forward Brett Supinski (7:50 1st) scored the only tally of the opening period on a deflection to take the lead, 1-0. The home side added two goals on special teams in the middle portion starting with forward Jonathan Charbonneau (PP, 14:16 2nd) on a one-timer followed by a reflex goal by forward Colby McAuley (SH, 17:04 2nd) to triple the lead to 3-0. Steelheads forward Anthony Nellis (PP, 17:31 3rd) added one more for good measure for the 4-0 victory. Colton Point (7-8-2) halted all 25 shots in the win, while Martin Ouellette (22-11-4) stopped 23 of 27 shots in the loss.

Streak Me: The win streak continues toward its third week for the Steelheads after Saturday’s 4-0 victory netted the team’s sixth-straight win and eight-straight victory at home. The streak is now tied for the team’s best of the season, sharing their mar set from December 13-28 with three games both at home and on the road. In their current run, the Steelheads have held opponents to three goals or less in all six games while winning three games in post-regulation play as well as boasting a perfect 17-straight penalties killed. Overall, the Steelheads have won nine of their last 10 games and remain one of the hottest teams in the ECHL.

Love Is War: Not only have the Steelheads been hot at home but also overall in February, turning in the team’s best month of the season. The Steelheads earned a 9-2-0-0 record with a .818 win percentage in their 11-game schedule, overtaking their previous best set in December (8-3-1-0, 17 points) in wins and points (18) but still trails the team’s best win pct. from October (5-0-2-0, .857). The Steelheads have performed their best when playing 12 games or fewer in a month and have also had success in even-numbered calendar months. The Steelheads enter the final full month of the season with an 11-game schedule.

Week Of The Goalie: Steelheads goaltenders Colton Point and Tomas Sholl both earned league honors over the last two days. Point earned his first career Goaltender of the Week honors after posting a 2-0-0 record with a 1.42 GAA and a .952 save pct. while earning his first shootout and shutout wins of his career. Sholl netted his third Goaltender of the Month honors and second of the season following a 7-1-0 record with a 1.74 GAA, a .929 save pct. and his fourth shutout of the season. The awards are consistent with the team’s total goaltending performance on the season, owning a 2.44 GAA and a .913 save pct. with five shutouts as well as the second-best GAA and third-highest save pct. in the ECHL.

Souper Wednesday: Steelheads forward Brett Supinski once again took the helm with his team-leading fourth game-winning goal on Saturday night. The goal caps off a successful month, leading the Steelheads in goals and scoring with 11 points (6-5–11) through his 10 games played. In the month, the Collegeville, Penn. native earned points in nine of 10 games with a team-best four-game goal streak and second-best eight-game point stretch, both of which ended during Friday’s win over Utah. The rookie forward sits in the top-20 among ECHL rookies in scoring (18-16–34) on the season through 39 games and now owns the third-most points on the Steelheads.

Just Keep Swimming: The South Carolina Stingrays enter their third game of a six-game road trip spanning three weekends to cross into March. Thus far, the Stingrays won both games against Worcester (3-1 W) and Maine (6-4 W) on Saturday and Sunday and have now won 11 of their last 13 games since taking their only three-game losing skid of the season crossing from January into February. The Stingrays are the first team in the ECHL to reach 90 points and were the first to clinch a spot in the 2020 U.S. Bank Kelly Cup Playoffs with a league-high 43 wins. However, the Stingrays only lead the Florida Everblades by three points with 14 games remaining.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS:

Next Game: The Steelheads and Stingrays meet again on Friday, Mar. 6 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.