Steelheads Weekly - Oct. 25, 2021

BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads (2-1-0) return home after their three-in-three weekend to take on the Rapid City Rush for two games to close October.LAST WEEK…Friday, October 22 vs. Utah Grizzlies: W 7-3Shots: Grizzlies 27, Steelheads 34PP: Grizzlies 0-for-2, Steelheads 4-for-11After the Grizzlies netted the lone goal in the first period, the Steelheads scored four-straight goals in the second period with two back-to-back from forward Luc Brown (12:53 2nd; PP, 15:36 2nd) to take a 2-1 lead. Forward A.J. White (PP, 16:33 2nd) netted the first 5-on-3 goal of the night, and forward Colby McAuley (17:12 2nd) pushed in a rebound for a three-goal lead, 4-1. The Grizzlies answered early in the third, but 16 seconds later White (4:59 3rd) netted his second to push momentum back in the home favor. The Grizzlies added one more before White (PP, 7:08 3rd) completed the hat-trick and forward Zack Andrusiak (PP, 8:22 3rd) added one insurance tally in the 7-3 victory. 

Saturday, October 23 @ Utah Grizzlies: W 5-3Shots: Steelheads 27, Grizzlies 32PP: Steelheads 1-for-1, Grizzlies 0-for-1The Grizzlies notched the first goal of the night, but the Steelheads came back with three-unanswered tallies through the first period break. Forward Zack Andrusiak (PP, 7:36 1st) netted his second-straight game with a power play goal followed by defenseman Darren Brady (15:41 1st) for his first ECHL goal and a 2-1 lead. Captain A.J. White (2:32 2nd) started the middle frame with a deflection before the Grizzlies began the back-and-forth scoring. Steelheads forward David Norris (10:14 2nd) provided the game-winning goal, 4-2, before another Grizzlies answer in the middle frame, but Steelheads forward Yauheni Aksiantsiuk (14:53 3rd) sealed off the victory.Sunday, October 24 @ Utah Grizzlies: L 4-0Shots: Steelheads 21, Grizzlies 36PP: Steelheads 0-for-3, Grizzlies 0-for-1The Steelheads held strong in the first period, but in the second period the Grizzlies broke through with the first and decisive goal of the game just past the midway point of the contest. The 1-0 game trailed into the third period before the Grizzlies added a second tally. With the goaltender pulled late, the Grizzlies scored two more, including one shorthanded in the 4-0 result.THIS WEEK…Friday, October 29 vs. Rapid City Rush – 7:10 p.m. MTSaturday, October 30 vs. Rapid City Rush – 7:10 p.m. MTThe Steelheads close out a short October with a two-game home weekend against the Rapid City Rush. The Steelheads and Rush open an 11-game season series as well as a five-game schedule at Idaho Central Arena. During their 2019-20 season set, the Rush earned their first series win in their franchise history winning six of 10 games during the abbreviated set, though the Steelheads won back-to-back wins against the Rush to close the set at home. The Steelheads own a 42-18-5 record against the Rush and are now 20-8-4 at Idaho Central Arena.UPCOMING PROMOTIONS…Magnet Schedule Giveaway: The Steelheads 2021-22 Magnet Schedule will be given out to the first 1,000 fans on Friday, Oct. 29 as the Steelheads open the weekend against the Rapid City Rush. For tickets, head to idahosteelheads.com or call 331-TIXS.STEEL STATS…Quick Bites:

• The Steelheads finished opening weekend leading the ECHL in power play goals, going 5-for-15 (33.3%) over their three-game weekend against the Grizzlies.
• The Steelheads share the ECHL lead in goals scored (12) with the Newfoundland Growlers through three games.
• Forward A.J. White posted four goals over the first three games of the season, including a hat-trick on opening night. The hat-trick was his first of his professional career and the first at home since Feb. 11, 2017. White shares the league lead in goals.
• Defenseman Michael Prapavessis earned back-to-back games with two assists to start the regular season. His four assists is second-most in the ECHL to start the year.

Team Leaders:

Mountain Division Standings:

BROADCAST INFORMATION…

All home games during the 2021-22 regular season are broadcast on local television as well as on radio and online pay-per-view. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on 1350-AM KTIK “The Ticket” as well as 7:00 p.m. on Sparklight Ch. 72 & FloSports.

The Deschutes Brewery Idaho Steelheads Hockey Show returns this Thursday on 1350 KTIK-AM “The Ticket”, featuring Steelheads news, analysis and insight from around the ECHL. The show airs every Tuesday through Thursday during the 2021-22 season.The Steelheads open a two-game weekend set against the Rapid City Rush on Friday, Oct 29 at 7:10 p.m. from Idaho Central Arena. Single-game tickets are available for all home games during the 2021-22 regular season by going to idahosteelheads.com or calling 331-TIXS! Make sure to secure your FloSports subscription for the 2021-22 season to lock in all Steelheads games and more on ECHL TV.