Steelheads Weekly - Nov. 8, 2021

BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads (4-4-0) head into the back end of their six-game, 12-day road trip with three games in Rapid City.LAST WEEK…Thursday, November 4 @ Tulsa Oilers: L 2-1Shots: Steelheads 31, Oilers 16PP: Steelheads 0-for-5, Oilers 0-for-1The Steelheads put on a strong offensive showing throughout most of the game, and their persistence paid off with the opening tally. Forward Colby McAuley (16:00 1st) put back a Shawn McBride rebound to snag the initial 1-0 lead. The Oilers found favor on an odd-angle shot in the second period to tie the game then took the lead early in the third frame. The Oilers turned up the defensive play and held off the Steelheads for the victory.Saturday, November 6 @ Tulsa Oilers: L 4-1Shots: Steelheads 35, Oilers 25PP: Steelheads 1-for-5, Oilers 2-for-5While the Steelheads had more chances in the opening two periods, the Oilers found the back of the net three times in the middle frame coming off turnovers with one of those tallies on the man-advantage. The Steelheads outshot the Oilers 25-12 in the first two frames combined but did find the back of the net on the power play thanks to a put-back by forward Will Merchant (PP, 19:07 2nd) to answer and cut into the deficit, 3-1. A late power play for the Oilers notched their final tally of the night in the 4-1 result.Sunday, November 7 @ Tulsa Oilers: W 2-1Shots: Steelheads 20, Oilers 32PP: Steelheads 1-for-2, Oilers 0-for-2The Steelheads struck on the first shot of the game within the first two minutes thanks to a one-time shot from forward Yauheni Aksiantsiuk (1:52 1st) fed from forward Shawn McBride to grab the initial 1-0 lead. The Oilers answered late in the first period to level the scoring, but it wouldn’t take long in the next frame for the Steelheads to answer back. Forward Colton Kehler (PP, 1:40 2nd) took advantage of an early power play to deflect in his first of the year for the 2-1 lead. The Steelheads only had one shot in the third period but held strong defensively for the victory.THIS WEEK…Wednesday, November 10 @ Rapid City Rush – 7:05 p.m. MTFriday, November 12 @ Rapid City Rush – 7:05 p.m. MTSaturday, November 13 @ Rapid City Rush – 7:05 p.m. MTThe Steelheads enter the road portion of their 11-game season series with the Rapid City Rush this weekend. The Steelheads and Rush split their first weekend of the season with the Steelheads earning an overtime win on Saturday, Oct. 30 as the two sides enter the six-game portion of the season set from Rapid City. The Rush have won seven of their last 12 meetings with the Steelheads dating back through the 2019-20 season. Overall, the Steelheads own a 43-19-5 record against the Rush while going 22-10-1 on the road.UPCOMING PROMOTIONS…Pepsi Puck Giveaway: The Steelheads are handing out the annual Steelheads Pepsi Pucks for the first 1,000 fans in attendance on Saturday, Nov. 20 against the Adirondack Thunder. For tickets, head to idahosteelheads.com or call 331-TIXS.STEEL STATS…Quick Bites:

• The Steelheads own the most power play goals (8) in the ECHL while having the second-most opportunities (34) across the league, trailing only the Newfoundland Growlers (36) in attempts.
• The Steelheads own the second-fewest penalty minutes per game (9.00) in the ECHL, only trailing the Toledo Walleye (8.14).
• Forward Yauheni Aksiantsiuk earned his fifth goal of the year on Saturday, making him the first ECHL rookie to reach double-digit points on the season. He owns five goals and five assists through eight games..

Team Leaders:

Mountain Division Standings:

BROADCAST INFORMATION…

All road games during the 2021-22 regular season are broadcast on local radio and on an online pay-per-view service. Coverage begins 20 minutes before puck drop on 1350-AM KTIK “The Ticket” & 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 three-game weekend against the Rapid City Rush on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 7:05 p.m. and return to Idaho Central Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 7:10 p.m. against the Adirondack Thunder. 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.