Steelheads Weekly - Dec. 13, 2021

BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads (14-7-1) play their final three games before the holiday break, hosting the Rapid City Rush to close the six-game homestand and stretch with 12 of 14 games at home.LAST WEEK…­Wednesday, December 8 vs. South Carolina Stingrays: W 3-0Shots: Stingrays 24, Steelheads 29PP: Stingrays 0-for-2, Steelheads 1-for-6The Steelheads controlled the pacing of the game from the outset and earned two early power plays out of it. On their second man-advantage, forward Kyle Marino (PP, 10:01 1st) tipped a shot from the blue line while standing net front to open the scoring. Turnovers and offensive presence became a theme in goals for the Steelheads with forward Will Merchant (17:46 1st) converting net front off the crossbar after creating time worked in the offensive end for the 2-0 lead. The Steelheads added one more in the final frame off another turnover finished by forward Luc Brown (15:53 3rd) to seal off the eventual 3-0 win. Matt Jurusik halted all 24 shots in the victory.Friday, December 10 vs. South Carolina Stingrays: W 3-1Shots: Stingrays 27, Steelheads 30PP: Stingrays 1-for-4, Steelheads 0-for-2For the third-straight game, the Steelheads struck first with this one coming in the opening frame. After a good offensive possession, defenseman Darren Brady (8:45 1st) took a one-time shot from the top of the slot to snag that early advantage. The Stingrays converted on their first power play late in the first period to knot the game, 1-1. At nearly the same time as in the first period, Steelheads forward Zack Andrusiak (8:44 2nd) buried his own rebound from the right circle to take the one-goal edge. That momentum carried into the third period, when forward Colby McAuley (0:54 3rd) scored on a breakaway to double the lead at 3-1, and the Steelheads locked down from there for the win.Saturday, December 11 vs. South Carolina Stingrays: W 3-1Shots: Stingrays 24, Steelheads 34PP: Stingrays 1-for-3, Steelheads 1-for-2It didn’t take long for the Steelheads to pounce and set the teddy bears flying thanks to defenseman Michael Prapavessis (0:44, 1st) on a shot from the high slot. Another answer came seconds later when forward Zack Andrusiak (1:16 1st) punched in a rebound off the right post to double the advantage to 2-0. Late in the opening frame, forward Shawn McBride (SH, 1845 1st) was led on a breakaway that he finished to widen the lead, 3-0. Scoring halted until the final frame when forward Yauheni Aksiantsiuk (PP, 2:45 3rd) connected on a one-time shot from the right circle, and though the Stingrays broke the shutout bid on the power play, the Steelheads took home the 4-1 win.THIS WEEK…Wednesday, December 15 vs. Rapid City Rush – 7:10 p.m. MTFriday, December 17 vs. Rapid City Rush – 7:10 p.m. MTSunday, December 19 vs. Rapid City Rush – 4:05 p.m. MTThe Steelheads meet the Rapid City Rush for the third weekend series this season to close the homestand heading into the holiday break. The Steelheads have won three of their first five meetings of the season now heading into the midway mark of their 11-game season series. The Steelheads won two of three in Rapid City in mid-November with a shutout in their last game while splitting their two games in Boise. The Steelheads only have three games at home remaining against the Rush and have nearly split their last two seasons with Rapid City taking eight of 15 games. Overall, the Steelheads are 45-20-5 against the Rush while going 21-9-4 at Idaho Central Arena.UPCOMING PROMOTIONS…4 For $50 Family Friday: Get four tickets, four Double R Ranch hot dogs, and four Pepsis for just $50 and bring out the whole family for a Friday night with the Steelheads. Limited availability that sell out fast, so go to idahosteelheads.com to get yours today.$2 Beer Wednesday: $2 beers are back for every Wednesday night game during the 2021-22 season. The second of 11 $2 Beer Wednesdays comes on Wednesday, Nov. 24 against the Allen Americans. Get your seats at idahosteelheads.com or call 331-TIXS.Holiday Hat Trick: Get the perfect stocking stuffer for the fan in your family that includes three ticket vouchers for the 2021-22 season and a Steelheads hat starting at just $55. Snag yours by going to IdahoCentralArena.com/store.STEEL STATS…Quick Bites:

• The Steelheads are now on a four-game win streak for the first time this season while earning their first full three-game sweep of the season. The Steelheads sit atop the Mountain Division with 29 points and 14 wins.
• The Steelheads have won nine of 12 games at Idaho Central Arena to start the season, leading the ECHL in home wins.
• Goaltender Jake Kupsky earned his sixth win in eight games with a 23-save effort, earning back-to-back wins on the weekend. Kupsky’s goals-against average has dropped to 1.60, which is best in the ECHL.

• Forward Shawn McBride scored his first ECHL goal in the first period while also earning his first shorthanded goal. He has six points (1-5—6) over his last four games and has 11 points on the season, sitting second on the team in assists (10).

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 95.3 FM/1350 AM KTIK “The Ticket” as well as 7:00 p.m. on Sparklight Ch. 72 & FloSports.The Deschutes Brewery Idaho Steelheads Hockey Show airs every Tuesday through Thursday during the 2021-22 season on 95.3 FM/1350 AM KTIK “The Ticket”, featuring Steelheads news, analysis and insight from around the ECHL. Listen to the long-form podcast-style format to get you more in-depth conversations and information from players, alumni and others from the hockey world.The Steelheads open a three-game weekend against the Rapid City Rush on Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 7:10 p.m. at 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 action from around the ECHL.