Steelheads Weekly - Dec. 6, 2021

BOISE, Idaho – It’s Teddy Bear Toss Week as the Idaho Steelheads (11-7-1) begin another six-game homestand leading into the holiday break by welcoming the last team to play the Steelheads before the pandemic began.LAST WEEK…­Friday, December 3 @ Kansas City Mavericks: L 3-2 SOShots: Steelheads 33, Mavericks 25PP: Steelheads 2-for-3, Mavericks 0-for-1The Mavericks struck early in the contest for an early advantage before back-to-back power plays brought the Steelheads back into the contest. Captain A.J. White (PP, 11:10 1st) directed a back door tip in front of the netminder inside the right post to tie the game, 1-1. Contact on the goal forced another Steelhead power play, and forward Luc Brown (PP, 12:37 1st) punched home a rebound off the left post for his second point and a 2-1 lead. The Mavericks tacked on one more goal near the end of the first period to tie the game, 2-2. Scoring would halt for the rest of the game and force not only overtime but also a shootout. Forward Colton Kehler scored in the third round to keep play alive, but back-to-back goals led the Mavericks to the win.Friday, December 4 @ Kansas City Mavericks: W 5-0Shots: Steelheads 37, Mavericks 27PP: Steelheads 1-for-6, Mavericks 0-for-5Though there wasn’t scoring in the first period, the Steelheads struck iron in the second period with a pair of goals starting with forward Luc Brown (2:01 2nd) on the second shift of the frame to take the 1-0 lead. Forward Matt Tugnutt (8:49 2nd; 5:55 3rd) scored not only his first professional goal off a Mavericks skate but also added his second pro goal early in the third period off the crossbar to stretch the advantage to 3-0. Brown (PP, 7:31 3rd) extended the team’s scoring streak on the power pay to six games with his second of the night, and forward Zack Andrusiak (18:21 3rd) added one of his own to cap off the scoring and the 5-0 win. Jake Kupsky halted all 27 shots in the shutout victory.THIS WEEK…Wednesday, December 8 vs. South Carolina Stingrays – 7:10 p.m. MTFriday, December 10 vs. South Carolina Stingrays – 7:10 p.m. MTSaturday, December 11 vs. South Carolina Stingrays – 7:10 p.m. MTThe Steelheads welcome the South Carolina Stingrays to Boise for the first time since the outset of the pandemic. This will be the second-straight season in which the Steelheads and Stingrays meet with their only three games coming at Idaho Central Arena. In the 2019-20 season, the Steelheads took two of three games as the final weekend before the pandemic-shortened season concluded, extending their record to 5-3-0 since their first meeting in the 2003-04 season despite owning a 2-3-0 record at home. This is the first of six games against the South Division this season, and the Steelheads are 20-14-3 combined against current members of that division.UPCOMING PROMOTIONS…Teddy Bear Toss: The Annual Teddy Bear Toss game, presented by the U.S. Marine Corps and the Idaho Steelheads Booster Club, returns on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 7:10 p.m. All toys donated during the first goal will go towards Toys For Tots. Tickets are available by calling 331-TIXS or going to idahosteelheads.com.$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 have earned both of their shutouts on the road during the final game of a weekend spanning four weeks. The Steelheads have yet to have a season where they have not earned multiple shutout victories and have 85 shutouts in the ECHL era.
• The Steelheads have now scored in six-straight games on the power play and also earned their first multi-power play goal game on Friday since Opening Night (October 22). In that time, the Steelheads are 7-for-28 (25.0%) on the man-advantage and now own the most power play goals in the ECHL (18).
• For the second time this year, goaltender Jake Kupsky earns a Saturday shutout on the road for his fourth win of the season. He’s just one of three goaltenders in the ECHL with a pair of shutouts this season and is second in GAA (1.82) among active goaltenders.

• Forward A.J. White is on a five-game point streak, posting six points (2-4—6) in that span and has also earned points in nine of his last 10 games with 12 points (4-8—12) since November 12.

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 and six-game homestand at Idaho Central Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 7:10 p.m. against the South Carolina Stingrays. 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.