Steelheads Sunk in Heartbreaker in Allen, 3-2

ALLEN, Texas – The Idaho Steelheads (16-10-1) pressured well offensively but fell in a heartbreaker, 3-2, to the Allen Americans (11-9-3) on Saturday night from Allen Event Center.THE GAME’S STO­­RYThe Steelheads struck early in a strong possessive game thanks to forward Will Merchant (3:06 1st) to take the swift 1-0 lead. The Americans rebounded well on the power play throughout the night, answering later in the frame to tie the contest into the middle frame. In the second period, Steelheads forward A.J. White (PP, 9:45 2nd) finished off a stretch pass from defenseman Michael Prapavessis to answer on their own man-advantage to take the 2-1 edge. Though the Americans had a goal called back late in the frame, they capitalized on the power play early in the third period and netted the game-winner with under two minutes remaining to sneak away with the 3-2 win.ICCU 3 STARS OF THE GAME1. ALN – Chad Butcher (game-winner, assist)2. ALN – Branden Troock (power play goal, assist)3. IDH – Luc Brown (two assists)PEPSI PLAYER OF THE GAMEA.J. White (F) – goal, assistSTEELHEADS STANDOUTS- A.J. White: White posted another multi-point effort, scoring on the power play and adding an assist. He has three multi-point games in his last four contests and is on a four-game point streak (3-5—8).- Luc Brown:Brown helped out with two secondary assists in the game, making it three points over two games in Allen and points in three of his last four games.- Will Merchant:Merchant got the scoring started and now has points in three of his last four contests (2-2—4). He sits second on the team in goals (10) and scoring (21).CATCH OF THE DAYThe Steelheads’ top line of Luc Brown, Will Merchant and A.J. White have been dominant offensively over the course of the season. Heading into the New Year, the three have combined for 29 of the team’s 78 goals, owning 37.2% of the team’s total goals on the season as well as 30.5% of the team’s total points (68 of 223). The three lead the team in scoring with White (11-16—27) leading Merchant (10-11—21) and Brown (9-11—20).ATTENDANCE: 2,352LOOKING AHEADThe Steelheads and Americans close their three-game series on Sunday, Jan. 2 at 3:05 p.m. from Allen Event Center.Coverage begins at 2:45 p.m. on 95.3FM/1350AM KTIK “The Ticket” & FloHockey.