Steelheads Weekly - Jan. 31, 2022

BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads (23-16-1) play a four-game, five-day week while closing down their four-game homestand on Wednesday.LAST WEEK…­Wednesday, January 26 vs. Kansas City Mavericks: W 9-4Shots: Mavericks 35, Steelheads 24PP: Mavericks 3-for-7, Steelheads 3-for-6The Steelheads’ scoring started early and swiftly with two tallies separated by just 40 seconds starting with forward Mason Mitchell (3:04 1st) on an open net followed by a wrap-around by Shawn McBride (3:44 1st) to stretch to an early 2-0 lead. The two sides see-sawed the next five goals with Kansas City power play tallies separating second period strikes by forward A.J. White (PP, 4:22 2nd) on a rebound put back as well as an unassisted tally from Mitchell (11:55 2nd) and a one-time blast from forward Colton Kehler (16:22 2nd) to spread the lead to 5-3. That tally started a five-unanswered run that was continued by forward Yauheni Aksiantsiuk (17:49 2nd) on a breakaway, the second for Kehler (PP, 2:48 3rd), another goal for Aksiantsiuk (11:08 3rd), and the first professional goal for Willie Knierim (16:43 3rd). Despite a late Mavericks goal, the Steelheads strolled to the 9-4 result.Friday, January 28 vs. Kansas City Mavericks: W 4-1Shots: Mavericks 30, Steelheads 27PP: Mavericks 0-for-5, Steelheads 2-for-5The Steelheads continued their prowess on the power play to net the game’s first tally, and for the second-straight game forward Mason Mitchell (PP, 15:04 1st) nets the opening strike to jump to a 1-0 lead. Both sides traded goals in the second period with Steelheads forward Chase Zieky (12:06 2nd) pushing through a secondary opportunity for the eventual difference-maker before the Mavericks answered late in the frame for the 2-1 score. The Steelheads earned two more late with the first on a snipe from forward Luc Brown (PP, 14:32 3rd) and the final tally from forward David Norris (EN, 18:40 3rd) to take the 4-1 win.Saturday, January 29 vs. Kansas City Mavericks: W 3-2Shots: Mavericks 29, Steelheads 30PP: Mavericks 0-for-2, Steelheads 1-for-5The Steelheads garnered an early power play and made the most of it to hop in front for the third-straight game. Five seconds into the power play, captain A.J. White (PP, 2:32 1st) deflected a shot from the right point to earn their first lead of the night, 1-0. The Mavericks came alive in the second period and answered with two-straight tallies through the middle of the frame to take their first lead of the weekend at 2-1. White (16:49 2nd) earned his second of the night on a breakaway set up by a blocked shot to level the scoring, 2-2, into the third period. A costly turnover by the Mavericks netminder allowed forward Luc Brown (7:04 3rd) to walk in and place a shot into an open net, completing the comeback and snagging the 3-2 win.THIS WEEK…Wednesday, February 2 vs. Jacksonville Icemen – 7:10 p.m. MTFriday, February 4 @ Wichita Thunder – 6:05 p.m. MTSaturday, February 5 @ Wichita Thunder – 6:05 p.m. MTSunday, February 6 @ Wichita Thunder – 3:05 p.m. MTThe Steelheads meet the Jacksonville Icemen and Wichita Thunder for their first meetings of the season this year.The Steelheads and Icemen have met just two times in their franchise history back in the 2018-19 season with the Steelhead taking both games at home: a 4-1 win on Nov. 30, 2018 and a 3-2 overtime victory on Dec. 1, 2018 finished by a Spenser Naas goal at 4:05 into the extra period. This is the fourth of seven games against the South Division this season with the Steelheads taking all three games thus far in a home sweep of the South Carolina Stingrays in December. Historically, the Steelheads are 28-17-3 against current South Division teams while going just 12-11-1 at Idaho Central Arena.The Steelheads meet the Thunder for the first of seven games this season and four-straight road games in February. Back in 2019-20, the Steelheads earned points in all four meetings that season, only dropping their first road game on Oct. 25, 2019 in overtime. This is the third three-game, three-day series in two months and will join their February 16 single-game meeting as the only four road meetings this season. Overall, the Steelheads own an 8-4-4 record against the Thunder while earning points in seven of nine road games with a 4-2-3 record.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.Phone Wallet Giveaway: Join the Steelheads on Saturday, Feb. 12 as the first 1,000 fans receive a free Steelheads phone wallet, courtesy of Higgins & Rutledge. Tickets for the game are available by going to idahosteelheads.com.STEEL STATS…Quick Bites:

• The Steelheads finished January with a 7-7-0 record, winning five-straight games at home with a 5-1-0 home record in the month.
• The Steelheads averaged 3.50 goals per game in January while scoring four goals or more in five-straight at home, where they averaged 4.50 goals per contest.
• A.J. White became the first to breach the 40-point plateau on the team and is tied for fourth in scoring (16-24—40).
• Luc Brown earned a team-best six-point weekend and leads all ECHL rookies in scoring (14-23—37) while sitting tied for 10th overall in the ECHL.

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.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 95.3FM/1350AM KTIK “The Ticket” & 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 close their four-game homestand at Idaho Central Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 7:10 p.m against the Jacksonville Icemen. 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.