IDAHO STEELHEADS (25-17-2) VS. TULSA OILERS (23-17-2)

WEDNESDAY, FEB 9, 2022 | 7:10 P.M. MTIDAHO CENTRAL ARENA | BOISE, IDTICKETS: CLICK HERETV: SPARKLIGHT CH. 72RADIO: 95.3FM/1350AM KTIK | STREAM: FLOHOCKEY

Tonight's Game: The Steelheads open a three-game home series against the Tulsa Oilers from Idaho Central Arena.

Head-To-Head: The Steelheads host the Oilers for only three games this season, and the two teams round out their six-game season series this week. The Oilers have taken two of three games so far with the Steelheads winning the final game of the road portion of the series. The Steelheads have dropped eight of their last 11 meetings against the Oilers but have the edge in the Mountain Division standings. The Steelheads are 18-14-2 against the Oilers all-time as well as 7-6-1 at Idaho Central Arena.

Last Game: The Steelheads slipped 5-2 to the Wichita Thunder on Sunday evening from INTRUST Bank Arena. The Thunder started with the scoring touch with the lone tally of the first period in the back half of the frame. The Steelheads battled back in the second period and took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play to level off the scoring. Forward Chase Zieky (PP, 14:37 2nd) zipped a wrist shot from the left circle to tie the game, 1-1, however the Thunder found a power play tally of their own late in the period to edge back ahead. The Steelheads found one more in the push back early in the third period on a deflection from forward Frédéric Létourneau (4:09 3rd) to initially knot the game again, 2-2. The Thunder then scored three-unanswered including an empty net tally to take the final game of the weekend, 5-2.

Four-In-Five: The Steelheads finished their four-game, five-day stretch with a 2-1-1 record and points in three of four games. During that time, the Steelheads posted over 40 shots twice with a season-high 48 shots on Friday and Sunday while earning three goals or more in three of those four games and scoring on the power play in three-straight games, going 5-for-16 (31.3%) during their last four games. The Steelheads took three of six points in their three-in-three weekend, their best result in a three-in-three set of the season.

Bride-al Party: Steelheads forward Shawn McBride is having quite the run of form heading into the second week of February coming out of the team’s four-game, five-day stretch. The Victoria, B.C. product earned points in all four games last week, including a hat-trick on Friday, with six points (3-3–6) and leading the team in goals and scoring in that time. McBride has really found his stride in his second ECHL season and as of late, earning 15 points (7-8–15) in his last 15 games since January 7 against Utah and sharing the scoring lead in that 15-game stretch with forward Luc Brown (4-11–15). McBride is tied for third in scoring with 27 points (9-18–27) while owning the third-most assists on the team.

LeTurnt Up: Steelheads forward Frédéric Létourneau got off to a hot start in his first two games as a member of the team, scoring in both his debut on Saturday and his second game on Sunday. The Boucherville, Que. native has back-to-back goals for the first time in his ECHL career and a mini point streak for the third time, matching his first stretch with three points (1-2–3) in two games on November 26 and December 3 as well as sitting one back of his three-game point streak (1-2–3) from December 10-12, both with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Létourneau doubled his goal production in his first two games compared to his opening 27 contests this season.

Back to Boise Boys: The Steelheads received forward Will Merchant and Evan Wardley from the Texas Stars heading into the weekend. Merchant scored his first-career AHL goal on January 16 in Charlotte during his second-career AHL stint and returns to the Steelheads sixth in scoring with 21 points (10-11–21) through 27 games with a third-best plus-10 rating. Wardley played two games in his second stint of the season and owns the fourth-most penalty minutes (32) on the Steelheads in 13 games. In the last week, the Steelheads received three of their five AHL call-ups including Kyle Marino, who earned points in two of three games in his return to the lineup.

Going Streaking: The Tulsa Oilers enter this weekend on the upswing of point production but have been known as a somewhat streaky team since their last meeting with the Steelheads on November 7. The Oilers have only broken up a streak with an opposite result twice since the Steelheads did the same in their last meeting: January 9 (loss) and January 16 (loss), each breaking up a win streak.  The Oilers have held six point streaks of three games or longer, including the three-game streak their currently on (2-0-1 record), though have never won more than five-in-a-row while also holding four losing streaks between three and five games long. However, the Oilers have dropped four of their last six games since January 28 with a 2-3-1 record and a split of home and road games at three each.

2021-22 MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS:

Next Game: The Steelheads and Oilers continue their three-game weekend on Friday, Feb. 11 at 7:10 p.m. from Idaho Central Arena. Tickets are available by going to idahosteelheads.com. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on 95.3 The Ticket as well as 7:00 p.m. on Sparklight Ch. 72 & FloHockey.