IDAHO STEELHEADS (29-22-3) @ ALLEN AMERICANS (22-22-7)

SATURDAY, MAR. 5, 2022 | 6:05 P.M. MTCREDIT UNION OF TEXAS EVENT CENTER | ALLEN, TXRADIO: 95.3FM/1350AM KTIK | STREAM: FLOHOCKEY

Tonight's Game: The Steelheads closer their season series against the Allen Americans from Credit Union of Texas Event Center.

Head-To-Head: After taking the first two games of the season series, the Steelheads have dropped five-straight against the Americans including all four on the road, owning a 2-5-0-0 record heading into the series finale. The Steelheads claimed the home portion of the season set in November but have allowed points in all but their first meeting on November 24 in Boise. The Americans have taken 10 of the last 16 games in their series dating back to the 2019-20 season. The Steelheads are 20-15-5 overall against the Americans while going 8-9-2 on the road.

Last Night: The Steelheads started the contest with a dominating first period of possession, but the Americans took advantage of a small opening to take the first tally of the night. Steelheads defenseman Michael Prapavessis (10:44 1st) tallied from the blue line in the next possession succession to tie the game, 1-1. A controversial too-many men penalty called on the Steelheads led to the Americans capitalizing off an Idaho skate from the left post to make the difference, and a late break by the Americans added an insurance tally in the 3-1 result.

The Final Countdown: The Steelheads closed the third quarter of the regular season on a similar path as the previous sections of the season. The Steelheads went 9-7-2-0 in their last 18 games, finishing the sector with 20 points and marking the third-straight section that the Steelheads ended with at least 20 points. The team’s win percentage is the same as the second quarter (10-8-0-0, .556) and just trails the opening 18 games (10-7-0-1, .583), showcasing consistency throughout the season. In the quarter, the Steelheads earned a season-best five-game win streak and six-game point streak and owned a stretch with points in 10 of 11 games from January 26 through February 12. The Steelheads close the season with 10 of 18 games on the road.

Dipped Down: Despite their eye-test performance, the Steelheads slipped in their first of a six-game road trip. The Steelheads have dropped five of their last seven games since February 16 with four of those seven games on the road. While the team broke a four-game streak of allowing four or more goals, they were held to two goals or less in now six of seven contests in that same frame. The Steelheads still have points in five of their last 10 games heading into the second game of the road swing, however on the road the Steelheads have only claimed one weekend series this season: November 10-13 in Rapid City, winning two of three games.

Prap Daddy: Steelheads defenseman Michael Prapavessis returned to the lineup in a big way on Friday night, scoring the team’s lone goal. The Mississauga, Ont. native had not played since January 17 in Utah, missing 19-straight games with most of those on the Injured Reserve, and despite his absence he is sitting on a four-game point streak since January 14 with four points (1-3–4) in that time. Prapavessis has been one of the top offensive defensemen on the team and owns 17 points (4-13–17) through 25 games and holds the best point-per-game ratio (0.68) among Steelheads defensemen.

Blue Line Boost: Steelheads defenseman Darren Brady has been quietly putting together a string of strong performances in his re-joining to the team’s blue line. With his assist on Friday, the Lake Orion, Mich. product is on a three-game assist streak over the last eight days, marking his third point streak of the season and is one game shy of his season-best stretch from November 13-20 with five points (1-4–5) in four games. Brady returned from the Injured Reserve on February 16 and leads Steelheads defensemen in scoring with 19 points (5-14–19) through 29 games.

Bucking Back: The Allen Americans rebounded from their difficult stretch to break their skid on Friday night. The Americans broke a five-game losing skid in which they went 0-4-1 against three different opponents. The Americans have still been held to three goals or less in six-straight contests though have had that first sub-three goals allowed game since February 11. The Americans remain three games back of the Tulsa Oilers for fourth place in the Mountain Division with 13 of 21 games remaining against divisional foes, all of whom are fighting for that final spot (Allen, Kansas City, Tulsa, Wichita).

2021-22 MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS:

Next Game: The Steelheads play their lone game against the Kalamazoo Wings on Tuesday, Mar. 8 at 5:00pm MT from Wings Event Center. Coverage begins at 5:00 p.m. on 95.3 The Ticket & FloHockey.tv.