Steelheads Weekly – Apr. 11, 2022

BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads (36-31-3) head on the road for the final weekend of the regular season fighting for a playoff spot.LAST WEEK…­Wednesday, April 6 vs. Utah Grizzlies: L 4-1Shots: Grizzlies 32, Steelheads 37PP: Grizzlies 0-for-2, Steelheads 0-for-2The Grizzlies came out strong to start the game and were rewarded with a pair of goals in the opening period to jump out early, 2-0. Over the next two periods, the Steelheads worked further into the Grizzlies’ possessive game and started to chip away for opportunities. However, the Grizzlies still earned one goal in each of the next two frames to balloon the lead to 4-0. The Steelheads snuffed out the shutout bid on a 2-on-1 thanks to forward Jack Becker (SH, 19:40 3rd) crashing the net, but the team still fell in the 4-1 result.Friday, April 8 vs. Utah Grizzlies: W 3-1Shots: Grizzlies 23, Steelheads 36PP: Grizzlies 0-for-3, Steelheads 1-for-3The Steelheads and Grizzlies went toe-to-toe to open the game, but the Grizzlies notched the first tally late in the opening period to take the initial lead. The Steelheads continued to work and were rewarded with two tallies late in the second period within one minute of each other. Forward Colton Kehler (16:08 2nd) deflected a blue line shot while battling net front to grab the first, and forward Ryan Dmowski (16:54 2nd) followed on the next shift with a shot angled from the goal line off the back of the netminder for the eventual difference-maker, 2-1. The Steelheads added one more during one of their three power plays on an open shot for forward Yauheni Aksiantsiuk (PP, 13:24 3rd) to seal off the 3-1 win.Saturday, April 9 vs. Utah Grizzlies: L 4-0Shots: Grizzlies 25, Steelheads 32PP: Grizzlies 0-for-4, Steelheads 0-for-3The Steelheads worked against the Grizzlies throughout the course of the night, but the bounces fell to the opposition’s direction. The Grizzlies scored their first in the opening frame on a drop pass to take the advantage followed by a net-front deflection in the second period to stretch to a 2-0 lead. The Grizzlies tacked on two more in the third period with the first on a centering pass and the second into an empty net for the 4-0 result.THIS WEEK…Friday, April 15 @ Utah Grizzlies – 7:10 p.m. MTSaturday, April 16 @ Utah Grizzlies – 7:10 p.m. MTThe Steelheads and the Utah Grizzlies close their regular seasons as well as their season series with two games on the road. The Steelheads and Grizzlies have now split their first 14 games down the middle with two games remaining on the schedule with the Steelheads owning a 7-7-0 record while also taking the home portion with a 5-4-0 record. The Grizzlies do have the one-point edge over the Steelheads thanks to the lone post-regulation result in a shootout on January. The Steelheads and Grizzlies are in the back end of their third stretch with more than five games head-to-head in-a-row, including the opening two weekends and two weekends in January. The Steelheads are 115-58-26 against the Grizzlies all-time while going 51-31-13 on the road.UPCOMING PROMOTIONS…2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs: Playoff seeding, schedules and ticket information will become available following the end of the weekend after the Mountain Division has been decided. Stay tuned to Steelheads Social Media for information.STEEL STATS…Quick Bites:

• The Steelheads finish the regular season with a share of the best home record in the ECHL, going 25-10-1-0 (.708) and sharing that mark with the Atlanta Gladiators.
• Ryan Dmowski leads the Steelheads in goals scored (27) for the season with 18 points in 11 games.
• A.J. White sits tied for ninth in the ECHL in scoring (68), and he sits alone in fourth on the team’s all-time ECHL assists list (128).

Team Leaders:

Mountain Division Standings:

BROADCAST INFORMATION…

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 enter the final weekend of the regular season on Friday, Apr. 15 at 7:10 p.m. against the Utah Grizzlies from Maverik Center. Make sure to secure your FloSports subscription for the 2021-22 season to lock in all Steelheads games and action from around the ECHL. Follow the Steelheads through the end of the regular season and postseason on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.