Idaho Steelheads Weekly – Week 11 – 12/27/22

Idaho Steelheads Weekly – Week 11 – 12/27/22 

Steelheads head to Utah on eight game winning streak 

BOISE, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (@Steelheads), proud ECHL (@ECHL) affiliate of the Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) are currently on a season long eight game winning streak dating back to December 9th where they have outscored their opponents 40-12. Idaho travels to Utah this week for games Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.  

THIS WEEK’S GAMESWednesday, Dec. 28 at Utah | 7:10 p.m.Friday, Dec. 30 at Utah | 7:10 p.m.Saturday, Dec. 31 at Utah | 5:00 p.m. 

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS

1. Idaho Steelheads (22-3-0-1, 45pts)
2. Wichita Thunder (16-9-2-0, 34pts) 
3. Rapid City Rush (13-15-0-0, 26pts) 
4. Kansas City Mavericks (11-10-3-0, 25pts)
5. Utah Grizzlies (11-14-0-0, 22pts)
6. Tulsa Oilers (8-11-5-0, 21pts) 
7. Allen Americans (8-15-1-0, 17pts) 

LAST WEEK’S GAMES

Wednesday, Dec. 21  Idaho (6) vs. Rapid City (3)    HighlightsFull RecapBox Score

Jack Becker (2-0-2) and Colton Kehler (1-0-1) scored first period goals for the Steelheads while Dakota Raabe (2-1-3) scored in between the Idaho goals. Shots were 11-11 after the opening frame as Idaho led 2-1. Idaho led 5-2 after 40 minutes of play thanks to second period goals from Nick Canade (1-1-2), Wade Murphy (1-0-1), and Zane Franklin (1-2-3). Raabe scored the lone second frame tally for the Grizzlies as shots were 15-14 in favor of Utah in the stanza.  Cameron Wright (1-1-2) scored in the third period for Utah while Becker added his second of the game. Adam Scheel made a career high 39 saves on 42 shots in the win while Lukas Parik made 31 on 37 in the loss.  

Friday, Dec. 23            Idaho (6) vs. Utah (0)             HighlightsFull RecapBox Score

Idaho went 0-for-2 on the power play in the first period while Utah was 0-for-1. Shots were 10-6 in favor of the Steelheads as neither team scored in the first 20 minutes of play. The Idaho offense erupted in the second period as they scored four times thanks to a pair of goals from Jordan Kawaguchi (2-0-2), Antonio Stranges (1-2-3), and Justin Misiak (1-0-1). Shots were 22-6 in favor of the Steelheads who took a 4-0 lead into the dressing room after 40 minutes of play. Colton Kehler (1-0-1) and Jack Becker (1-1-2) provided third period scores as the Steelheads registered their fourth shutout of the season as Rémi Poirier made 18 saves for the win while Lukas Parik made 43 saves on 49 shots in the loss. 

STEELHEADS STANDOUTS

#6 Wade Murphy has points in nine of his last 12 games (5-8-13) and is (+12) over his last eight games. His (+11) rating in the month of December leads the ECHL. 

#7 Owen Headrick is tied for third amongst ECHL defenders in scoring (8-15-23) and tied for first in goals. He has points in 14 of his last 15 games (8-11-19). 

#15 Ryan Dmowski is second in the ECHL in points (33), tied for fourth in goals (13), and leads in shots (135). He has points in 12 of his last 15 games (4-16-20) and leads the Steelheads with 11 multi-point games. He has a point in 19 of 26 games this season. 

#18 A.J. White played in his 300th game as a Steelhead last Wednesday (12/21) and has (4-11-15) in his last 19 games. 

#27 Jack Becker has points in three straight games (3-2-5), six of his last seven games (3-5-8), and seven of his last nine games (5-5-10). 

#43 Matt Register leads the ECHL with a +32 rating and has been an even or plus rating in 24 of 26 games. He has points in four straight games and five of his last six (2-4-6). He is two games shy of 500 ECHL career games. 

#47 Patrick Kudla is tied for first amongst ECHL defenders in scoring (5-20-25) and has a point in 12 of his last 16 games (3-15-18). 

#74 Cody Haiskanen has points in four of five games (0-5-5) after missing the previous 11 games with an injury. He is (+9) in his last five games and has been an even or plus rating in 14 of 15 games this year. 

#77 Jordan Kawaguchi has points six straight games (7-3-10) and goals in five of his last six. He has points in eight of his last 10 (9-5-14) including five multi-point games. In the month of December he has scored the second most goals (9) in the league and is tied for fifth in points (14). 

TEAM NOTES

WHO’S GOT THE GOLDEN TICKET? Idaho has sold-out 13 of 15 games this year including 12 straight. 

GONE STREAKIN Last Friday night the Steelheads increased their win streak to a season long eight games dating back to December 9 collecting a 6-0 win over Utah. It was the second straight game Idaho produced six goals and the fifth time they have done so this season. It was also the fourth shutout of the season for the Steelheads, the first pro career shutout by Rémi Poirier who made 18 saves. During the win streak Idaho has outscored their opponents 40-12 having scored four goals (two times), five goals (four times), and six goals (two times). They have held their opponents to two or fewer goals in seven of the eight games holding their opposition to one goal (four times), two goals (one time), three goals (two times), and one shutout. 

HO HO HOLY DECEMBERThe Steelheads are (9-1) in the month of December and have outscored their opponents 47-20. They are operating at 25% on the power-play (9/36) having scored a goal in six games and are 87.5% on the penalty kill (28/32) having allowed a power-play goal against in just three games. Jordan Kawaguchi has scored the second most goals in the ECHL during the month and is tied for fifth in scoring (9-5-14) while Wade Murphy ranks first with a (+11) rating, Matt Register tied for second (+10), and Cody Haiskanen tied for third (+9). In between the pipes Adam Scheel is tied for second with five wins while Rémi Poirier is tied for third with four victories. 

GOAL SCORING AT A PREMIUMIdaho ranks first in goals for averaging (4.42) per game. They have scored four or more goals in eight straight games including. They have scored five or more goals in 10 of the last 13 games and have scored four or more goals in 20 games this year posting a record of (20-0) when doing so.

PUCKS STOP AT THE STEELHEADS NET Idaho ranks first in goals against averaging (1.96) per game. They have held their opponents to two or fewer goals 17 times this year posting a record of (16-1). Over the last eight games Idaho has only allowed 12 goals against including holding their opponent to two or fewer goals in six of the last eight games. Rémi Poirier holds the league’s best goals against average (1.98) while Adam Scheel ranks second (2.12). Poirier has the second highest save percentage (0.932) while Scheel ranks fifth (0.928). The two netminders have alternated starts for 10 straight games dating back to Dec. 2.  

POWER-PLAY GONE WILD Despite being held without a power-play score over the last two games (0-for-7) Idaho ranks third on the power-play clicking at 25% (23/92). The Steelheads have scored a power-play goal in 13 of their last 17 games (17/57, 29.8%) which includes multi power-play scores in four of the last 11 games. Owen Headrick is tied for second amongst ECHL defenders with four power-play goals while Patrick Kudla ranks third with 10 power-play assists and fifth for third with 12-man advantage points. 

SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS Idaho ranks first in shots for averaging (37.12) per game. The Steelheads have registered 40+ shots 11 times this season including seven of the last 13 games. There have been just five times this season where the Steelheads have been outshot by their opponents. No team has attempted more shots in the first period (324), third most (324) in the second period, and most (315) in the final period. 

SCORING FIRST Idaho has scored first 16 times this season (16-0) and have struck first in five straight games and 11 of the last 14 games after allowing the game’s first goal in the previous four games. Only Atlanta has scored first more (17) times this year than the Steelheads.  

FIRST AND THIRD PERIOD EXPLOSIONSIdaho has scored the second most goals (37) and allowed the second fewest (16) in the first period. The (+21) goal differential is the best in the league. Idaho has the best goal differential (+29) in the third period outscoring their opponents 43-14. They have scored the most goals in the third period and allowed the fewest.    

STATISTICAL LEADERSGoals: Ryan Dmowski (13)Assists: Patrick Kudla / Ryan Dmowski (20)Points: Ryan Dmowski (33)Plus/Minus: Matt Register (+32)    PIMS: Zane Franklin (27)  PPGs: Owen Headrick (4) SHGs: Ty Pelton-Byce (2) GWGs: Colton Kehler / Owen Headrick (3)Shots: Ryan Dmowski (135)Wins: Rémi Poirier / Adam Scheel (8)GAA: Rémi Poirier (1.98)SV%: Rémi Poirier (0.932) 

Season tickets for the 2022-23 season are on sale now! For more information on ticket packages, contact the front office at 208-383-0080 or visit IdahoSteelheads.com. Stay up to date with all things Steelheads on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Watch all Steelheads home games on FloHockey and Sparklight Channel 72 and listen on the Steelheads flagship station, 95.3 FM KTIK “The Ticket”.