IDAHO STEELHEADS WEEKLY – WEEK 4 – 11/14/23

IDAHO STEELHEADS WEEKLY – WEEK 4 – 11/14/23 

BOISE, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (@Steelheads), proud ECHL (@ECHL) affiliate of the Dallas Stars (@DallasStars), are off to one of their best starts in franchise history with an (8-2-0) record through the first 10 games of the season where they have scored 50 goals. 

THIS WEEK’S GAMES
Wednesday, Nov. 15 vs. Allen | 7:10 p.m.    
Friday, Nov. 17 vs. Allen | 7:10 p.m.  
Saturday, Nov. 18 vs. Allen | 7:10 p.m. 

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LAST WEEK’S GAMES
Friday, Nov. 10 
Idaho (5) at Wheeling (2) 
Highlights 
Full Recap 
Box Score
Wheeling led 2-0 just 10 seconds into the second period from that point on Idaho rattle off five unanswered goals. Mark Rassell (10:17) and Seamus Donohue (14:22, PPG) made it 2-2 through forty minutes of play. Just 79 seconds into the third period Wade Murphy scored on a breakaway to make it 3-2 and then the Steelheads received their second power-play goal of the night as Keaton Mastrodonato (16:32) made it 4-2. Cody Haiskanen scored an empty netter with just five seconds left to seal the 5-2 victory as Dylan Wells made 26 saves in net. The Steelheads finished 2-for-2 on the power-play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.  

Saturday, Nov. 11 
Wheeling (5) vs. Idaho (2)
Highlights 
Full Recap 
Box Score
The Steelheads took a 2-0 lead 76 into the second period as Mark Rassell scored for his eighth straight game to set a franchise record. The Nailers then scored five goals in a span of 7:38 to take a 5-2 lead after forty minutes. Idaho outshot Wheeling 36-33 but fell in the contest as Bryan Thomson made 30 saves in the loss. 

Sunday, Nov. 12 
Idaho (7) at Wheeling (4) 
Highlights 
Full Recap 
Box Score
A.J. White (3-1-4) scored the Steelheads first hat trick of the season while Patrick Kudla (2-1-3) registered his first multi goal game of his Idaho career. Each time the Steelheads scored the Nailers were able to answer as the score was 3-3 until 17:45 of the second when Seamus Donohue scored his second power-play goal of the series. Kudla (18:21) and White (19:52, PPG) made it 6-3 heading into the third period while Jack Becker made it 7-4 with 5:19 left in regulation. Idaho finished 4-for-7 on the power-play while going 8-for-9 on the penalty kill. Dylan Wells made 32 saves for his fifth straight victory. 

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS
1. Kansas City Mavericks (10-2-0-0, 20pts)
2. Idaho Steelheads (8-2-0-0, 16pts)
3. Tulsa Oilers (5-4-1-0, 11pts) 
4. Wichita Thunder (4-7-1-0, 9pts) 
5. Rapid City Rush (4-6-1-0, 9pts)
6. Utah Grizzlies (4-3-0-0, 8pts)
7. Allen Americans (3-7-0-0, 6pts) 

RECENT INDIVIDUAL MILESTONES 
November 12: A.J. White scored his second professional hat trick scoring all three of his goals on the power-play … It was the 51^st hat trick int the Steelheads ECHL era … Dating back to 2006-07 Idaho has had 43 hat tricks with just two players scoring all three goals on the power-play (Bryan McGregor, 4/1/09). 
Matt Register played in his 550^th career ECHL game tallying two assists. 

November 10: Mark Rassell scored for his seventh straight game tying for a         franchise record with Mark Derlago and Evan Barlow. 

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
November 14: Dawson Barteaux assigned on loan by Manitoba Moose (AHL).  
November 12: Francesco Arcuri assigned on loan by Dallas Stars (NHL) from Texas Stars (AHL). 
November 9:   Jake Murray assigned on loan by Texas Stars (AHL).

UPCOMING INDIVIDUAL MILESTONES 
Ty Pelton-Byce is five games shy of 100 professional games. 
A.J. White is eight goals shy of 100 as a Steelhead. 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
#3 Nick Canade played Friday and Saturday in Wheeling as a forward and tallied an assist on Saturday.  

#6 Wade Murphy has points in six of his last seven games (5-6-11) including three multi-point games … has goals in four of his last seven games (5G) … has a point in eight of 10 games and a goal in five games … He is tied for fifth in the ECHL in points (15).  

#8 Keaton Mastrodonato has a three-game point streak (2-3-5) and goals in two of his last three games … He is fourth amongst ECHL rookie skaters with 39 shots … He is tied for fourth amongst league rookie skaters in points (12), leads all rookie skaters with five power-play assists, and his six power-play points are tied for second.   

#17 Ty Pelton-Byce has been held pointless in his last two games after a five-game point streak (0-8-8) … His nine assists are tied for sixth in the ECHL.  

#18 A.J. White has points in two straight games (3-2-5) after being held pointless for two games after starting the season with points in six straight games … His six goals are tied for fifth in the league while his four on the power-play are tied for the ECHL lead.   

#24 Seamus Donohue had a power-play goal and an assist on Friday and Sunday in Wheeling …Has points in three of his last six games (3-3-6).  

#27 Jack Becker has points in four of his last six games (1-3-4) … has a point in six of 10 games. 

#30 Bryan Thomson has won three of his last four games.  

#35 Dylan Wells is (5-0) this season and is averaging 29.33 save per game over his last three contests … His five wins are second in the ECHL.    

#34 Colton Kehler broke a three-game pointless skid on Sunday tallying an assist.   

#43 Matt Register tallied two assists on Sunday snapping a five-game pointless skid. 

#44 Ben Zloty played in all three games over the weekend recording an assist on Friday after missing the previous five games due to an injury. 

#47 Patrick Kudla recorded his first multi-goal game of his ECHL career on Sunday while also adding an assist … he has points in two of his last three games (2-2-4) after a four-game pointless drought … His 28 shots are third amongst ECHL defenders. 

#61 Zane Franklin has points in seven of his last eight games (3-7-10) … he saw a career long point streak end on Saturday but tallied two assists on Sunday. 

#74 Cody Haiskanen scored his first goal of the season on Friday while also adding an assist … he has points in two of his last four games (1-2-3) and three of his last six games (1-3-4).  

#92 Mark Rassell saw his goal streak end at eight games Sunday but increased his point streak to nine games (10-5-15) … He is tied for the league lead in goals (10), tied for fourth in points (15), and leads the ECHL with four game winning goals. 

TEAM NOTES

NO LACK OF GOAL SCORING 
The Steelheads rank third in the league in goals for average (5.00) and have scored the most goals in the league (50) in just 10 games. Last year Idaho set a franchise record scoring 290 goals in 72 games … they scored 38 through their first 10 games. Mark Rassell is tied for the league lead with 10 having scored in eight of his last nine games while A.J. White and Wade Murphy are tied for fifth with six each. 17 of 23 skaters have scored at least one goal this season for Idaho while 20 players have at least one point. 

The Steelheads have scored five or more goals in six of ten games this season. They have scored five in four games … last season they scored five goals in a game 17 times. 

LET THE HATS FLY
A.J. White scored his second professional hat trick on Sunday in Idaho’s 7-4 win at Wheeling, his first since Oct. 21, 2022 in the first game of the season in a 7-3 win vs. Utah. It marked the 51^st hat trick in the Steelhads ECHL era and dating back to 2006-07 Idaho has 43 hat tricks with just two players scoring all three goals on the power-play (White, 2023-24 and Bryan McGregor, Apr. 1, 2009). 

SPECIAL TEAMS BECOMING SPECIAL  
Over the weekend the Steelheads finished 6-for-13 (46.2%) including going 2-for-2 on Friday and 4-for-7 on Sunday. Idaho ranks fourth on the man advantage in the ECHL, 10-for-14 (24.4%). A.J. White is tied for the lead league with four power-play goals while Keaton Mastrodonato is tied for all league rookies five power-play assists and second with six points. They entered last week 21^st having gone just 4-for-28 (14.3%) in their first seven games. The penalty kill went 16-for-18 (88.9%) in Wheeling. 

TEN GAME STARTS
The Steelheads are (8-2-0-0) through their first 10 games this season, the third best 10 game start dating back to 2006-07. Idaho went (8-1-0-1) in 2009-10 and (8-1-1-0) during the 2006-07 seasons. 

SHOOTING GALLERY
The Steelheads are second in the ECHL averaging 38.40 shots per game this season. They have outshot their opponent in eight of the first 10 games going (6-2) in that situation. Their 129 shots in the first period are fourth most in the league, 134 in the second period are second most, and 118 in the third period are fourth most. Wade Murphy leads all Steelheads skaters with 40 shots good for eighth in the league while Keaton Mastrodonato is fourth amongst league rookies with 39. Patrick Kudla is third amongst ECHL defensemen with 28 shots. 

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Goals: Mark Rassell (10) 
Assists: Ty Pelton-Byce (9)
Points: Mark Rassell (15)
Plus/Minus: Ty Pelton-Byce (+9)
PIMs: Wade Murphy (27)
PPGs: A.J. White (4)
GWGs: Mark Rassell (4)
Shots: Wade Murphy (40) 
Wins: Dylan Wells (5)
GAA: Bryan Thomson (3.22)
SV%: Dylan Wells (.888) 

The Steelheads are (1-1) vs. Allen this season having lost the home opener 5-2 back on Oct. 20 but then defeating the Americans the following night scoring a season high eight goals in an 8-5 win. 

Call the Steelheads Front Office at 208-383-0080 for ticket packages for this season or visit Ticketmaster. Stay up to date with all things Steelheads on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Watch all Steelheads home games on FloHockey and KTVB 24/7 (Channel 7.2) and listen on the Steelheads flagship station 95.3 FM KTIK “The Ticket”.