STEELHEADS EARN POINT IN 5-4 SHOOTOUT LOSS VS. NEWFOUNDLAND

STEELHEADS EARN POINT IN 5-4 SHOOTOUT LOSS VS. NEWFOUNDLAND

BOISE, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (14-2-0-1, 29pts) fell to the Newfoundland Growlers (8-7-3-0, 19pts) in a shootout by a final score of 5-4 Wednesday night at the Idaho Central Arena in front of a sellout crowd of 5,147 fans, the eighth sellout in just nine home games. Idaho will host Newfoundland on Friday and Saturday night for Military Appreciation Weekend and the Annual Teddy Bear Toss Game Saturday. 

Idaho got off to a 2-0 lead just 6:33 into the game thanks to goals from Jade Miller (3^rd) and Mark Rassell (13^th). Miller capitalized on a turnover pass 4:22 into the game from the Growlers right in the high slot. He stepped into a shot and beat Luke Cavallin far side. Rassell scored on the power-play just 2:11 later as he was setup by Jack Becker at the side of the crease. The Growlers scored three unanswered goals to end the third period with the first coming from Tyler Weiss (3^rd) at 8:23. Brock Caufield would score back-to-back goals his first with 6:33 left in the period and his second with just 18 seconds to take a 3-2 lead into the dressing room after 20 minutes. 

Neither team scored in the second period as the Steelheads outshot the Growlers 13-5. 

3:32 into the third period A.J. White (10^th) tied the game at 3-3. Despite outshooting the Rush 21-8 in the first period Idaho trailed 1-0 after the first as Kelti Jeri-Leon (3^rd) scored 4:33 into the game on a rebound after an initial point shot that was wide off the back boards. On a three on two rush across the offensive blue line Rassell kicked the puck out to the right wing for Wade Murphy. From the right circle Murphy fed White at the near circle where he picked the top right corner. The Steelheads were assessed a penalty with just 2:59 left in regulation and seven seconds into the man advantage Jackson Berezowski (7^th) redirected a point shot home at the top of the crease to hand Newfoundland a 4-3 lead. Idaho would then get a power-play with 1:47 left in regulation and would pull Bryan Thomson for a six on four advantage. Cody Haiskanen (2^nd) raised into the offensive zone and fired a wrist shot from the right circle beating Cavallin near side to tie the score with 73 seconds left in regulation. 

The Steelheads were outshot 7-5 in overtime. Zane Franklin and Mark Rassell were denied by Cavallin in the shootout while Issac Johnson and Zach O’Brien scored for the Growlers to give Newfoundland the 5-4 lead.   

Bryan Thomson made 25 saves on 29 shots in the loss while Luke Cavallin made 32 saves on 36 shots in the win. 

BOX SCORE

ICCU Three Stars

1. Brock Caufield (NFL, 2-0-2, +1, 4 shots)
2. Mark Rassell (1-1-2, +2, 5 shots) 
3. Issac Johnson (NFL, 0-4-4, +1, 2 shots) 

GAME NOTES

• Idaho finished 2-for-3 on the power-play while Newfoundland was 1-for-4. 
• Idaho outshot Newfoundland 36-30.   
• Willie Knierim (IR), Ben Zloty (DNP), Nick Canade (DNP), and Ty Pelton-Byce (INJ) did not dress for Idaho. 
• Jade Miller and A.J. White scored for their second straight games. 
• Jack Becker tallied an assist increasing his point streak to three games. 
• Mark Rassell recorded his team leading eighth multi-point game of the season. 

Call the Steelheads Front Office at 208-383-0080 for ticket packages for this season. 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”.