IDAHO STEELHEADS WEEKLY – WEEK 10 – 12/27/23

IDAHO STEELHEADS WEEKLY – WEEK 10 – 12/27/23

BOISE, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (@Steelheads), proud ECHL (@ECHL) affiliate of the Dallas Stars (@DallasStars), headed into the holiday break with the best record in the ECHL (21-5-0-1) and returned back to the ice today leaving tomorrow for a three-in-three weekend in Allen. 

THIS WEEK’S GAMES
Friday, Dec. 29 at Allen | 6:10 p.m. (MT) 
Saturday, Dec. 30 at Allen | 6:10 p.m. (MT) 
Sunday, Dec. 31 at Allen | 5:10 p.m. (MT) 

LAST WEEK’S GAMES

Friday, Dec. 22 vs. Utah | 3-2 Win
HighlightsFull Recap Box Score

Idaho trailed 1-0 after the first period before Patrick Kudla tied the game at 11:26 of the second period. Utah took a 2-1 lead through 40 minutes scoring with 2:38 left in the middle frame. Colton Kehler tied the game at 2-2 just 4:27 into the third period before Wade Murphy scored on the power-play with 6:21 left in regulation to give the Steelheads a 3-2 win. Jared Moe made 22 saves on 24 shots in the victory as Idaho outshot Utah 41-24. 

Saturday, Dec. 23 at Utah | 6-1 Win 
Highlights Full Recap Box Score 

Idaho led 1-0 after the first period as Keaton Mastrodonato netted the lone goal of the period with just 2:26 left. 82 seconds into the second stanza Wade Murphy made it 2-0 but five minutes later Tyler Penner got the Grizzlies on the board as the Steelheads led 2-1 after two periods. Idaho took a 5-1 lead just 6:53 into the third period as Mark Rassell scored a power-play goal 86 seconds in and then an even strength goal 2:20 later. Ty Pelton-Byce made it 5-1 with 13:07 to play in the game and then would get his second of the game with just 2:14 left in regulation handing the Steelheads a 6-1 victory. Jared Moe made 29 saves on 30 shots in the win while Idaho outshot Utah 33-30. 

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS

1. Idaho Steelheads (21-5-0-1, 43pts, .796)
2. Kansas City Mavericks (29-7-1-0, 41pts, .732)
3. Tulsa Oilers (13-10-3-0, 29pts, .58)
4. Wichita Thunder (10-13-4-0, 24pts, .444)
5. Rapid City Rush (11-14-2-0, 24pts, .444)
6. Allen Americans (10-16-1-0, 21pts, .389)
7. Utah Grizzlies (8-17-0-0, 16pts, .320) 

RECENT INDIVIDUAL MILESTONES 

December 23: Matt Register recorded his 346^th career ECHL assist moving into third all-time in league history amongst league defensemen. 

December 22: Everett Sheen picked up his 150^th win as Head Coach while Wade Murphy played in his 200^th career ECHL game. 

UPCOMING INDIVIDIUAL MILESTONES 

#18 A.J. White is one goal shy of 100 in his Idaho career and two games shy of 500 professional games. 
#27 Jack Becker is four games shy of 100 career professional games. 
#43 Matt Register is one assist shy of tying Tom Nemeth for second all-time amongst ECHL defensemen. 
#92 Mark Rassell is two games shy of 100 professional games. 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

#3 Nick Canade
Has played in seven straight games. 
Last Week (2GP, 1 shot) 

#6 Wade Murphy
Leads the ECHL in points (38) … tied for second in goals (16) and plus-minus (+20) … tied for fourth in assists (22) … Seventh in shots (97) … Tied for fifth in power-play goals (5) … Has a goal in back-to-back games and a point in four straight games (2G, 3A) … Has a point in 13 of his last 17 games (10-14-26) and in 20 of 27 games … Has a goal in 15 of 27 games. 
Last Week: (2GP, 2-2-4, +2, 4 shots) – Scored his fifth power-play goal of the season on Friday in his 200^th career ECHL game while adding an assist … Tallied a goal and an assist on Saturday again, leading the team with 12 multi-point games. 

#8 Keaton Mastrodonato
Leads all ECHL rookies in goals (16), shots (112) and third in points (28) … Tied for second amongst league rookies in power-play goals (5) and points (12) … Second in the entire league in shots (112) and tied for second in goals (12) … Has a goal in six of his last 10 games (7G) … Has a point in 14 of his 20 games (15-7-22) and a goal in 12 of his last 20 … Has a point in 17 of 27 games and a goal in 14 of 27 games. 
Last Week: (2GP, 1-0-1, +2, 6 shots) – Snapped a three-game goal-less drought on Saturday night. 

#10 Romain Rodzinski
Tallied two assists in his professional debut on Friday finishing plus-one with three shots … Recorded an assist on Saturday finishing plus-three with two shots. 
Last Week: (2GP, 0-3-3, +4, 5 shots) 

#13 Francesco Arcuri 
Has one assist in his last seven games … Goal-less in last seven games. 
Last Week: (2GP, 0-0-0, +1, 7 shots) – Tied a career high with four shots on Saturday. 

#17 Ty Pelton-Byce
Leads the ECHL in plus-minus (+23) … Tied for seventh in points (30) … Tied for fourth in assists (22) … Has points in back-to-back games (2G, 3A) … Has a point in seven of his last 10 games (4-11-15) and 12 of his last 16 games (7-13-20). 
Last Week (2GP, 2-3-5, +2, 5 shots) – Recorded (2G, 2A) on Saturday for the second time this season, third time in career … Was plus-four on Saturday for the third time this season while he snapped a five-game goal-less drought. 

#18 A.J. White
Tied for eighth in the ECHL in points (29) … Tied for fourth in goals (13) … Tied for second in power-play goals (7) … Pointless in his last three games … Goal-less in his last four games … Has a point in nine of his last 14 games (7-8-15) and 13 of his last 19 games (10-13-23) … Has a point in 19 of 27 games. 
Last Week: (2GP, 0-0-0, 2 shots) 

#19 Sam Sternschein 
Made his Steelheads debut last Friday after being claimed off waivers from Toledo earlier in the week. 
Last Week: (2GP, 0-0-0, +1, 3 shots) 

#21 Cooper Jones
Healthy scratch on Friday … Recoded three shots on Saturday night finishing plus-one … Has played five games for Idaho this year. 
Last Week: (1GP, 0-0-0, +1, 3 shots) 

#23 Demetrios Koumontzis
Played in his seventh straight game on Friday night before missing Saturday’s game with an upper body injury. 
Last Week: (1GP, 0-0-0, +1, 3 shots) 

#26 Jade Miller
Only player on the roster currently on the injured reserve … Has missed 10 straight games. 

#27 Jack Becker
Has points in four of his last five games (3-4-7) … Has pints in eight of his last 13 games (6-7-13) and points in 12 of his last 18 games (8-10-18). 
Last Week: (2GP, 0-2-2, +2, 5 shots) – Tallied two assists on Saturday night for his seventh multi-point game of the year, third in last five games. 

#29 Willie Knierim
Has points in three of his last five games (1-2-3) … Has played in eight straight games. 
Last Week: (2GP, 0-0-0, -1, 1 shot) 

#34 Colton Kehler
Last Week: (2GP, 1-0-1, 1 shot, +2) – Snapped a seven-game goal/point-less drought with a goal on Friday night. 

#43 Matt Register
Tied for fifth amongst ECHL defensemen in points (21) and tied for third in assists (19) … Tied for sixth amongst league defenders in power-play assists (7) and points (8) … Has an assist in four of his last five games (6A) … Has points in eight of his last 11 games (1-12-23) and 12 of his last 18 games (2-16-18). 
Last Week: (2GP, 0-2-2, +2, 2 shots) – Tallied two assists on Saturday for his sixth multi-point game of the season, second in last four games. 

#44 Ben Zloty
Has a goal in two of his last three games (2G) … Played in his ninth consecutive game on Friday but missed Saturday night’s game with an illness. 
Last Week (1GP, 0-0-0, -1, 1 shot) 

#47 Patrick Kudla
Second amongst ECHL defensemen in points (26) … Tied for second in assists (21) … Leading all league defenders in plus-minus (+20) and second amongst all skaters … Has a point in three straight games (1-3-4) and eight of his last 10 games (3-13-16). 
Last Week: (2GP, 1-3-4, +3, 9 shots) – Scored a goal and added two assists on Friday for his seventh multi-point game of the year, fourth in last seven games. 

#74 Cody Haiskanen
Point/goal-less in last six games. 
Last Week: (2GP, 0-0-0, -1, 3 shots) 

#92 Mark Rassell
Leads the ECHL in goals (20) and tied for game-winning scores (5) … Tied for fifth in points (32) … Tied for fourth in power-play goals (5) … Has a goal/point in three of his last four games (5-1-6) … Has a point in nine of his last 16 games (10-7-17) … Has a point in 18 of 27 games and a goal in 15 of 27 games. 
Last Week: (2GP, 2-1-3, 8 shots) – Recorded his third three-point game of the season on Saturday (2G, 1A), his team leading fifth multi-goal game of the year. 

TEAM NOTES

GOAL SCORING AT A PREMIUM
Idaho has scored a league high 130 goals in 27 games for an average of 4.81 goals for per game. Saturday night was the third time this year they have scored six goals in a game as they have scored four or more goals in 16 of their last 18 outings and in 23 of 27 games on the season. Their 55 goals in the second period and 44 in the third period are the most by any team. Mark Rassell leads all ECHL skaters with 20 goals while Wade Murphy and Keaton Mastrodonato are tied with 16. A.J. White is tied for fifth with 13 while five skaters have 10 or more goals this season; Jack Becker 10. 

SHOOTING GALLERY 
Idaho leads the league averaging 38.38 shots for per game this season. They have tallied 40 or more shots in 12 of 27 games after tallying 41 last Friday night, they had been held to under 40 in the previous six games, after hitting 40 or more in the previous nine games. They have only not his 30 shots four times this year. They lead the league in shots for all three periods this year; 1^st – 347, 2^nd- 258, and 3^rd – 323. Keaton Mastrodonato leads all ECHL rookies with 112 shots and is second amongst all skaters. Mark Rassell is fourth with 107 and Wade Murphy is seventh with 97. 

HOME COOKING  
The Steelheads have the most wins on home ice this year with a 11-3-0-1 record. They have sold out in 14 of 15 games including 12 straight and have scored four or more goals in 13 outings outscoring their opponents 75-51 this year at the Idaho Central Arena. 

ROAD WARRIORS 
The Steelheads are tied for second in road victories posting a (10-2) record away from Boise having won seven of their last eight on the road. 

SCORING FIRST 
The Steelheads are tied for third with 16 first goals this season posting a 14-1-0-1 record. They surrendered the game’s first goal in the previous two games before last Saturday. 

SURGING POWER-PLAY 
Idaho has scored a man advantage goal in 12 of their last 13 games (17-for-39, 44%) dating back to Nov. 24. They are first in the ECHL (31-for-99, 31.3%) overall and first on the road (15-for-36, 41.7%). 

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Goals: Mark Rassell (20) – First in ECHL 
Assists: Ty Pelton-Byce (22) – Tied fourth in ECHL 
Points: Wade Murphy (38) – First in ECHL 
Plus/Minus: Ty Pelton-Byce (+23) – First in ECHL 
PIMs: Wade Murphy (37) 
PPGs: A.J. White (7) 
GWGs: Wade Murphy (5) 
Shots: Keaton Mastrodonato (112) – Second in ECHL 
Wins: Bryan Thomson (8) 
GAA: Bryan Thomson (2.90) 
SV%: Bryan Thomson (.902)