IDAHO STEELHEADS WEKLY – WEEK 11 – 1/2/24

IDAHO STEELHEADS WEKLY – WEEK 11 – 1/2/24 

BOISE, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (@Steelheads), proud ECHL (@ECHL) affiliate of the Dallas Stars (@DallasStars), enter the 2024 calendar year second overall in the ECHL with an overall record of (22-7-0-1, 45pts) and welcome the Reading Royals to Boise this week for just the second time in franchise history, the first since October 2016. The Steelheads are (3-3-0) all-time vs. Reading including (3-2-0) in Idaho. 

THIS WEEK’S GAMES
Wednesday, Jan. 3 vs. Reading | 7:10 p.m. 
Friday, Jan. 5 vs. Reading | 7:10 p.m. 
Saturday, Jan. 6 vs. Reading | 7:10 p.m. 

LAST WEEK’S GAMES

Friday, Dec. 29 at Allen | 6-2 Loss 
HighlightsFull Recap Box Score
Francesco Arcuri gave Idaho a 1-0 lead 6:17 into the game on his seventh goal of the season, his first on the power-play. After Allen tied the score at 1-1 with 5:50 left in the opening frame on a power-play score of their own they would score three times in the middle period to capture a 4-1 lead heading into the third period. The Steelheads surrendered two goals in the third period before Demetrios Koumontzis scored his first professional goal with 5:55 left in regulation. David Tendeck made 24 saves on 30 shots in his Steelheads debut. The loss was Idaho’s largest margin of defeat this season.  

Saturday, Dec. 30 at Allen | 5-1 Win 
HighlightsFull Recap Box Score
A.J. White tallied two assists in his 500^th professional game as the Steelheads scored four goals in the second period including three in a span of 4:50. Wade Murphy scored a goal in the first period to get Idaho on the board first for the second straight night as Matt Register scored a four on three power-play goal early in the second period to make it 2-0. Ty Pelton-Byce increased the lead to 3-0 before Romain Rodzisnki potted his first professional goal. Francesco Arcuri scored on the power-play for his second consecutive game late in the frame to make it 5-0. Allen grabbed a goal with 6:01 left in the game as David Tendeck made 19 saves on 20 shots in his first win as a Steelhead. 

Sunday, Dec. 31 at Allen | 5-4 Loss
HighlightsFull Recap Box Score
Idaho fell behind 3-0 after the first period and then 5-0 just 7:33 into the second period. Mark Rassell and Jack Becker provided second period goals to cut the deficit down to 5-2 after 40 minutes of play. Becker would then score a power-play goal at 8:22 of the final period and Rassell scored a six on five goal with 1:36 left in regulation but the Steelheads would eventually lose 5-4. David Tendeck made 29 saves on 34 shots. 

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS

1. Kansas City Mavericks (23-7-1-0, 47pts, .758)
2. Idaho Steelheads (22-7-0-1, 45pts, .750)
3. Rapid City Rush (14-14-2-0, 30pts, .500)
4. Tulsa Oilers (13-13-3-0, 29pts, .500)
5. Allen Americans (12-17-1-0, 25pts, .417) 
6. Wichita Thunder (10-16-4-0, 24pts, .400)
7. Utah Grizzlies (11-17-0-0, 22pts, .393)

 RECENT INDIVIDUAL MILESTONES

December 30: Matt Register tallied a goal and two assists moving into sole possession of second all-time amongst ECHL defenders with 347 career assists. A.J. White played in his 500^th professional game tallying two assists while Mark Rassell recorded an assist in his 100^th professional game. 

December 29: Matt Register tallied his 346^th career assist tying Tom Nemeth for second all-time amongst ECHL defenseman. 

UPCOMING INVIDIUAL MILESTONES

#17 Ty Pelton-Byce is 11 games shy of 100 career ECHL games. 
#18 A.J. White is one goal shy of 100 as a Steelhead.  
#27 Jack Becker is one game shy of 100 career professional games. 
#34 Colton Kehler is eight games shy of 150 as a Steelhead. 
#43 Matt Register is eight games shy of 700 career professional games and two shy of 100 as a Steelhead. 
#47 Patrick Kudla is 11 games shy of 100 career ECHL games and as a Steelhead. 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

#3 Nick Canade
Has played in 10 straight games … Point-less in last seven games after recording a career high (1G, 2A) on Dec. 13. 
Last Week: (3GP, 0-0-0, 7 shots)  

#6 Wade Murphy
Leads the ECHL in points (41) … Tied for third in goals (17) … Tied for first in plus-minus (+20) … Tied for fifth in assists (24) … Fifth in shots (114) … Tied for third in power-play goals (5) … Has points in back-to-back games (1-2-3) … Has a goal in three of his last five games and a point in six of his last seven games (3-5-9) … Has a goal in 16 of 30 games. 
Last Week: (3GP, 1-2-3, 17 shots) – Recorded a career high nine shots Saturday and tallied two assists on Sunday for his team leading 13^th multi-point game, his seventh time recording two assists.   

#8 Keaton Mastrodonato
Leads all ECHL rookies in goals (16), shots (117) and third in points (31) … Tied for second amongst league rookies in power-play goals (5) and points (14) … Fourth in the entire league in shots (117) and tied for fourth in goals (16) … Has just one goal in his last seven games … Has a point in three of his last four games (1-3-4) … Has a point in 19 of 30 games and a goal in 14 of 30 games.  
Last Week: (3GP, 0-3-3, 5 shots) – Tallied two assists on Saturday night for his ninth multi-point game of the season. 

#10 Romain Rodzinski
Has points in three of his first five professional games (1-3-4). 
Last Week: (3GP, 1-0-1, 6 shots) – Scored his first professional goal on Saturday night in his fourth career game. 

#13 Francesco Arcuri
Has a point in three straight games (2-2-4) …Has goals in two of his last three games after going seven games without one. 
Last Week: (3GP, 2-2-4, 6 shots) – Scored his first power-play goal of the season on Friday and his second on Saturday … Recorded his second multi-point game Saturday (1-1-2) his first since Dec. 2 (9 games). 

#17 Ty Pelton-Byce
Tied for the league lead in plus-minus (+20) … Tied for 10^th in points (32) … Tied for seventh in assists (23) … Has points in four of his last five games (2-5-7) … Has a goal in two of his last four games (3G) … Has a point in nine of his last 13 games (5-12-17) … Scored a goal last night and has three in his last three games.   
Last Week: (3GP, 1-1-2, 10 shots) 

#18 A.J. White
Tied for 10^th in the ECHL in points (32) and tied for seventh in goals (13) … Tied for second in power-play goals (7) …  Goal-less in his last seven games … Has a point in two of his last three games (0-3-3) … Has a point in 21 of 30 games … Tallied two assists last night in his 500^th professional game for his sixth multi-point game of the year. 
Last Week: (3GP, 0-3-3, 7 shots) – Snapped a three-game point-less skid with an assist on Friday night and then tallied two assists on Saturday night in his 500^th career professional game for his sixth multi-point game of the season.  

#19 Sam Sternschein 
Has played five straight games for Idaho since making his debut on Dec. 22. 
Last Week: (3GP, 0-0-0, 1 shot) 

#21 Cooper Jones
Has played eight games for Idaho this year. 
Last Week: (3GP, 0-0-0, 2 shots) 

#23 Demetrios Koumontzis
Has played in 10 straight games. 
Last Week: (3GP, 1-0-1, +3, 9 shots) – Scored his first professional goal on Friday night.  

#26 Jade Miller
Only player on the roster currently on the injured reserve … Has missed 13 straight games. 

#27 Jack Becker
Has points in three of his last four games (2-3-5) and six of his last eight games (5-5-10). 
Last Week: (3GP, 2-1-3, +1, 16 shots) – Scored his second multi-goal game of the season on Sunday and recorded a Steelhead single game high this year with 10 shots.  

#29 Willie Knierim
Has points in five of his last eight games (1-3-4) … Goal-less in last seven games … Has played in 11 straight outings.
Last Week: (3GP, 0-0-0, +1, 5 shots) 

#34 Colton Kehler
Has one goal in his last 11 games. 
Last Week: (2GP, 0-0-0, 2 shots) 

#43 Matt Register
Fifth amongst ECHL defensemen in points (25) and fourth in assists (22) … Tied for fourth amongst league defenders in power-play points (11) … Has points in two of his last three games (1-3-4) … Has a point in six of his last eight games (1-9-10) 
Last Week: (3GP, 1-3-4, 6 shots) – Scored a goal and added two assists on Saturday for his seventh multi-point game of the year, snapped a nine-game goal-less drought. 

#44 Ben Zloty
Has missed four straight games. 

#47 Patrick Kudla
Second amongst ECHL defensemen in points (30) … Second in assists (22) … Tied for the league lead in plus-minus (+20) … Has a point in three of his last four games (0-5-5) and five of his last six games (1-7-8) … Has a point in 10 of his last 13 games (3-17-20). 
Last Week: (3GP, 0-4-4, 8 shots) – Tallied three assists on Sunday for his eighth multi-point game of the season, third three-point game. 

#74 Cody Haiskanen
Point/goal-less in last eight games. 
Last Week: (3GP, 0-0-0, +3, 6 shots) – Set a career high Sunday with five shots. 

#92 Mark Rassell
Leads the ECHL in goals (22) and tied for second in game-winning scores (5) … Tied for sixth in points (35) … Tied for third in power-play goals (5) … Second in the league in shots (121) … Has a point in three of his last four games (4-2-6) … Has points five of his last seven games (7-2-9) … Has a point in 20 of 30 games and a goal in 16 of 30 games. 
Last Week: (3GP, 2-1-3, 13 shots) – Tallied an assist Saturday in his 100^th career professional game … Scored his team leading sixth multi-goal game on Sunday. 

TEAM NOTES

GOAL SCORING AT A PREMIUM
Idaho has scored a league high 141 goals in 30 games for an average of 4.70 goals for per game. They have scored four or more goals in 18 of their last 21 outings and in 25 of 30 games on the season. Their 61 goals in the second period and 47 in the third period are the most by any team. Mark Rassell leads all ECHL skaters with 22 goals having scored seven over his last seven games. Wade Murphy is tied for second with 17 and has three over his last five games while A.J. White is goal-less in his last seven games but is tied for seventh with 13. Keaton Mastrodonato leads all league rookies with 16 and is tied for third in the ECHL despite having one in his last seven games. 

SHOOTING GALLERY 
Idaho leads the league averaging 38.87 shots for per game this season. They have tallied 40 or more shots in 15 of 30 games and have done so in four of their last five decisions. They have only not hit 30 shots four times this year. Keaton Mastrodonato leads all ECHL rookies with 117 shots and is fourth amongst all skaters. Mark Rassell is second in the league with 121 and Wade Murphy is fifth with 114. 

HOME COOKING 
This week the Steelheads begin a season long six-game home-stand. Idaho is tied for 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. 

PLAYING WITH A LEAD
The Steelheads are tied for second with 18 first goals this season posting a 15-2-0-1 record. They are 8-2-0 when leading after the first period and 16-0 when leading after two periods. 

SURGING POWER-PLAY 
Idaho has scored a man advantage goal in 15 of their last 16 games (21-for-53, 39.6%) dating back to Nov. 24. They are first in the ECHL (35-for-1113, 31%) overall and first on the road (19-for-50, 38%). They have 10 multi-power-play goal games. 

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Goals: Mark Rassell (22) – First in ECHL 
Assists: Patrick Kudla (25) – Fifth in ECHL  
Points: Wade Murphy (41) – First in ECHL 
Plus/Minus: Ty Pelton-Byce, Patrick Kudla, Wade Murphy (+20) – First in ECHL 
PIMs: Wade Murphy (49) 
PPGs: A.J. White (7) 
GWGs: Wade Murphy, Mark Rassell (5) 
Shots: Mark Rassell (121) – Second in ECHL 
Wins: Bryan Thomson (8) 
GAA: Bryan Thomson (2.90) 
SV%: Bryan Thomson (.902)