MAVERICKS SCORE POWER-PLAY GOAL WITH 34 SECONDS LEFT IN 4-3 WIN OVER STEELHEADS

MAVERICKS SCORE POWER-PLAY GOAL WITH 34 SECONDS LEFT IN 4-3 WIN OVER STEELHEADS

BOISE, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (23-10-1-1, 48pts) fell to the Kansas City Mavericks (25-7-1-1, 51pts) by a final score of 4-3 Friday night in front of a sellout crowd of 5,205 at the Idaho Central Arena. It was the 17^th straight sellout this season and Idaho has now sold-out in 19 of 20 home games. Idaho and Kansas City wrap up their season series tomorrow night at 7:10 p.m.  

Boise native Bailey Conger (1^st) gave the Steelheads a 1-0 lead at 10:29 of the first period with assists from Sam Sternschein and Will Merchant. Sternschein worked his way into the offensive end down the left wing side and fed Conger in the high slot where he fired a wrist shot into the top right corner. 27 seconds later Bradley Schoonbaert tied the game up. With 4:51 to play in the frame Demetros Koumontzis (2^nd) handed back the lead to Idaho. Francesco Arcuri from the right-wing half wall fed Lincoln Erne at the right point. Erne saw Koumontzis inside the left circle and sent a shot pass of his stick into the back of the net. Idaho led 2-1 after the opening 20 minutes of play with shots favoring the Mavericks 10-9. 

39 seconds into the second period Will Merchant (1^st) would increase the Idaho lead to 3-1. Matt Register fed Jack Becker out through center ice. Becker from the left-wing half boards fed Merchant in the left circle where he sent a wrist shot low into the far corner. Patrick Curry got the Mavericks on the board at 11:18 after the Steelheads killed off a five-on-three power-play for 97 seconds. Steelheads led 3-2 through 40 minutes of play despite being outshot 18-9 in the frame. 

Patrick Curry tied the score at 11:18 of the third period at 3-3. Idaho was assessed a two-minute cross checking minor with 1:28 left in the game and Bobby Hampton scored on the man advantage with 34 seconds left to hand Kansas City the 4-3 victory.  

Bryan Thomson made 35 saves on 39 shots in the loss while Dillon Kelley made 24 saves on 27 shots in the loss. 

BOX SCORE

ICCU Three Stars

1. Bradley Schoonbaert (KC, 2-0-2, +1, 6 shots)
2. Jeremy McKenna (KC, 0-2-2, +1, 2 shots) 
3. Will Merchant (IDH, 1-1-2, 2 shots) 

GAME NOTES

• Idaho went 0-for-1 on the power-play while Kansas City was 1-for-3. 
• Idaho was outshot 39-27, just the sixth time this season they have been outshot.   
• Idaho is 23-8-3 all-time vs. Kansas City and 12-2-1 in Boise, ID. 
• Jade Miller (IR) and Ty Pelton-Byce (INJ) did not dress for Idaho. 
• Boise native Bailey Conger scored his first goal as a Steelhead after making his debut on Wednesday night. 
• Will Merchant tallied a goal and an assist on his 30^th birthday. 
• Lincoln Erne recorded an assist for his third straight game. 
• Francesco Arcuri, Sam Sternschein, Jack Becker, and Matt Register also notched an assist. 
• Jack Becker led all skaters with six shots on net. 
• The Steelheads and Mavericks have played five games this season with four of them being decided by one-goal. 

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”.