IDAHO STEELHEADS WEEKLY – WEEK 16 – 2/6/24

IDAHO STEELHEADS WEEKLY – WEEK 16 – 2/6/24

Forward Wade Murphy extended his point-streak to a career long seven games and forward Ty Pelton-Byce tied his career long six-game point-streak notching a goal and an assist on Saturday night in a 5-4 win over Allen as the Steelheads completed the three-game series sweep over the Americans in Boise. 

The Steelheads (29-13-1-1) take on the Utah Grizzlies (20-23-1-0) for a home and home series which features Idaho in Utah Friday and then back at the Idaho Central Arena Saturday night. Idaho enters the week second in the Mountain Division trailing Kansas City by seven points, second in the Western Conference, and fifth in the entire ECHL with a winning percentage of 0.682. 

This past week the Steelheads completed the three-game sweep in Boise wrapping up the head-to-head season series with Allen going 8-3 against the Americans including 7-1 in Boise at the Idaho Central Arena. 

LAST WEEK’S GAMES

Wednesday, Jan. 31 vs. Allen Americans | 3-2 OTW 

Highlights Full Recap Box Score
Wade Murphy scored his 22^nd goal of the season late in the first period but the Americans scored a minute later as the game was tied 1-1 through 20 minutes of play. Allen broke the tie with 15 seconds left in the middle frame and held a 2-1 advantage through 40 minutes. Ben Zloty scored for his second straight game finding the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season at 7:54 of the third eventually forcing overtime. Ty Pelton-Byce scored his 10^th goal of the season 58 seconds into overtime handing Idaho a 3-2 victory while goaltender Bryan Thomson made 31 saves on 33 shots in the win. 

Friday, Feb. 2 vs. Allen Americans | 4-2 WIN 

Highlights Full Recap Box Score
After a 1-1 tie through 20 minutes of play on a goal from defenseman Nicholas Canade the Steelheads received second period goals from forwards A.J. White and Mark Rassell in the first half of the frame while Canade scored his second of the night with 1:38 left making it a 4-1 Idaho lead through 40 minutes. The matchup featured a combined 123 penalty minutes (IDH 61, ALN 62) with 102 of them happening in the final 3:37 Bryan Thomson collected the win in net making 32 saves on 34 shots. 

Saturday, Feb. 3 vs. Allen Americans | 5-4 WIN 

Highlights Full Recap Box Score
Idaho took a 2-0 lead in the opening six minutes of play as Matt Register and Ty Pelton-Byce scored 36 seconds apart from one another. Allen was able to answer scoring a pair of their own in the first period with the score even at 2-2 through 20 minutes. Idaho wound up taking a 5-2 lead through 40 minutes with Bailey Conger scoring a power-play goal 92 seconds into the period, Mark Rassell moments later even strength, and Will Merchant even strength with just 3:29 left in the stanza. Allen pulled within two goals scoring 40 seconds into the third period and then within one grabbing a power-play score at 9:00. Bryan Thomson made some massive safes down the stretch finishing the game with 16 as the Steelheads hung on for the win. 

THE WEEK AHEAD 
Idaho and Utah drop the puck on Friday night from the Maverick Center at 7:10 p.m. as you can listen to the game on the Steelheads flagship station 95.3 FM KTIK “The Ticket”  and watch on FloHockey. Then Saturday night the Steelheads host Utah at the Idaho Central Arena at 7:10 p.m. before Idaho embarks on one of two season long six-game road swings. If you can’t make it out to the game on Saturday, you can listen on KTIK and watch on FloHockey and KTVB 24/7 (Channel 7.2). 

Idaho is 4-0-0-0 vs. Utah this season and 1-0-0-0 in Boise. With 28 games remaining on the regular season schedule for Idaho 10 of them will come against Utah including six of the final eight games. Idaho defeated Utah 5-4 back on Oct. 27 and 4-1 the following night in Utah while the two clubs played a home and home right before the holiday break. The Steelheads collected a 3-2 win in Boise on Dec. 22 and then traveled to the Maverick Center the following morning and defeated the Grizzlies 6-1 that night. 

The Grizzlies have struggled this season when it comes to special teams converting with the third lowest power-play (22-for-139, 15.8%) and the worst penalty kill (132-for-139, 73.4%) while the Steelheads have the league’s top ranked power-play (43-for-157, 27.4%) and the eighth best penalty kill (134-for-165, 81.2%). 

Utah picked up four out of a possible six points in a three-in-three down in Tulsa over the weekend with two of the three games going to overtime to slide into fourth place in the Mountain Division. The Grizzlies are (6-1-1) in their last eight games with seven of the games being decided by two goals or fewer.  

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

#3 Nick Canade scored his first multi-goal game of his Idaho career on Friday, it was his 82^nd career game as a Steelhead. 

#6 Wade Murphy is on a career long seven-game point streak (3G, 6A) after recording a goal and an assist Wednesday, an assist Friday, and two assists Saturday. His 52 points are tied for second in the league while his 22 goals are tied for third while leading the league with a +30 rating. He leads the Steelheads with 16 multi-point games where Idaho is 14-1-0-1 when he records two or more points in a game this season. Dating back to last season he has played 97 games for Idaho recording 95 points (43G, 52A). 

#17 Ty Pelton-Byce tied his career long six-game point-streak (2G, 9A) Saturday with a goal and an assist for his 13^th multi-point game of the season. Wednesday night he scored his second overtime winner of the season and his fourth as a Steelhead. Friday night he tallied his 100^th professional point with an assist. Idaho is 9-0 when he scores this season and 13-0 when he records two or more points in a game. Dating back to last season he has played 70 games for Idaho registering 89 points (30G, 59A) and is two points shy of 100 in his ECHL career. He is currently second in the ECHL with a +29 rating. 

#18 A.J. White scored his ninth power-play goal of the season Friday night leading all Steelheads and tied for third in the ECHL. He tallied two assists on Saturday night for his eighth multi-point game of the season and Idaho is now 7-1 when he records two or more points in a game this season. The Captain is two games shy of 500 in his ECHL career. 

#28 Will Merchant scored his third goal of the season on Saturday night and now has nine points (3G, 6A) in 14 games for Idaho this year. He is eight goals shy of 100 career ECHL goals. 

#29 Willie Knierim is four games shy of 100 career ECHL games, all of which have come with Idaho. 

#30 Bryan Thomson is 6-2 over his last eight starts. His 15 wins are tied for second amongst all ECHL goaltenders and tied for first amongst rookies. 

#43 Matt Register had an assist on Friday and scored a power-play goal while adding a helper on Saturday. He has 10 points (3G, 7A) over his last 10 games and his 32 assists, and 38 points are third amongst ECHL defenders. 

#47 Patrick Kudla tallied two assists on Wednesday and Friday night. He leads all Steelheads defenders with 10 multi-point games and has nine points (1G, 8A) over his last 10 games. His 30 assists and 36 points are fourth amongst ECHL defensemen.  

#77 Jordan Kawaguchi made his season debut on Friday night and tallied an assist on Saturday with a +2 rating and six shots on net. 

#92 Mark Rassell appeared in the lineup Wednesday night for the first time since Jan. 3 after his stint in the AHL with Calgary. He tallied an assist Wednesday and scored Friday and Saturday. His 24 goals are tied for the ECHL lead while his six game winners are tied for second. In 34 games this year he has totaled 38 points (24G, 18A). 

TEAM NOTES

GOAL SCORING
Idaho leads the league averaging 4.36 goals for per game having scored a league high 192 through 44 games. They have scored four or more goals in 32 of 44 games posting a record of 29-2-0-1 when doing so. Eight different skaters have hit double digits in goals. 

POWER-PLAY
Idaho leads the league (43-for-157, 27.4%) and are first on the road (23-for-67, 34.3%). They went 2-for-10 in the three-game set vs. Allen and have scored a man advantage goal in four of their last five games. A.J. White leads the club with nine power-play goals and 17 points while Matt Register leads the team with 11 assists. The Steelheads are 19-7-0-1 when scoring a power-play goal this season and 9-2-0-1 when scoring two or more-man advantage goals in a decision. 

PENALTY KILL
Idaho is eighth (134-for-165, 81.2%) and first on the road (70-for-77, 90.9%). Over their last four road games they’re (13-for-13) and over their last seven games combined they’re (26-for-31, 83.9%). 

SCORING FIRST
Idaho is tied for second in the league with 26 first goals posting a record of (21-3-1-1) after taking a 1-0 lead in all three games vs. Allen last week. 

SHOOTING GALLERY
Idaho leads the league averaging 37.77 shots for per game this season. They tallied 38 last Wednesday, 36 Friday, and 39 on Saturday. They’re 24-8-0-1 when outshooting their opponent and 8-2-1-0 when being outshot. They have tallied 40 or more shots in 19 of 44 games while only not hitting 30 shots eight time this year. 

HOME COOKING
Idaho is tied for second in home wins this year with a 15-7-1-1 record. They have sold out in 23 of 24 games including 21 straight having scored four or more goals in 17 outings. 

ROAD WARRIORS
Idaho is 14-6 on the road this season having won seven of their last 11 games. 

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Goals: Mark Rassell (24) – Tied First in ECHL 
Assists: Matt Register/Ty Pelton-Byce (32) – Tied Fifth in ECHL 
Points: Wade Murphy (52) – Second in ECHL 
Plus/Minus: Wade Murphy (+30) – First in ECHL 
PIMs: Nick Canade (80) 
PPGs: A.J. White (9) – Tied Third in ECHL 
GWGs: Mark Rassell (6) – Tied Second in ECHL  
Shots: Wade Murphy (165) – Third in ECHL 
Wins: Bryan Thomson (15) - Tied Second in ECHL 
GAA: Bryan Thomson (2.83)
SV%: Bryan Thomson (.911) 

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”.