THREE GOALS IN 85 SECONDS DURING THIRD PERIOD LIFT IDAHO TO COME FROM BEHIND WIN

THREE GOALS IN 85 SECONDS DURING THIRD PERIOD LIFT IDAHO TO COME FROM BEHIND WIN

RAPID CITY, SD – The Idaho Steelheads (32-13-2-1, 67pts) defeated the Rapid City Rush (19-27-2-0, 40pts) Saturday night by a final score of 5-4 in front of 2,758 fans. Idaho and Rapid City will meet tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. 

Idaho trailed 4-2 just 2:24 into the third period before Jordan Kawaguchi (4:41), Ben Zloty (5:31), and Mark Rassell (6:06) chipped in for three goals in an 85 second span lifting Idaho to a 5-4 victory extending the club’s point streak to seven games (6-0-1) and (9-2-1) over their last 12 games. 

For the second straight game Blake Bennett (20^th) gave the Rush a 1-0 lead driving through the right circle he sent a back-hand shot beating Jake Kielly short-side 95 seconds into the game. Idaho went on the game’s first power-play with 5:48 left in the period and with 3:53 to play in the stanza Francesco Arcuri (13^th) tied the scored at 1-1 with a man advantage score. Matt Register from the top of the point fed A.J. White at the right dot. From there White slid the puck through the high slot finding the stick of Arcuri back door for a tap in goal. Shots were 13-7 Steelheads in the period. 

Rapid City led 3-2 after 40 minutes of play. Just 4:10 into the second period Logan Nelson (15^th) gave the Rush a 2-1 lead with a shot from the blue line. 3:55 later Patrick Kudla (7^th) tied the score at 2-2 with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle into the top far corner with assists going to Matt Register and A.J. White. The Rush re-took the lead with 3:09 remaining in the frame on a goal from Simon Boyko (6^th) as shots favored Rapid City 15-5 in the middle frame.

Rapid City took a 4-2 lead 2:24 into the third period on a goal from James Hardie (10^th) before the Steelheads mounted their comeback. At 4:41 Jordan Kawaguchi (2^nd) sent a wrist shot from inside the near dot into the top near corner pulling the Steelheads within one. Patrick Kudla gloved the puck down at the center circle and fed Ty Pelton-Byce down the left wing where he then slid it to his right to Kawaguchi. 50 seconds later Ben Zloty (7^th) tied the game at 4-4 cashing in on a rebound at the near side of the crease. Colton Kehler from the right-wing wall fed Trevor Zins at the point where he blasted a shot towards the net and Zloty was there ready for the rebound. At 6:06 Mark Rassell (28^th) was left all alone backdoor on the near side of the crease for a tap into the back of the net. Behind the net Parker Aucoin won a puck battle and fed A.J. White at the right dot where he connected with Rassell for the eventual game winner.   

Jake Kielly made 25 saves 29 shots in his Steelheads debut for the win. Matt Radomsky turned aside 24 of the 29 shots he faced in the loss. 

BOX SCORE

ICCU Three Stars

1. Mark Rassell (1-0-1, -1, 5 shots) 
2. Patrick Kudla (1-1-2, 5 shots) 
3. A.J. White (0-3-3) 

GAME NOTES

• Idaho went 1-for-1 on the power-play while Rapid City was 0-for-1… Idaho has now scored a power-play goal in six straight games.  
• Shots were even at 29. 
• Idaho is 65-26-2 all-time vs. Rapid City and 33-15-2 in Rapid City. Idaho improved to 9-1 against the Rush this season including 7-0 in Rapid City.   
• Sam Sternschein (IR), Lynden McCallum (IR), Bryan Thomson (IR), Willie Knierim (INJ), Wade Murphy (INJ) and Bailey Conger (DNP), did not dress for Idaho.
• The Steelheads have points in six straight games (6-0-1) and are (9-2-1) in their last 12 games.  
• Ty Pelton-Byce increased his point streak to a career long 10 games with an assist. 
• Francesco Arcuri has points in five straight games after scoring on the power-play.  
• A.J. White has a point in three straight games after recording three assists for his 10^th multi-point game of the season. 
• Matt Register tallied two assists and is second amongst ECHL defenders with 42 points tied for third amongst all league skaters with 36 assists. 
• Mark Rassell leads the league with 28 goals and eight game winners. He has six goals over his last six games. 
• Patrick Kudla has points in three straight games after scoring a goal and adding an assist. 
• Parker Aucoin picked up his first pro point with an assist in his Idaho debut. 

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