IDAHO STEELHEADS WEEKLY – WEEK 23 – 3/26/24

IDAHO STEELHEADS WEEKLY – WEEK 23 – 3/26/24

The Idaho Steelheads returned to Boise last week for the first time since Mar. 2 and collected four out of a possible six points in a three-game series vs. the Tulsa Oilers. Francesco Arcuri scored the overtime winner on Wednesday night in a 3-2 victory but two nights later the Oilers won 4-1. Saturday night Idaho bounced back with a 10-1 defeat of Tulsa as Captain A.J. White recorded his 300^th point as a Steelhead scoring two goals and adding an assist. 

Idaho (42-18-2-2, 88pts, 0.688) enters this week second place in the Mountain Division, third in the Western Conference and entire ECHL trailing the Kansas City Mavericks by 10 points with eight games remaining (5 home, 3 away). 

THIS WEEK’S GAMES
Wednesday, Mar. 27 at Utah | 7:10 p.m. 
Friday, Mar. 29 at Utah | 7:10 p.m.
Saturday, Mar. 30 at Utah | 7:10 p.m. 

LAST WEEK’S GAMES
Wednesday, Mar. 20 vs. Tulsa | 3-2 OTW | Highlights Game Recap Box Score 
Friday, Mar. 22 vs. Tulsa | 4-1 LOSS | Highlights Game Recap Box Score 
Saturday, Mar. 23 vs. Tulsa | 10-1 WIN | Highlights Game Recap Box Score 

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS

1. X - Kansas City Mavericks (46-11-4-2, 98pts)
2. X - Idaho Steelheads (42-18-2-2, 88pts)
3. Tulsa Oilers (28-29-6-1, 63pts)
4. Utah Grizzlies (29-32-3-0, 61pts)
5. Allen Americans (27-32-2-1, 57pts)
6. Wichita Thunder (23-32-7-1, 54pts)
7. Rapid City Rush (25-35-3-0, 53pts)

THE WEEK AHEAD

Idaho hits the road for the final time this regular season with a three-game series at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, UTA. You can listen to the action on News Talk 670 KBOI and watch on FloHockey. 

Idaho is 7-1-1-0 vs. Utah this season and 4-0-0-0 in Utah having outscored the Grizzlies 19-7 scoring four or more goals and allowing one goal in three of the four contests. The two club’s last met in Boise for a three-game series with Idaho collecting four out of a possible six points notching a 3-1 victory on Feb. 28 and an 8-7 win two night’s later before falling the next night 3-1. With eight games left in the regular season the Steelheads will meet the Grizzlies five more times (2 home, 3 road). 

In the head-to-head series the Steelheads have outscored the Grizzlies 39-26 scoring four or more goals in six of nine decisions while holding them to under three goals in six of the nine games. 

Idaho is (8-for-23, 34.5%) on the power-play and (19-for-26, 73.1%) on the penalty kill against Utah. The Steelheads have scored a man advantage goal in six of nine games in the head-to-head series including two of four games on the road (3-for-10, 30%). The Grizzlies have scored a power-play goal in four of nine games in the season series including a 4-for-5 night back on Mar. 1. At the Maverik Center Utah has scored a man advantage goal in just one of four games (1-for-10, 10%). 

The Steelheads put up 50 shots back in a 6-5 overtime loss vs. the Grizzlies on Feb. 10, one of three times hitting 50 or more shots this year. Idaho has outshot Utah in seven of the nine games averaging 34.8 shots for per game while surrendering an average of 29.11 shots against per outing. Idaho has produced 30 or more shots in six of nine games and kept Utah to 30 or fewer in five of nine decisions including a season low 17 back on Feb. 9 in a 4-1 win at Utah. 

Matt Register leads the Steelheads in the head-to-head series with 11 points (1G, 10A) in all nine games while Mark Rassell who is still on a PTO with the AHL’s Texas Stars leads the club with six goals in six games. Bryan Thomson has appeared in three games with a (2-0-0) record with a 2.54 goals against average and .897 save percentage having allowed just one goal in two of his three appearances. Jake Kielly is (2-0-0) against the Grizzlies with a 4.00 goals against average and .887 save percentage. 

Kyle Mayhew leads the Grizzlies in the head-to-head series with 11 points (2G, 9A) in all nine games while Brandon Cutler paces the way with four goals in nine games. Will Cranley has appeared in four games posting a (1-3-0) record with a 3.58 goals against average and a .883 save percentage while Dante Giannuzzi has also appeared in four games pitching a (1-2-0) record with a 4.59 goals against average and .876 save percentage making 45 saves back on Feb. 10 in a 6-5 overtime win in Boise. 

Utah was on the road last week for a three-game series in Rapid City and picked up 5-3 win on Wednesday night before falling 4-3 Friday and 4-1 on Saturday night. 

TEAM NOTES

GOAL SCORING AT A PREMIUM
Idaho is second in the league averaging 4.22 goals for per game having scored 270 goals through 64 games… Kansas City leads the league at 4.27 goals for per games (269 in 63 games). The Steelheads have scored four or more goals in 45 of 64 games including 15 of their last 23 games while posting a record of 39-3-1-2 when doing so. 

The 10 goals scored on Saturday night was the second time in franchise history they have produced 10 goals in a contest, first the ECHL era, as Idaho won 10-3 vs. Bakersfield on Dec. 19, 1997 in the WCHL. Idaho’s single game record for most goals in a game was in a 12-3 win vs. Victoria on Feb. 18, 2005. 

Heading into Saturday’s game the Steelheads had just scored just four first period goals in their previous six games but on Saturday they took a 2-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes of play. Then Idaho scored five goals in the second period for the second time this season (Dec. 1 vs. Newfoundland, 8-3 Win). Idaho has scored a league high 110 goals in the middle stanza this year while allowing 67 for the best second period goal differential (+43) in the ECHL. 

Idaho set a franchise record with 290 goals last season in 72 games as they have a chance to break that mark having found the back of the net 270 times with eight games left. 

PLAYING IN CLOSE GAMES 
Idaho is 15-4-2-2 in one goal games this season having played four of their last seven games decided by one goal and seven of the last 18 with a record of (6-0-1). 12 of the last 17 games have been decided by two or fewer goals with a record of (10-1-0-1) since Feb. 16. 

GOING BEYOND REGULATION
Idaho has played four of their last seven games beyond regulation as Francesco Arcuri has scored last two overtime winners.

Idaho improved to 8-2 in overtime this season as Francesco Arcuri scored a four-on-three power-play goal at 2:47 Wednesday night lifting the Steelheads to a 3-2 win over Tulsa. On average the team has won in overtime in 104 seconds with six of eight wins coming 83 seconds or fewer. A list of overtime winning goals this year below: 

Mar. 14 (3-2 vs. TUL, Arcuri, 2:47)
Mar. 13 (2-1 at TR, Arcuri, 1:21)
Nov. 3 (5-4 vs. WIC, Barteaux, 1:23)
Dec. 8 (5-4 at KC, Pelton-Byce, 0:14)
Dec. 13 (5-4 vs. RC, White, 1:06)
Jan. 31 (3-2 vs. ALN, Pelton-Byce, 0:58)
Feb. 23, (4-3 at TUL, Zins, 3:30)
Mar. 11 (5-4 at NFL, Kudla, 1:15)
Mar. 13 (2-1 at TR, Arcuri, 1:21)

SHOOTING GALLERY 
Idaho is second in the league averaging 36.11 shots for per game this season. They’re 26-11-1-2 when outshooting their opponent and 14-6-1-0 when being outshot. They have tallied 40 or more shots in 21 of 64 games after recording 46 on Saturday night, the first time since Feb. 10 hitting 40 or more, 17 games. They have failed to hit 31 or more shots just 15 times this year. 

Defensively speaking Idaho is 16^th in shots against allowing 32.45 shots against per game having given up 30 or more shots in 15 of their last 16 games. Idaho has been outshot in five of their last eight games and 12 of their last 17 games.

TOP OF THE RANKS ON THE POWER-PLAY
Idaho ranks first on the power-play overall (63-for-218, 27.9%) and first on the road (32-for-105, 30.5%) while sitting second at home (31-for-113, 27.4%). They went (6-for-12, 50%) in the three-game series vs. Tulsa including 3-for-3 on Saturday night which was the third time this year they have scored three power-play goals in a game; (Dec. 8 at Kansas City 7-5 Loss, 3-for-4) and (Nov. 1 vs. Wichita 8-2 win, 3-for-5). 

Idaho is 30-9-1-1 when scoring a power-play goal in a game including 15-3-1-1 on home ice and 15-6 on the road. The Steelheads have scored two or more power-play goals in a contest in 16 games with a 12-2-1-1 record including 6-2-1-1 at home and 7-0 on the road. 

HOME COOKING
Idaho is tied for second with a 19-9-2-1 record. They have sold out in 30 of 31 games including 28 straight having scored four or more goals in 20 outings. They have won seven of their last 10 games (7-2-1) dating back to Jan. 31. 

ROAD WARRIORS
The Steelheads have the second-best record on the road with a 23-9-0-1 mark behind the Kansas City Mavericks at 26-3-2-1. In their last 13 games away from Boise dating back to Feb. 14 Idaho is 8-3-0-1. 

SCORING FIRST
Idaho is tied for second in the league with 36 first goals posting a record of (30-3-1-2). Prior to Saturday night the Steelheads had surrendered the game’s first tally in four straight. On the road this year Idaho has taken a 1-0 lead in 17 of 33 games with a 14-3 record. 

STILL IN THE AHL
Jack Becker (Texas), Mark Rassell (Texas), Cody Haiskanen (Texas), Dawson Barteaux (Manitoba), and Dylan Wells (Tucson) all remain in the American Hockey League. 

Becker has appeared in 23 games with Texas totaling seven points (5G, 2A). In 39 ECHL games this year he has totaled 37 points (16G, 21A). 

Rassell has appeared in 13 games with Texas scoring four goals while tallying three points (2G, 1A) in eight games with Calgary earlier this season. In 39 ECHL games this year he has collected 43 points (29G, 14A). 

Haiskanen has appeared in a combined 29 AHL games this year totaling seven points (3G, 4A) including a point in four of his last five games (2G, 2A) with Texas. He played 18 games with Ontario notching a goal and two assists, four games with San Jose, and currently seven games with Texas. In 28 ECHL games this year he has tallied 13 points (2G, 11A) with a +14 rating. 

Barteaux has appeared in 34 games for the Manitoba Moose collecting 10 points (5G, 5A) with a +8 rating. In 15 ECHL games this year he has totaled 13 points (3G, 10A) with a +19 rating. 

Wells has appeared in 15 games with the Tucson Roadrunners posting a (8-5-2) record with a 3.27 goals against average and .897 save percentage with one shutout. With Idaho this year he has won all seven games he’s appeared in with a 3.27 goals against average and a .894 save percentage. 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

#1 Jared Moe was placed on the injured reserve list Saturday (Mar. 23). 

#2 Trevor Zins has appeared in 28 games for Idaho totaling eight points (3G, 5A) with a +10 rating since being acquired from the Indy Fuel on Jan. 11 for future considerations. His last goal came 12 games ago which was an overtime winner on Feb. 25 at Tulsa. The rookie defender has appeared in every game for the Steelheads since joining the club in January.

#3 Nick Canade scored his sixth goal of the season on Saturday in his 100^th game as a Steelhead a night after registering his team leading sixth fighting major of the season. In 100 games for Idaho he has totaled 30 points (10G, 20A) with nine fighting majors and 151 penalty minutes dating back to last season. 

#6 Wade Murphy made his return to the lineup Friday night after missing the previous 15 games with an upper body injury dating back to Feb. 14. On Saturday he scored two goals and an assist which was his team leading 18^th multi-point game of the season while notching his fifth multi-goal game. His three-point game was his fourth time accomplishing that feat this season. Dating back to Jan. 20 he has a point in 11 of 12 games (5G, 11A). With his three-point game Saturday he has not recorded 102 points (45G, 57A) in 102 games as a Steelhead.  

#8 Keaton Mastrodonato scored a goal and an assist Saturday for his 11^th multi-point game of the season. In 41 games with the Steelheads this season he has recorded 38 points (22G, 16A) as he is tied for fifth amongst ECHL rookies in goals. He was re-called from his loan assignment by Texas on Jan. 14 and scored his first AHL goal on Jan. 26 in a 4-3 overtime win at Coachella Valley. The 6-foot, 205lb right-handed shooter scored four goals in 19 games with the Stars before being returned on Mar. 15. Prior to his re-call assignment, the Powell River, BC native was leading all ECHL rookies with 20 goals while his 35 points were third in 36 games. His five power-play goals were tied for third while his nine power-play assists, and 14 points were tied for second. 

#10 Romain Rodzisnki tallied two assists on Saturday for his third career multi-point game snapping a seven-game point-less skid. He has appeared in 36 games since signing a contract out of Concordia University (Sports) on Dec. 19 producing 11 points (3G, 8A). He had appeared in 22 straight games prior to missing Wednesday and Friday’s outings, his first missed game since Feb. 26 at Tulsa. 

#11 Connor Mylymok signed a contract with Idaho last Tuesday (Mar. 19). He played in all three games vs. Tulsa picking up a fighting major on Wednesday and Saturday. 

#13 Francesco Arcuri has a point in three straight games (2G, 1A). He has scored the last two overtime winners for the Steelheads netting a four-on-three power-play goal Wednesday 2:47 into the extra session. The rookie forward has five goals over his last eight games. Since Dec. 23 in 34 games he has totaled 30 points (14G, 16A) after beginning the season with nine points (6G, 3A) in his first 21 games. He leads all Idaho rookies in scoring with 39 points (20G, 19A) in 56 games. 

#17 Ty Pelton-Byce has points in three straight games (1G, 2A). He scored a goal and added an assist on Saturday for his 14^th multi-point game of the year. He is seven games shy of 100 as a Steelhead totaling 99 points (34G, 65A) in his first 93 games. Across parts of three seasons in the ECHL he has accumulated 110 points (37G, 71A) in 108 career games. The Madison, WI native has played six AHL games this season (2 Texas, 4 Henderson). 

#18 A.J. White scored two goals and added an assist on Saturday joining Marty Flichel (2004-11, 436GP, 148-260-408) as the only Steelhead ECHL players to hit the 300-point plateau as White has accumulated 302 points (110G, 192A) in 408 career games. Cal Ingraham collected 381 points (175G, 206A) in the WCHL days with Idaho from 1998-02. White is one goal shy of tying Scott Burt (111) for the third most goals by a skater in franchise history. This season he is the Steelheads second leading scorer with 58 points (24G, 34A) after notching his 12^th multi-point game, third three-point game, and third multi-goal game of the season Saturday. His 24 goals are tied for second on the club while his 12 on the power-play are tied for third in the ECHL while his 22 power-play points are tied for first amongst Idaho skaters. During the calendar year of 2024 White has registered a point in in 18 of 33 games (11G, 15A) including a seven-game point-streak (4G, 7A) from Feb.10-25. 

#19 Lynden McCallum has a goal in two of his last four games scoring on Wednesday night and now has nine points (5G, 4A) in 15 games this season after signing with the Steelheads on Feb. 5. He made his season debut at Tulsa on Feb. 23 playing in his first game since Jan. 13, 2023 after dealing with a season ending injury last year. The third-year pro netted his second professional hat-trick on Mar. 1 while also tallying two assists in an 8-7 win vs. the Utah Grizzlies.  

#21 Jake Murray recorded two assists on Saturday for his first career multi-point game. He has played five games now since being loaned back to Idaho on Mar. 15 after being re-called from his loan assignment by Texas on Dec. 7 making his AHL debut on Dec. 15 and appearing in 19 games for the Stars. The Steelheads acquired the playing rights to the Oakville, ON native from the Cincinnati Cyclones on Oct. 16 and then the following day he signed a one-year contract with the AHL’s Stars.

#23 Demetrios Koumontzis was a healthy scratch on Saturday. He snapped a six-game goal less skid scoring his eighth goal of the season on Mar. 16 and has totaled 18 points (8G, 10A) in 43 games this year. The rookie who joined the club last season after his collegiate career at Arizona State has a point in 10 of his last 19 games (6G, 7A) since Feb. 9. 

#26 Jade Miller is three games shy of 100 as a Steelhead and four games shy of 200 career ECHL games. In 97 games as a Steelhead he has collected 45 points (22G, 23A) after having spent his first two pro seasons with South Carolina. In 196 career ECHL games he has recorded 79 points (34G, 45A). 

#28 Will Merchant since returning to Idaho on Jan. 2 after having spent the last year and a half playing overseas has collected 24 points (6G, 18A) in 34 games. He snapped a 10-game goal-less skid Saturday while picking up an assist for his fourth multi-point game of the season. He has a point in six of his last nine games (1G, 6A) since Feb. 3 has a point in 15 of 21 games (4G, 12A). In the Steelheads ECHL era he ranks fourth in games played (294), fourth in goals (85), sixth in assists (112), and sixth in points (198) having played parts of six seasons in Boise. 

#29 Willie Knierim has a point in three straight games (1G, 3A) and picked up his fourth multi-point game of the year with a goal and an assist Saturday. He scored a goal in his 100^th game as a Steelhead back on Mar. 1 and in parts of three seasons with Idaho has totaled 60 points (35G, 25A) in 109 games. He scored four goals for his first professional hat-trick Jan. 19 joining Tristan King and Mark Derlago as the only three skaters to accomplish the feat in the Steelheads ECHL era. 

#30 Bryan Thomson was re-called from his loan assignment by Texas last Wednesday and backed up for the Stars in a 4-3 overtime loss at Coachella Valley. He returned to Idaho on Friday backing up before making 34 saves on Saturday night in his first start at the Idaho Central Arena since Feb. 10. In 30 games for Idaho this season he has posted a (17-7-1-2) record with 2.81 goals against average and .910 save percentage including winning seven of eight starts from Jan. 19-Feb. 9. His 17 wins are tied for third amongst ECHL rookie goaltenders.

#34 Colton Kehler was placed on the injured reserve list Mar. 15 having missed the last seven games. 

#35 Jake Kielly made 38 saves on Wednesday in the 3-2 overtime win before making 21 saves in the 4-1 loss Friday. Since joining Idaho on Feb. 11 from overseas the fifth year pro has appeared in 12 games posting a (8-4-0) record with a 3.61 goals against average and a .899 save percentage. 

#43 Matt Register is second amongst ECHL defensemen with 57 points and 48 assists while his assists are tied for third amongst all league skaters. Saturday night he tallied two assists for his 13^th multi-point game of the year. He is tied for the team lead with 22 power-play points (3G, 19A) while his 19 assists are tied for fourth amongst all ECHL defensemen and his 22 points are third. He played in his 600^th career ECHL game on Mar. 15 becoming just one of 14 players in ECHL history to hit that mark, just the second defenseman now just 56 games shy of tying Kyle Bushee (660GP) for most all-time in ECHL history amongst a defensemen. The 34-year-old has played parts of 11 seasons in the league with six different teams: Ontario, Atlanta, Allen, Colorado, Toledo, and Idaho accumulating 481 points (109G, 372A). Across his 11 seasons in the league he has been named Defenseman of the Year three times (2014, 2017, 2018) and a First All-Star Team selection six times (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023). In addition, he is one of just six individuals to have won three Kelly Cups (Allen 2016, Colorado 2017-18) while also reaching the finals with Toledo in 2019 and Idaho 2023. He is the ECHL all-time career postseason leader in games played (146) and assists (87) while ranking second in points (114). He is the only defensemen to have been named Most Valuable Player of the Playoffs, doing so with Colorado in 2017. 

#44 Ben Zloty was a healthy scratch on Saturday. He has gone point-less in his last five games after a season long five-game point-streak (1G, 5A) from Feb. 16-Mar.11. Since Jan. 13 the rookie defenseman has tallied a point in 12 of 20 games (4G, 10A). Under an AHL contract with Texas he has skated in four games with the Stars this season. 

#47 Patrick Kudla is third amongst ECHL defenseman with 54 points and 44 assists appearing in 52 games. The second-year Steelhead has a point in four straight games (1G, 7A) and 11 of his last 12 games (4G, 14A) since Feb. 10. He recorded four assists on Saturday for the second time this season, third time in his career, and fourth career four-point game. He has totaled 104 points (18G, 86A) in 111 career games with Idaho. The 27-year-old has played six games in the AHL this season (4 Syracuse, 2 Calgary). 

#77 Jordan Kawaguchi has a point in in 14 of 22 games (6G, 16A) since joining Idaho on Jan. 17 and making his season debut on Feb. 2. Saturday he snapped a seven-game goal-less drought while tallying two assists for his fifth multi-point game of the year, second three-point game. He was last year’s Team MVP finishing second in goals (26) and third in points (52) appearing in 57 games. In 81 games for Idaho he has totaled 74 points (32G, 42A) and in his professional career he has accumulated 99 points (39G, 60A) in 132 career games.  

ACTIVE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Goals: Wade Murphy, A.J. White (24) 
Assists: Matt Register (48) 
Points: Wade Murphy (59) 
Plus/Minus: Wade Murphy (+29)   
PIMs: Nick Canade (92) 
PPGs: A.J. White (12)
GWGs: Wade Murphy, Francesco Arcuri (5)   
Shots: Wade Murphy (189)
Wins: Bryan Thomson (17) 
GAA: Bryan Thomson (2.81)
SV%: Bryan Thomson (.910)