STEELHEADS TAKE GAME ONE OF THREE-IN-THREE WEEKEND VS. GHOST PIRATES, 6-3

SAVANNAH, GA – The Idaho Steelheads (5-3-0-0, 10pts) defeated the Savannah Ghost Pirates (6-2-0-0, 12pts) Friday night by a final score of 6-3 in front of 7,485 fans at Enmarket Arena. Idaho will take on Savannah Saturday at 5 p.m. (MT) and Sunday at 1 p.m. (MT). 

Idaho took an early 2-0 lead just 1:59 into the game. Thomas Caron (4^th) found the back of the net at 1:26 from Ty Pelton-Byce. From the right wing in the neutral zone Pelton-Byce carried the puck to the left circle and sent a wrist shot off the right pad of Keith Kinkaid where Caron found it and jammed it home at the near side of the crease. Just 33 seconds later Matt Register (2^nd) scored from the bottom of the left circle with a wrister into the top right corner as Pelton-Byce on the right-wing half wall fed Register with a secondary helper going to Caron. With 5:37 left in the frame Slava Demin sent a shot from the center of the line to the cage where C.J. Walker (2^nd) at the top of the crease deflected it upstairs making it 3-0. Shots were 9-7 Idaho in the period as the Steelheads went 0-for-2 on the power-play but 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. 

The Steelheads would take a 5-1 lead into the dressing room through 40 minutes of play. Lynden McCallum (2^nd) from inside the right circle made it 4-0 at 4:43 of the frame. Crone from the left side of the goal line fed Pelton-Byce across the crease who then slid it back for McCallum. The Ghost Pirates would finally get on the board as Reece Vitelli sent a wrist shot from the high slot upstairs on Ben Kraws at 12:39 of the stanza. With one minute remaining in the period Nick Canade (1^st) would put Idaho back on top by four. A.J. White carried the puck into the offensive end down the right wing and curled back up the wall feeding Romain Rodzinski in the left circle where he sent a wrist shot off the far pad of Kinkaid which hopped out right to the blade of Canade. Shots were 11-7 Idaho as the Steelheads went 0-for-1 on the man advantage but 1-for-1 on the penalty kill. 

The Ghost Pirates would score the first two goals of the third period pulling their deficit to 5-3. It was Nicholas Zabaneh short-handed at 4:47 and Dennis Cesana on the power-play at 8:03. Idaho recaptured their lead with a power-play score from Hank Crone (5^th) with 5:59 remaining in regulation. Thomas Caron led the charge down the right-wing wall into the offensive zone. He then dropped the puck back for McCallum who fed Crone in the left circle. From there Crone let a wrist shot fly over the glove of Kinkaid making the final score 6-3. 

Ben Kraws made 23 saves on 26 shots in the win while Keith Kinkaid made 18 saves on 24 shots in the loss. 

BOX SCORE

ICCU Three Stars
1) Thomas Caron (IDH, 1-2-3, +2, 2 shots, Fighting Major)      
2) Ty Pelton-Byce (IDH, 0-4-4, +4, 3 shots)    
3) Reece Vitelli (SAV, 1-0-1, +1, 3 shots)        

GAME NOTES

• Idaho went 1-for-4 on the power-play while Savannah was 1-for-8. 
• Savannah outshot Idaho 26-24. 
• Reece Harsch (IR), Sam Sternschein (IR), Tomas Sholl (DNP), Justin Ertel (DNP), and Brendan Hoffmann (DNP) did not dress for Idaho.
• Nick Canade scored his first goal of the season.
• C.J. Walker has a goal in back-to-back games.
• Thomas Caron (1-2-3) recorded his second three-point game of the season and collected a Gordie Howe Hat-Trick.
• Ty Pelton-Byce finished with a career high four assists and has a point in three straight games (2-5-7)… He is tied for second in the ECHL with 13 points and second with six goals.  
• A.J. White has an assist in four straight games… He played in his 550^th professional game.
• Lynden McCallum finished with a goal and an assist.
• Matt Register scored his first goal of the season and is four points shy of 500 career ECHL points.
• Hank Crone has a point in all eight games after scoring a goal and adding an assist for his fourth multi-point game of the season… His 13 points and eight assists are tied for third in the ECHL. 

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”.