IDAHO STEELHEADS WEEKLY – WEEK 10 – 12/26/24

BOISE, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (@Steelheads), proud ECHL (@ECHL) affiliate of the Dallas Stars (@DallasStars), wrapped up a season long six-game homestand last week picking up a three-game series sweep vs. Rapid City and now play three games on the road before returning back to Boise for five straight to begin the New Year. 

THIS WEEK’S GAMES  
Friday, Dec. 27 at Wichita | 6:05 p.m. (MT)                          
Saturday, Dec. 28 at Wichita | 6:05 p.m. (MT)
Tuesday Dec. 31 at Allen | 5:10 p.m. (MT) 

LAST WEEK’S GAMES
Wednesday, Dec. 18
Idaho (4) vs. Rapid City (3) OT
Highlights
Full Recap 
Box Score

Brendan Hoffmann snapped a seven-game goal-less skid as he completed a two-goal game providing the overtime winner with just 44 seconds left in the extra session. Thomas Caron snapped a nine-game goal-less drought tying the game at 1-1 just 69 seconds into the second period with a power-play tally and then 5:12 later Hoffmann gave Idaho their first lead of the game. Rapid City tied the contest 1:51 later then Idaho’s Connor Punnett gave the Steelheads a 3-2 advantage 3:02 into the third period. Rapid City tied the game with 6:09 remaining eventually forcing overtime. Bryan Thomson made 41 saves in the victory.

Friday, Dec. 20
Idaho (6) vs. Rapid City (5) OT
Highlights
Full Recap 
Box Score

Ty Pelton-Byce capped of the night with his first career hat-trick scoring 96 seconds into overtime on a four-on-three power-play. The score was tied at 3-3 through 20 minutes of play as Idaho led on two occasions (1-0 and 2-1) receiving goals from Mark Olver, C.J. Walker, and Pelton-Byce. Pelton-Byce scored the only goal in the second period coming at 16:13 sending the Steelheads into the third period with a 4-3 lead. Rapid City tied the decision just 15 seconds into the third period before Brendan Hoffmann scored the go-ahead goal with 5:28 remaining in regulation. Rapid City pulled their goaltender late in the game on the man advantage and tied the game with their goaltender pulled with just 79 seconds left in regulation. Ben Kraws made 32 saves in the win. 

Saturday, Dec. 21
Idaho (4) vs. Rapid City (3) 
Highlights
Full Recap 
Box Score

Ty Pelton-Byce scored the game winning goal with 2:46 remaining in regulation. Jade Miller tied the game at one a piece 8:06 into the first period snapping an eight game goal-less drought and then Francesco Arcuri made it 2-1 5:03 into the second period. With 9:12 remaining in regulation Rapid City tied the score at 2-2 but 1:52 later Matt Register provided the equalizer. The Rush tied the game back up with 3:28 remaining in regulation. Bryan Thomson made 37 saves in the victory. 

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS
1. Kansas City Mavericks (17-7-2-1, 37pts, 0.685%)
2. Tahoe Knight Monsters (16-8-1-1, 34pts, 0.654%)
3. Tulsa Oilers (16-8-2-0, 34pts, 0.654%)
4. Wichita Thunder (15-11-2-0, 32pts, 0.571%)
5. Idaho Steelheads (15-10-2-0, 32pts, 0.593%)
6. Allen Americans (8-13-5-0, 21pts, 0.404%)
7. Rapid City Rush (6-14-4-3, 19pts, 0.352%)
8. Utah Grizzlies (7-16-3-0, 17pts, 0.327%)

BEYOND REGULATION – The Steelheads have gone to overtime in two of their last three games and three of their last five games. Their four overtime wins this season are tied for second in the ECHL while their six games into the extra session are tied for the fourth most. Ty Pelton-Byce (2), Hank Crone, and Brendan Hoffmann have scored overtime goals this year. The most games Idaho has played during a single ECHL season in overtime was seven back during the 2015-16 season where they won three games and lost four.

GONE STREAKING – The Steelheads lifted their winning streak to three games this past Saturday, their third three-game win streak of the season and their first home three-game sweep. Saturday night marked the 49^th consecutive regular season sellout as Idaho improved to 9-5-2 at the Idaho Central Arena and 6-1-1 in their last eight games on home ice. 

TIGHTLY CONTESTED – Idaho has played in five straight one-goal games where they’ve posted a (3-1-1) record. Collectively speaking, the Steelheads are (6-3-2) in one-goal decisions this year through 27 games. The 11 games being decided by one-goal are tied for the fifth most in the ECHL while their six wins are tied for fourth. Out of Idaho’s 27 games this season 16 of them have been determine by two goals or fewer (8-6-2). 

POWER-PLAY REFINDS A GROOVE – The Steelheads have scored a power-play goal in five of their last seven games (8-for-24, 33%) dating back to Dec. 7 after the club had gone five straight games from Nov. 27-Dec. 6 on a (0-for-15) drought. Overall, this season the team is 9^th in the league on the man advantage (20-for-100, 20%). Ty Pelton-Byce leads the ECHL with seven goals while Hank Crone is tied for second in the league with nine assists and tied for second with 11 points. Patrick Kudla sits tied for third amongst ECHL defensemen with nine points and fourth amongst all league skaters. Crone has been involved in seven of the last 10 goals while Kudla has been associated with four of the last seven scores. 

GOALS GALORE – Idaho ranks third in the ECHL averaging 3.74 goals for per game with 101 goals through 27 games as they have scored four or more goals in five of their last six games and in 15 of 27 games this season. Their 33 goals in the first period this year are the most by an ECHL team while their 40 in the second period are tied for second. 

BALANCED ATTACK – The Steelheads are the only team in the ECHL with six skaters having recorded 20 or more points: Hank Crone (35), Ty Pelton-Byce (33), Matt Register (27), Thomas Caron (24), A.J. White (24), and Connor MacEachern (22). Four players have double digits in goals: Pelton-Byce (17), MacEachern (12), Crone (10), and Brendan Hoffmann (10). 

PLAYING WITH THE LEAD – Idaho is 6-0 when leading after the first period and 11-0 when leading after two periods. They’re (8-1-2) when scoring first but have fallen behind 1-0 in 10 of the last 12 games. 

SHOOTING GALLERY – The Steelheads are 5^th in the ECHL averaging 33.81 shots for per game. They’re averaging 37.7 shots for per game over their last 11 games since Nov. 29 having recorded 40 or more shots in six games and 35 or more shots in nine contests. On the flip side, Idaho has given up 34.67 shots against per game, third most in the ECHL, having allowed 31 or more shots in eight straight decisions including 40 or more in five games. 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
#3 Nick Canade has an assist in three straight games and four over his last five games. 
#9 Brendan Hoffmann has three goals in his last three games and 11 shots. 
#11 Thomas Caron has a point in four of his last five games (1-5-6). 
#13 Francesco Arcuri has a three-game point-streak (1-3-4).  
#17 Ty Pelton-Byce is third in the ECHL with 17 goals and 33 points. He has a point in five of his last six games (6-3-9). 
#18 A.J. White has a point in five of his last six games (3-4-7). 
#19 Lynden McCallum has two assists in his last two games. 
#30 Bryan Thomson has won three straight games. 
#36 Blake Swetlikoff has two assists in his last four games. 
#43 Matt Register leads all ECHL defenders with 27 points and 24 assists. He has a three-game point-streak (1-4-5). 
#47 Patrick Kudla has (2-3-5) over his last seven games while his 18 points are tied for seventh amongst ECHL defenders.  
#67 Hank Crone leads the ECHL with 35 points and 25 assists while his +15 rating is tied for fifth. 
#74 Connor Punnett has a point in four of his last six games (1-3-4). 
#91 Mark Olver has a three-game point-streak (1-2-3).