IDAHO STEELHEADS WEEKLY – WEEK 9 – 12/17/24

BOISE, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (@Steelheads), proud ECHL (@ECHL) affiliate of the Dallas Stars (@DallasStars), picked up three out of a possible six points last week vs. Tulsa and now welcome the Rapid City Rush into town for a three-game set. 

THIS WEEK’S GAMES  
Wednesday, Dec. 18 vs. Rapid City | 7:10 p.m. (MT)                                   
Friday, Dec. 20 vs. Rapid City | 7:10 p.m. (MT)
Saturday, Dec. 21 vs. Rapid City | 7:10 p.m. (MT) 

LAST WEEK’S GAMES
Wednesday, Dec. 11
Idaho (6) vs. Tulsa (4)
Highlights
Full Recap 
Box Score
After falling behind 1-0 just 28 seconds into the game Matt Register and C.J. Walker scored later in the period giving Idaho the lead. The Oilers tied the score at 2-2 with 73 seconds left in the period and then Patrick Kudla scored on the power-play early into the second frame making it 3-2. Tulsa grabbed the next two goals then A.J. White tied the contest in the stanza. Ty Pelton-Byce and Reece Harsch each found the back of the net in the third period in a span of 62 seconds handing Idaho a 6-4 win. Bryan Thomson made 34 saves while Hank Crone finished with a game high three assists. 

Friday, Dec. 13 
Idaho (4) vs. Tulsa (5) OT
Highlights
Full Recap 
Box Score
Reece Harsch gave the Steelheads a 1-0 lead 11 minutes into the game but the Oilers scored three unanswered in a 5:24 stretch taking a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. Hank Crone and Mark Olver scored power-play goals in the middle stanza as the score was 3-3 through 40 minutes. Ty Pelton-Byce made it 4-3 early into the third period but Tulsa tied the game with 42 seconds left with their goaltender pulled to force overtime. With just 38 seconds left in the extra session the Oilers found the back of the net for the 5-4 overtime victory. Ben Kraws made 43 saves while Crone and Pelton-Byce each finished with a goal and an assist. Thomas Caron tallied two assists. 

Saturday, Dec. 14 
Idaho (2) vs. Tulsa (3)
Highlights
Full Recap 
Box Score
A.J. White let the Teddy Bears fly with 6:47 remaining in the second period to cut Idaho’s deficit down to 2-1. 86 seconds into the third period Patrick Kudla tied the game but the Oilers scored on the power-play with 11:31 remaining in regulation for the eventual game winning goal, 3-2. Tomas Sholl made 38 saves while Hank Crone and Ty Pelton-Byce registered two assists. 

THE WEEK AHEAD

Idaho and Rapid City meet Wednesday night for the sixth of 14 total meetings. You can listen to the games on the Steelheads flagship station 95.3 FM KTIK “The Ticket” and watch on FloHockey or locally on KTVB 24/7 (Channel 7.2). 

Idaho is 2-2-1-0 vs. Rapid City this season including 0-2-1 in Boise. The Rush joined the ECHL in 2014-15 had never swept Idaho in Boise prior to this past November. Heading into that week Idaho held a 34-11-4 mark vs. Rapid City at the Idaho Central Arena and were 23-4-0-1 over the last two seasons. 

The Steelheads got redemption on the Rush the following week collecting a two-game series sweep at The Monument Arena highlighted by four goals from Ty Pelton-Byce. Matt Register paces the way for Idaho in the head-to-head series with six assists in five games while Brett Davis has four goals and three assists for Rapid City. 

The Rush have outscored the Steelheads 16-15, Idaho’s 3.63 goals for per game this season rank fifth while their 3.25 goals against per contest are 23^rd. Rapid City is just 25^th averaging 2.25 goals for per game while they’re 27^th in goals against average at 3.71. 

Idaho is (2-for-22, 9.1%) on the power-play vs. Rapid City and rank 14^th on the season (17-for-94, 18.1%) having scored a man advantage goal in three of their last four games (5-for-18, 27.8%). Idaho has killed off 13 of 14 short-handed deficits against the Rush and are 12^th on the year on the penalty kill (79-for-94, 84%). The Rush are 22^nd on the power-play (11-for-77, 14.3%) and 14^th on penalty kill (58-for-70, 82.9%). 

Idaho is averaging 38 shots for per game against Rapid City including a season high 49 back on Nov. 13 in a 5-3 loss while Rapid City is averaging 30.4 shots. The Steelheads sit fifth in the league at 33.13 while Rapid City is eighth at 31.71. Idaho has given up the fourth most shots at a 33.96 average while Rapid City is eighth 32.46. 

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS
1. Kansas City Mavericks (16-6-2-1, 35pts, 0.700)
2. Tahoe Knight Monsters (15-6-1-1, 32pts, 0.696)
3. Tulsa Oilers (14-8-1-0, 29pts, 0.630)
4. Wichita Thunder (13-10-2-0, 28pts, 0.560)
5. Idaho Steelheads (12-10-2-0, 26pts, 0.542)
6. Allen Americans (7-10-5-0, 19pts, 0.432) 
7. Rapid City Rush (6-13-2-3, 17pts, 0.354)
8. Utah Grizzlies (5-16-2-0, 12pts, 0.261)

NHL DEBUT – Monday night Tye Felhaber became the 26^th former Steelhead to appear in an NHL game as he made his debut with the Colorado Avalanche in a 3-1 loss at Vancouver. The 26-year-old played six games for Idaho during the 2019-20 season scoring three goals while adding three assists during his rookie year. Originally undrafted, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Dallas Stars on Mar. 1, 2019 and appeared in 86 AHL games with Texas from 2019-22. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb, 1. 2022 splitting time the rest of the season with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch and ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears. He has played parts of seven years in the AHL skating in 187 career games collecting 33 goals and 34 assists while spending parts of three seasons in the ECHL skating in 71 games tallying 26 goals and 57 assists. He became the 755^th former ECHL player to reach the National Hockey League. 

NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN – A.J. White became the Steelheads all-time games played leader playing in his 437^th games for Idaho last Wednesday… The sixth-year captain began his Idaho career during the 2018-19 season and ranks third all-time in points (332) and goals (118), second in assists (214) in team history including the ECHL/WCHL era… His 17 assists this season are tied for fifth amongst league skaters while his 22 points are tied for third on Idaho… He has a four-game point-streak (3G, 2A) and has four goals over his last eight games.  

RECORD SETTING REGISTER – Matt Register joined Louis Dumont (566), Michael Pelech (478), and Chris Valicevic (460) as the only four players in ECHL history to reach the 400-assist plateau as he recorded his 20^th assist of the season Friday… His 20 helpers are tied for second amongst league skaters while his 22 points are second amongst league defensemen… He is 26 games shy of becoming the all-time games played leader amongst defenders in league history. 

MACEACHERN SIDELINED – Rookie forward Connor MacEachern suffered a lower body injury last Wednesday and missed Friday and Saturday’s games… He was placed on the 14-day injured reserve list yesterday… His 12 goals are tied for first amongst ECHL rookies while his 23 points are third.

CRONE AT THE TOP – Hank Crone leads all ECHL skaters with 32 points with his 22 assists tied for first… His seven power-play helpers and nine-man advantage points are tied for fourth amongst ECHL players… He has a four-game point-streak (1G, 7A) and has a point in 19 of 24 games while he is tied for the team lead with 10 multi-point contests… He is eight points shy of 200 career ECHL points. 

300 FOR SHEEN – Head Coach Everett Sheen coached his 300^th career game as bench boss last Friday for Idaho joining Derek Laxdal (360) and John Olver (348) as the only coaches in team history to hit that mark. Sheen has accumulated a regular season record of 190-92-10-9 dating back to the 2019-20 season. 

BALANCED ATTACK – The Steelheads have six players with 20 or more points including Hank Crone (32), Ty Pelton-Byce (29), Connor MacEachern (22), A.J. White (22), Matt Register (22), and Thomas Caron (21). 

SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS EVERYBODY – Idaho ranks fifth in the league averaging 33.13 shots for per game… They have produced 40 or more shots in five of their last eight games… They’re 7-3-1 when outshooting their opponent while 4-7-1 when being outshot. 

HOME COOKIN – Idaho has sold-out in 46 consecutive regular season games and rank 10^th in the ECHL this season averaging 5,204 fans per game. 

ACTIVE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Goals: Ty Pelton-Byce (13) – Tied For 4^th in ECHL  
Assists: Hank Crone (22) – Tied For 1^st in ECHL  
Points: Hank Crone (32) – 1^st in ECHL
Plus/Minus: Hank Crone (+13) – Tied For 8^th in ECHL  
PIMs: Connor Punnett (48) – 1^st Amongst ECHL Rookies 
PPGs: Ty Pelton-Byce (5) – Tied for 2^nd in ECHL 
GWGs: Connor MacEachern, Lynden McCallum, Ty Pelton-Byce (2)   
Shots: Connor MacEachern (72)   
Wins: Ben Kraws (6) 
GAA: Tomas Sholl (2.01)
SV%: Tomas Sholl (.941)