STEELHEADS TIE FOR FOURTH AND FINAL PLAYOFF SPOT RECORDING POINT IN OVERTIME LOSS VS. RAPID CITY, 5-4

BOISE, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (23-15-6-0, 52pts) fell in overtime to the Rapid City Rush (13-22-5-3, 34pts) Wednesday night by a final score of 5-4 in front of a sellout crowd of 5,252 fans at the Idaho Central Arena for the 57^th consecutive regular season sell-out. Idaho will host Rapid City Friday and Saturday.  

Idaho led 2-0 after the first period as Matt Register (5^th) made it 1-0 on the power-play 5:44 into the game from Wade Murphy and Matt Register. Crone from the top of the right circle fed Murphy down below the circle. From there Murphy fed Register inside the left circle where he let a wrist shot go past the glove of Christian Propp. With 42 seconds remaining in the frame Hank Crone (13^th) would stretch the lead to 2-0 from Murphy and Reece Harsch. Murphy worked a takeaway in front of the penalty box with Crone picking up the puck down the right wall into the offensive zone. He then cut to the high slot and beat Propp blocker side. 

With one second left on a Rapid City power-play Jack Jeffers scored at 10:08 of the second period making it a 2-1 game. Just 3:42 later Connor MacEachern (17^th) would put the Steelheads back out in front by two with a power-play score from Patrick Moynihan and Jason Horvath. Moynihan from the left hall connected a pass to MacEachern at the top of the right circle where he sent a wrist shot over the glove of Propp at 13:50. Charles Martin found the back of the net for the Rush 2:49 later making it a 3-2 game with 3:20 left in the period. 

A power-play for the Steelheads carried over to the third period and at 1:15 of the stanza Wade Murphy (2^nd) made it 4-2 Idaho from Crone and Ty Pelton-Byce. Crone from the top of the right circle knifed the puck to Pelton-Byce at the right dot where he went across the zone to the near dot and Murphy stepped into a one-timer sending it off the Rapid City defender’s stick into the net. Rapid City would provide a pair of unanswered goals in a span of 3:29 with Maurizio Colella scoring at 3:09 and then Chaz Smedsrud at 6:37 eventually forcing overtime all tied at 4-4. 

84 seconds into the extra frame Blake Bennet sent a shot home from the high slot giving the Rush the 5-4 overtime win. 

Bryan Thomson made 26 saves on 31 shots in the overtime loss while Christian Propp made 29 saves on 33 shots in the win. 

BOX SCORE

ICCU Three Stars
1) Blake Bennett (RC)                         
2) Hank Crone (IDH)                        
3) Maurizio Colella (RC)                   

GAME NOTES

• Idaho finished 3-for-3 while Rapid City was 1-for-3.             
• Idaho outshot Rapid City 33-31 
• Ryan Gagnon (IR), C.J. Walker (IR), Patrick Kudla (INJ), Mason McCarty (INJ), and Mark Olver (DNP) did not dress for Idaho.
• Wade Murphy (1-2-3) and Hank Crone (1-2-3) finished with three-point games and now have goals in back-to-back games.
• Jason Horvath, Reece Harsch, and Patrick Moynihan each tallied an assist.
• Idaho has played four of their last five games beyond regulation and seven of their last 10.
• Matt Register led all Idaho skaters with five shots.  

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