BOISE, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (9-6-1-0) defeated the Allen Americans (4-5-3-0) 3-2 in overtime on Friday night inside Idaho Central Arena. The Steelheads will look for the sweep in the series finale on Saturday with puck drop set for 7:10 p.m. MST from Boise.
After no scoring in the first period, the Americans broke the ice on a goal from Michael Gildon in the crease 8:26 into the second period., which stood after a brief review for goaltender interference. Later in the frame the Steelheads got on the board themselves, as Brendan Hoffman narrowly kept the puck in the offensive zone and promptly fed Angus MacDonell in the slot for a redirect along the ice and into the net.
Idaho would gain the lead in the opening stages of the third period, when Liam Malmquist scored on a give-and-go play with Matt Anderson and beat Allen goalie Marco Costantini over his glove for his fourth goal of the season. Needing an equalizer in the third, Allen found it when Hank Crone capitalized on a Steelheads turnover and scored from the slot at 12:28 of the frame.
Late in the third period Allen’s Colton Hargrove was assessed a five-minute major penalty for boarding, giving the Steelheads a prime opportunity for the win.
After failing to score on the first portion of the man advantage in regulation, Kaleb Pearson cashed in for the Steelheads with a one-time blast two minutes into overtime to give Idaho the win.
Idaho’s Arno Tiefensee made 29 saves in the win, while Allen’s Marco Constantini made 39 saves in the loss.
ICCU THREE STARS
1) Kaleb Pearson (IDH, 1-0-1, 0, 5 shots)
2) Liam Malmquist (IDH, 1-0-1, 0, 4 shots)
3) Michael Gildon (ALN, 1-1-2, +1, 3 shots)
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