BOISE, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (@Steelheads), proud ECHL (@ECHL) affiliate of the Dallas Stars (@DallasStars), finish off their homestand this week with three games against the Greensboro Gargoyles.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES

Wednesday, Jan. 7 vs. Greensboro | 7:10 p.m. (MST) – Postgame autographs

Friday, Jan. 9 vs. Greensboro | 7:10 p.m. (MST)

Saturday, Jan. 10 vs. Greensboro | 7:10 p.m. (MST) 

The team will wear specialty jerseys for each game this week representing the Jayden DeLuca Foundation.

LAST WEEK’S GAMES

Friday, Jan. 2

Idaho 3 – Rapid City 1

Full Recap 

Box Score

The Steelheads opened 2026 the same way they finished 2025: with a win over the Rapid City Rush. The low-scoring affair saw Idaho strike first on a goal from Liam Malmquist 14:20 into the first period. After a lengthy stretch with no scoring, Robbie Holmes finally got the game’s next goal at 14:29 of the third period to extend the Idaho lead to 2-0. Ryan Chyzowski broke Jake Barczewski’s shutout bid with under one minute remaining but Nick Canade responded with an empty net goal just 23 seconds later to seal the 3-1 win.

Saturday, Jan. 3

Idaho 3 – Rapid City 6

Full Recap 

Box Score

The sweep wasn’t meant to be for the Steelheads last week, as Rapid City fought back for a win in the season series finale on Saturday. The teams traded power play goals through the first two periods resulting in a 2-1 Rush lead heading into the third period, where the scoring exoloded. Idaho tied the game just 30 seconds into the period on a goal from Liam Malmquist, but Rapid City regained the lead eight minutes into the frame on a tally from Blake Bennett. Once again, the Steelheads fought back with Francesco Arcuri striking on the breakaway to tie the game 12:44 into the frame, but just two minutes later momentum swung back the way of Rapid City as Ryan Chyzowski gave the Rush a 4-3 lead. Idaho ran out of steam at that point, though, and Chyzowski and Bennett would each strike again to secure a 6-3 win for the Rush.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS 

1. Kansas City Mavericks (30 GP, 21-7-1-1, 44 pts, 0.733%)

2. Idaho Steelheads (31 GP, 19-3-3-0, 41 pts, 0.661%)

3. Tahoe Knight Monsters (33 GP, 18-12-1-2, 39 pts, 0.591%)

4. Allen Americans (30 GP, 15-12-3-0, 33 pts, 0.550%)

5. Wichita Thunder (29 GP, 13-11-3-2, 31 pts, 0.534%)

6. Rapid City Rush (30 GP, 14-14-2-0, 30 pts, 0.500%)

7. Utah Grizzlies (27 GP, 13-14-3-0, 29 pts, 0.483%)

8. Tulsa Oilers (30 GP, 11-19-0-0, 22 pts, 0.367%)

SHINING STEELHEADS

• Brendan Hoffman leads the Steelheads with 28 points (16G, 12A). He is tied for the ECHL lead with 16 goals and is T-12^th in the ECHL in overall scoring.
• Liam Malmquist is riding a three-game point streak into this week against Greensboro (2G, 3A).
• Francesco Arcuri has 12 points in his last 10 games.

TEAM NOTES

SPLIT TO START THE YEAR

The Steelheads split the first two games of 2026 in their two-game set with the Rapid City Rush. After a 3-1 win on Friday, Idaho fell 6-3 to Rapid City on Saturday. Despite scoring first, the Steelheads trailed 2-1 heading into the third period. Twice the Steelheads fought back to tie the game in the third, only for Rapid City to retake the lead on each occasion. After taking a 4-3 lead late in the frame, the Rush scored two more goals to grab a 6-3 lead that they would maintain until the end of the game. Idaho ends the season series with the Rush with a 4-3-1 record.

MALMQUIST MOTORING ALONG

Liam Malmquist carries a three-game point streak into this week against the Greensboro Gargoyles, with two goals and three assists during his streak. Extending back to his last 10 games, Malmquist has 11 points in that span and is tied for fifth in rookie scoring with 23 points. The 25-year old is also tied for second among ECHL rookies with 13 goals.

FINISHING THE JOB

The Steelheads own a +17-goal differential in third periods this season, tied for the second-best mark across the ECHL. The Steelheads own the outright lead in overall goals (41) and shots (371) over the final 20 minutes and have the best third period shot differential at +71.

TRENDS

• The Steelheads lead the ECHL in shots per game at 35.74.
• Idaho has recorded 40+ shots on goal in 11 games this season.
• Idaho has a record of 12-2-3 in games decided by two goals or fewer this season.
• The Steelheads are 13-2-1-0 when scoring a power play goal.
• The Steelheads are 10-0-1 when leading after the first period and 11-0-1 when leading after two periods. They are 7-0-0 in both situations at Idaho Central Arena.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

• #9 Brendan Hoffman is three games shy of 100 with the Steelheads
• #17 Ty Pelton-Byce is four games shy of 200 in his ECHL career. 
• #17 Ty Pelton-Byce is also nine points shy from 200 in his ECHL career.
• #3 Nick Canade is two games shy from 200 in his ECHL & Steelheads career.
• #13 Francesco Arcuri is two points shy of 100 in his ECHL & Steelheads career.

ACTIVE STATISTICAL LEADERS

Goals: Brendan Hoffman (16)
Assists: Brendan Hoffman (12)
Points: Brendan Hoffman (28)
Plus/Minus: Angus MacDonell & Sam Jardine (+12)
PIMs: Jason Horvath (60)
PPGs: Robbie Holmes (3) 
GWGs: Francesco Arcuri & Brendan Hoffman (3)
Shots: Brendan Hoffman (106) 
Wins: Ben Kraws (5)
GAA: Jake Barczewski (2.53)
SV%: Jake Barczewski (.913) 

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