BOISE, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (@Steelheads), proud ECHL (@ECHL) affiliate of the Dallas Stars (@DallasStars), take on their final three regular-season home games with a clash against the Mountain Division-leading Kansas City Mavericks.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES 

Wednesday, April 1 vs. Kansas City | 7:10 p.m. (MDT)

Friday, April 3 vs. Kansas City | 7:10 p.m. (MDT)

Saturday, April 4 vs. Kansas City | 7:10 p.m. (MDT)

LAST WEEK’S GAMES

Wednesday, March 25

South Carolina 1 – Idaho 6

Full Recap 

Box Score

Idaho kicked the week off with a bang against South Carolina, routing the Stingrays 6-1 on Wednesday behind a hat trick from Nick Portz. The Steelheads opened up a 3-0 lead after the first period, and from there Portz took over, scoring Idaho’s final three tallies en route to an eventual 6-1 win for his first ECHL hat trick. The effort also moved Portz into double-digit goal scoring, improving his season-long tally to 11 goals.

Friday, March 27

South Carolina 2 – Idaho 1 (OT)

Full Recap 

Box Score

The Stingrays found their response on Friday, eking out a 2-1 OT victory against the Steelheads to even the three-game set. Stan Cooley opened the scoring for the visitors late in the second period with a shorthanded goal, while Liam Malmquist netted his 24^th goal of the season later in the third period to send the game to the extra frame. Just 36 seconds into OT, South Carolina’s Simon Pinard found the winner to deny the Steelheads the extra point. Despite the loss, the Steelheads clinched their postseason berth by virtue of a Wichita loss earlier in the night.

Saturday, March 28

South Carolina 3 – Idaho 4 (OT) 

Full Recap 

Box Score

A tightly contested rubber match went the way of the Steelheads on Saturday night. After the teams traded goals through the first half of the contest to sit at a 2-2 tie, South Carolina took its first lead on a goal by Pinard midway through the second period, forcing the Steelheads to mount another comeback effort in the series finale, and that they did. Jack Adams potted his first goal as a Steelhead halfway through the third period, and with no decision in OT, the game was decided in a shootout. Ty Pelton-Byce found the lone shootout goal, as Jake Barczewski shut the door for the Steelheads on all three Stingrays shooters to secure a crucial second point for Idaho.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS 
1. xy - Kansas City Mavericks (64 GP, 51-10-2-1, 105 pts, 0.820%)
2. x - Idaho Steelheads (65 GP, 39-19-6-1, 85 pts, 0.654%)
3. Allen Americans (63 GP, 35-23-5-0, 75 pts, 0.595%)
4. Tahoe Knight Monsters (65 GP, 32-28-2-3, 69 pts, 0.531%)
5. Rapid City Rush (64 GP, 27-31-5-1, 60 pts, 0.469%)
6. Wichita Thunder (63 GP, 25-28-6-4, 60 pts, 0.476%)
7. Utah Grizzlies (65 GP, 24-32-8-1, 57 pts, 0.438%)
8. Tulsa Oilers (63 GP, 22-36-5-0, 49 pts, 0.389%)

SHINING STEELHEADS

• Nick Portz notched his first ECHL hat trick on Wednesday against the Stingrays.
• Jack Adams scored his first goal as a Steelhead on Saturday.
• Liam Malmquist has seven goals in his last 10 games and is T-2nd among rookies in goal scoring.
• Kaleb Pearson has three points in three games since returning from his recall to the Texas Stars.

TEAM NOTES

TIME FOR A LITMUS TEST
The Steelheads get the ultimate test in their final regular-season home series this week, facing off with the top team in the ECHL: the Kansas City Mavericks. Idaho went 1-1-1-0 against KC earlier this season at Cable Dahmer Arena and will look to rack up the points on home ice as the top two teams in the Mountain Division clash for the final time in the regular season.

SPOT: CLINCHED
Idaho clinched a playoff spot last week, joining the Kansas City Mavericks as the lone two teams in the Mountain Division to secure a postseason berth. The Steelheads currently sit second in the division, with a 10-point lead over third-place Allen. Idaho will aim to maintain that spot over its final seven regular-season games, ensuring home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.

RAVING ROOKIES 
Liam Malmquist and Kaleb Pearson continue to impress in the goal-scoring department for the Steelheads, with both ranking in the top five in the metric among all ECHL rookies. Malmquist is up to 24 goals, with seven of them coming in the last 10 games. Pearson, meanwhile, sits just behind at 23, most recently finding the back of the net last Wednesday in his first game back in Idaho after a recall to the Texas Stars. Only two rookies have ever reached the 30-goal mark for the Steelheads, with Malmquist and Pearson looking to join Evan Barlow (2009-10) and Jason Bast (2014-15) on that list.

 TRENDS

• The Steelheads rank fourth in the ECHL in goals per game at 3.48.
• The Steelheads lead the ECHL in shots per game at 34.42.
• Idaho is 1-1-1-0 against Kansas City this season.
• The Steelheads have a +36 goal differential at home this season, third best in the ECHL.
• The Steelheads averaged just 2.27 goals against per game through 11 games in March.
• Idaho’s penalty kill clicked at 88.8% (24/27) in March.
• The Steelheads have played in 19 games that have gone beyond regulation this season, second-most in the ECHL.

UPCOMING MILESTONES

• #26 Jade Miller is six points shy of 100 with the Steelheads.
• #10 Sam Jardine is five games shy of 300 in the ECHL and seven games away from 500 as a professional.
• #7 Mitch Wahl is four games shy of 700 as a professional.
• #14 Connor Punnett is three games shy of 100 in the ECHL and with the Steelheads.

ACTIVE STATISTICAL LEADERS

Goals: Brendan Hoffmann (32)
Assists: Jack Adams (29)
Points: Brendan Hoffmann (51)
Plus/Minus: Sam Jardine (+24)
PIMs: Kaleb Pearson (97)
PPGs: Brendan Hoffmann, Francesco Arcuri, Jack Adams (7) 
GWGs: Brendan Hoffmann (8)
Shots: Liam Malmquist (196)
Wins: Ben Kraws & Jake Barczewski (14)
GAA: Jake Barczewski (2.54)
SV%: Jake Barczewski (.918) 

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