BOISE, ID – The Idaho Steelheads (@Steelheads), proud ECHL (@ECHL) affiliate of the Dallas Stars (@DallasStars), have completed their regular season schedule and await the beginning of postseason play with an opening round meeting against the Allen Americans.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES - Idle

HOME-ICE WATCH – The Steelheads will earn home-ice in the first round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs against the Allen Americans IF:

• The Allen Americans lose at least one of their final two games in regulation OR the Americans lose both of their remaining games in overtime or a shootout.

The Americans battle the Wichita Thunder on Friday before finishing their regular season against the Kansas City Mavericks on Saturday.

LAST WEEK’S GAMES

Tuesday, April 7

Idaho 2 – Utah 3

Full Recap 

Box Score

The 248^th and final battle between the Steelheads and Grizzlies went to Utah. The teams traded goals throughout the game, with Idaho fighting back after falling behind 1-0 and 2-1 throughout the contest. The Steelheads’ two goals weren’t enough, however, as Ryan Rosborough scored the final goal of the long-time rivalry in the third period to lift Utah to a 3-2 win.

Friday, April 10

Idaho 1 – Tulsa 3

Full Recap 

Box Score

The Steelheads’ losing streak reached four games on Friday in a 3-1 defeat to the Tulsa Oilers. Tulsa opened the scoring with a goal from Lukas Jirousek in the opening minutes before Chris Dodero tied the game for Idaho in the middle frame with a highlight-reel goal around Vyacheslav Buteyets for the equalizer. That goal proved to be all Idaho could provide, as Tulsa scored twice more and rode to a 3-1 win to kick off the three-in-three series.

Saturday, April 11

Idaho 4 – Tulsa 1

Full Recap 

Box Score

The Steelheads snapped their losing skid on Saturday with a 4-1 win over the Oilers led by a strong third-period finish. The two teams sat tied after two periods, with Jordan Steinmetz and Tyler Poulsen providing the offense to that point. In the final frame the Steelheads broke through, with Kaleb Pearson striking twice in the opening portion of the period and Morgan Winters adding a power play tally to cap things off in an eventual 4-1 Idaho win.

Sunday, April 12

Idaho 7– Tulsa 3 

Full Recap 

Box Score

The series finale was a romp for the Steelheads, as they poured seven goals on the Oilers to put a solid cap on their 72-game regular season. After Tulsa took a 2-1 lead into the second period, the middle frame on Sunday was the source of Idaho’s offensive outburst. Liam Malmquist, Aidan Hreschuk, and Ty Pelton-Byce all scored in a 4:04 span in the middle portion of the period to put Idaho ahead 4-2 heading into the third. The goal kept coming in the final 20 minutes, with Grant Silianoff, Kaleb Pearson, and Jordan Steinmetz all finding the back of the net for the Steelheads’ fifth seven-goal outburst this season.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS 
1. xyz - Kansas City Mavericks (70 GP, 55-11-2-2, 114 pts, 0.814%)
2. x - Idaho Steelheads (72 GP, 42-23-6-1, 91 pts, 0.632%)
3. x - Allen Americans (70 GP, 41-23-6-0, 88 pts, 0.629%)
4. x - Tahoe Knight Monsters (70 GP, 34-30-3-3, 74 pts, 0.529%)
5. Utah Grizzlies (72 GP, 30-32-9-1, 70 pts, 0.486%)
6. Rapid City Rush (70 GP, 28-35-6-1, 63 pts, 0.450%)
7. Wichita Thunder (70 GP, 25-34-7-4, 61 pts, 0.436%)
8. Tulsa Oilers (70 GP, 27-38-5-0, 59 pts, 0.421%)

x = clinched playoff spot
y = clinched division
z = regular season champion

SHINING STEELHEADS

• Liam Malmquist and Jade Miller played all 72 games this season for Idaho.
• Kaleb Pearson finished the season with the third most goals scored by a rookie in Steelheads history (28), while Malmquist finished sixth in that metric (26).
• Ten Steelheads finished the season with double-digit goals.

TEAM NOTES

ROUND ONE RODEO
The Steelheads will face the Allen Americans in the Mountain Division Semifinal to kick off the Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Steelheads finished 6-0-0-1 against the Americans this season, suffering their lone loss on March 13^th in a shootout defeat in Texas. In four playoff series against the Americans in their history, the Steelheads are 3-1 with a record of 15-8-1 including 3-2 in overtime. Idaho has outscored Allen 92-65 in playoff games to this point. The Steelheads last battled the Americans in the postseason in 2024, winning that year’s Mountain Division Semifinal in five games.

RAVING ROOKIES
Idaho’s rookie talent shone brightly this season, with first-year players representing 43.2% of Idaho’s point output this season. Liam Malmquist and Kaleb Pearson each led the way with 47 points, while the leading point-getter among rookie blueliners was Aidan Hreschuk, who registered 21 points (2G, 19A) in 61 games. Heading into the last week of the season, Pearson and Malmquist still rank in the top five in rookie goal scoring in the ECHL. 

 TRENDS

• The Steelheads outscored their opponents 251-219 this season.
• The Steelheads finished the regular season 6-0-1 against the Allen Americans.
• Idaho’s 834 first period shots lead the ECHL, with the Americans the closest team behind at 764 first period shots.
• The Steelheads finished 18-7-6-1 in one-goal games.
• Idaho’s power play finished the season at 18.5% (50/271), while the Steelheads’ penalty kill operated at 79.4% (204/257).

ACTIVE STATISTICAL LEADERS

Goals: Brendan Hoffmann (32)
Assists: Jack Adams (32)
Points: Brendan Hoffmann (51)
Plus/Minus: Connor Punnett (+27)
PIMs: Connor Punnett (99)
PPGs: Brendan Hoffmann, Francesco Arcuri, Kaleb Pearson, Jack Adams (7) 
GWGs: Brendan Hoffmann (8)
Shots: Liam Malmquist (224)
Wins: Ben Kraws (16)
GAA: Jake Barczewski (2.54)
SV%: Jake Barczewski (.919) 

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