WICHITA, KS - The Idaho Steelheads fell to the Wichita Thunder 4-3 in overtime on Saturday night in the final game of their three-game set with the Thunder. The Steelheads will next be in action on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. MT, taking on the Maine Mariners for Military Appreciation Week in Boise.
The Thunder jumped out to a rapid 2-0 lead with two goals in eight seconds in the first period. Wade Murphy notched his third goal of the season at 6:09 before Tyler Preziuso grabbed his second at 6:17, giving the Thunder a 2-0 edge after the opening 20 minutes.
In the middle frame, Gavin Best extended the lead to 3-0 with his third goal of the season at 14:49, but this time it was the Steelheads with a quick response, as Ty Pelton-Byce found a tally 14 seconds later to get the Steelheads on the board with just under five minutes remaining in the second period.
Kale Howarth brought the Steelheads within one goal in the latter portion of the period, grabbing his fifth goal of the season with just 40 seconds to go in the frame to get the Steelheads within one at the end of 40 minutes.
Idaho would find an equalizer midway through the third period, with Dylan Gratton notching a power play goal for his second tally of the season to bring the Steelheads even in the final stanza of regulation.
With that goal forcing overtime, the Steelheads gained a point out of their comeback, but they could not muster a second as Ethan Scardina raced down the left wing and beat Arno Tiefensee to the short side to deliver the Thunder the 4-3 win.
Tiefensee stopped 29 of 33 shots in the loss, while Yaroslav Korostelev turned aside 37 of 40 shots in the win.
ICCU Three Stars
1. Ethan Scardina, WIC (1-0-1, +1, 2 shots)
2. Wade Murphy, WIC (1-2-3, +1, 6 shots)
3. Ty Pelton-Byce, IDH (1-2-3, +2, 3 shots)
The Idaho Steelheads begin a three-game set with the Maine Mariners next week, with action kicking off at 7:10 p.m. MT on Wednesday. Call the Steelheads Front Office at 208-383-0080 for Steelheads ticket packages for this season. Stay up to date with all things Steelheads on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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