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Idaho Steelheads

Beskorowany, Steelheads Edge Eagles, 1-0

April 7, 2013 - ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


Loveland, CO - Tyler Beskorowany stopped all 20 shots he faced and Adrian Foster converted a Tyler Gron centering pass into the game's only goal as the Idaho Steelheads edged the Colorado Eagles in tight playoff contest, 1-0, on Saturday night.

With the win, the Steelheads lead the best-of-seven series, two games to one. All three games have been decided by one goal, with Saturday's game being the first not to go to overtime.

Neither side scored in the first as both teams dug in defensively to limit scoring chances. The Steelheads did pick up nine shots on goal in the first but Adam Brown turned them all aside including a leg-pad stop on Austin Fyten at the right-hand post.

The scoreless tie held until nearly mid-way through the second period. Colorado's Collin Bowman was given a two-minute interference minor and then, just seconds later, teammate Jason Beatty received another two-minute minor as he inadvertantly shot the puck over the glass as he tried to clear the puck out of the zone, drawing a delay of game penalty. That gave the Steelheads nearly a full, two-minute 5-on-3 power play chance and they cashed in about halfway through at the 8:24 mark. Tyler Gron, from the left edge of the trapezoid near the goal line, delivered a perfect pass across the top of the crease to Adrian Foster, who jammed it past Brown to give Idaho a 1-0 lead.

It was Idaho's 10th goal of the postseason and all ten have been scored by a different skater. Gron and Coyle were credited with assists on Foster's first of the post-season.

From there, it was all about the Steelheads defensive effort, spearheaded by Beskorowany. Colorado turned up the offensive pressure late in the second, but Idaho kept the Eagles off the board to take a one-goal lead into the third.

Idaho appeared to have taken a 2-0 lead in the third on a Hubert Labrie blast, but referee Tom Chmeliewski waved it off due to inadvertant contact with the goaltender against the Steelheads, a similar call to one in Game 1 that took a goal off the board in the third period for Colorado.

Colorado pulled its goaltender for an extra attacker with less than 90 seconds to go. Then, with 20 seconds to play, Andrew Carroll was assessed a boarding penalty to give Colorado a de-facto two-man advantage as they sought the tying goal. A Beskorowany save in close and a Ben Ondrus faceoff win allowed Idaho to hold on for the dramatic win in front of 5,289 fans. It marked the first time in Colorado's team history, dating back to 2003-04 in the Central Hockey League, that the Eagles were shut out at home in the playoffs.

Both goaltenders were strong all night. Beskorowany got the win with a 20-save shutout, but Brown was nearly as good, stopping 27 of 28 in the loss. Idaho was 1-6 on the power play while Colorado's potent power play was stymied by Idaho's penalty-kill unit all three times it came on the ice.

Game 4 is back in Loveland on Sunday, starting at 7:10 PM. The Steelheads and CenturyLink Arena will once again offer a free "watch party" at the SportZone, with the doors opening at 6 PM. The game will also air live regionally on Altitude Sports and Entertainment, which is available in southern Idaho on DirecTV (ch. 681) and Dish Network (ch. 410).

COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME - Adrian Foster

CENTURYLINK THREE STARS:

1) Adrian Foster (ID)

2) Adam Brown (COL)

3) Tyler Beskorowany (ID)

Group outings at a Steelheads game are a great way to gather friends, colleagues, or co-workers for a fun night out in downtown Boise. Ticket prices are discounted and you can get a Pepsi, Double-R Ranch Hot Dog, and bag of Tim's Cascade Chips with each ticket. Contact the Steelheads front office at 208.383.0080 or log on to www.idahosteelheads.com for more information.

Check out the Idaho Steelheads Statistics

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