ECHL Idaho Steelheads

Big First Propels Idaho to 4-1 Victory

Published on December 12, 2013 under ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


Boise, ID (12/11/13) - A four-goal outburst in the first period gave the Idaho Steelheads the cushion they needed and Josh Robinson stopped 26 of 27 Alaska shots Wednesday night as the homestanding Steelheads upended the Aces, 4-1.

Idaho (12-6-4, 28 points) has now picked up a point in the standings in 12 of its past 14 games. The Steelheads are 4-1-1 on their current, season-long eleven-game homestand.

It started with a rush into the offensive zone four minutes into the game as Gaelan Patterson chipped a puck ahead to Tommy Grant. Grant sped in the left wing before delivering a centering pass to Rob Linsmayer and the rookie winger steered the puck past Alaska's Olivier Roy at 4:07 of the first to give Idaho a 1-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, just seconds after Alaska's Dustin Molle was whistled for tripping, Patterson redirected a Damon Kipp point shot past Roy on the power play for his second goal of the season at 5:56 of the first to make it 2-0.

A big moment came about three minutes later with Idaho's Patrick Cullity in the penalty box. Alaska was buzzing around the Idaho net and appeared primed to score after a Josh Robinson save left a rebound near the left edge of the crease but Tyler Elbrecht came from nowhere to block the shot to protect the two-goal lead. Then, at 10:45 of the first, David deKastrozza won a puck battle along the wall and sprinted in the right wing, eventually snapping a wrister past Roy from the right circle for a short-handed goal. The two-goal swing on the Idaho penalty made it 3-0 Steelheads.

At 18:18 of the first, rookie defenseman Etienne Boutet netted his first professional goal, a blast from the left circle through traffic from Anthony Nigro, making it 4-0 and matching Idaho's highest-scoring period of the season. The team also tallied four goals in the third period at San Francisco on November 22.

Idaho's defense came up big on the penalty kill again in the second period as, again, Josh Robinson made the initial save on an Aces shot but the rebound rolled right to Peter Sivak with Robinson sprawled out of position. Sivak appeared to have an easy, almost empty-net tally from the hashmarks to cut into Idaho's lead but Boutet skidded across the goal mouth to kick the puck away with his skates. A second rebound shot also bounced off Boutet as again the Aces were thwarted.

Robinson's bid for a shutout was broken up with less than two minutes left in the third period by Jordan Kremyr but the Idaho netminder held the fort from there and has allowed just twelve goals-against in his last seven starts. He stopped 26 of 27 shots in the win. Roy allowed four goals on 30 shots in the loss for Alaska.

Idaho's penalty-kill unit was a perfect 6-for-6 while the Steelheads went 1-3 on the power play. Patterson, with a goal and assist, was the only multi-point performer on the evening. Mitch Wahl was held off the score sheet despite a couple of quality chances, ending his ECHL-best point streak at 14 consecutive games.

The Steelheads and Aces will get together again Friday and Saturday at CenturyLink Arena. The Steelheads will be wearing authentic jerseys of their NHL affiliate, the Dallas Stars, that will be auctioned off to raise money for St. Luke's Children's Hospital. Tickets are available by calling the CenturyLink Arena box office at 208-331-8497.

COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME - Gaelan Patterson (1G/1A)

CENTURYLINK THREE STARS: 1) Josh Robinson (ID) 2) Gaelan Patterson (ID) 3) Etienne Boutet (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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ECHL Stories from December 12, 2013


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