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ECHL Idaho Steelheads

Bounces Go Wrong Way in Idaho Loss

March 6, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


Boise, ID (3/2/14) - A late power-play shot bounced off Robbie Smith and past Pat Nagle with less than a minute left in regulation, helping the visiting Las Vegas Wranglers sneak a win away from the Idaho Steelheads, 5-3, on Wednesday night.

The Wranglers scored three unanswered in the third to hand Idaho (29-21-7) its third consecutive loss. It marks the first time in Head Coach Brad Ralph's tenure that Idaho has dropped three in a row.

The visitors scored first at the 13:19 mark of the first period when Smith battled the puck from behind the net to the edge of the crease before feeding Geoff Paukovich for the goal to make it 1-0. Idaho answered quickly in transition as Brock Montgomery got the puck to Taylor Vause in the right-wing circle and Vause snapped it over the glove of Las Vegas goaltender Travis Fullerton at 18:39 of the first to tie the game at one goal apiece. Las Vegas re-took the lead on a strong individual effort from John Armstrong, weaving in and out of traffic before putting a back-hander past Nagle at 19:29 to make it 2-1 after one period of play.

Idaho dominated the second period, out-shooting Las Vegas, 15-6. The Steelheads leveled the score at the 3:01 mark when Russ Sinkawich's slap-pass from the right point was redirected home by William Rapuzzi, the rookie's 14th goal of the season, to make the score 2-2. After several near-misses, including a Dan DeLisle shot that just floated wide of the left-wing post, Idaho re-took the lead at 15:37 of the second when Vause gathered a deflected Rob Linsmayer pass in the right-wing circle, slammed on the brakes, and patiently waited for Fullerton to give him an opening to drive home his second goal of the night - eighth of the season - to put Idaho on top, 3-2, after two periods.

The Wranglers used a fortunate hop to score early in the third to tie it. Defenseman Greg Coburn nudged a puck forward into the offensive zone, getting the puck on net, but the rebound hopped away from Nagle and an Idaho defenseman, right onto the tape of Chad Nehring and the former Steelhead poked home his 13th of the season at 2:29 of the third to tie the game at three. Mitch Wahl, Montgomery and DeLisle all came within inches of giving Idaho the lead back to no avail.

With just over four minutes left in regulation, DeLisle tried to lift the stick of Las Vegas forward Chris Francis but wound up inadvertently clipping him with a high stick, drawing a four-minute, double minor penalty. Idaho was less than 30 seconds from killing it off when a Charlie Cook shot from the center point took another favorable Wrangler bounce, ricocheting in off of Smith with just 58 seconds left in regulation to give the Wranglers the lead. Idaho pulled Nagle in favor of an extra attacker in the hopes of getting the game-tying goal but, instead, Nehring battled for control of a loose puck in the neutral zone and backhanded a soft, bouncing shot from near center ice into the vacated net to seal the victory for Las Vegas.

Nagle took the loss for Idaho, stopping 21 of 25 shots. Fullerton was the winner for Las Vegas, making 36 saves on 39 shots. Each team scored once on the power play, Idaho going 1-4 and Las Vegas going 1-5.

Friday and Saturday are the annual "Pink in the Rink" games as Idaho will wear special jerseys against the Wranglers that will be auctioned off via silent auction to raise money for St. Luke's Mountain States Tumor Institute. Tickets for all Idaho home games are available online at www.idahosteelheads.com or by calling 208-331-8497.

COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME - Taylor Vause (2G)

CENTURYLINK THREE STARS:

1) Taylor Vause (ID)

2) William Rapuzzi (ID)

3) Chad Nehring (LV)

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.

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