Sports stats

ECHL Idaho Steelheads

Early Goals Set Back Steelheads in 6-4 Loss to Americans

December 5, 2019 - ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


BOISE, Idaho - The Idaho Steelheads (11-8-4) fell behind early and could not recover in a 6-4 loss to the Allen Americans (15-4-2) on Wednesday night from CenturyLink Arena.

The Americans started scoring early and often at 4:10 of the first period on a good hop to forward Olivier Archambault off the right post to take a 1-0 lead. They added a second tally on a 2-on-1 finished by forward Brett Pollock at 8:03 to double the advantage, 2-1. The Steelheads got on the board at 10:53 when forward Will Merchant came high in the slot and slung a shot under the crossbar to initially cut the lead in half at 2-1. Then, the Americans added two more before the end of the frame at 12:18 from forward Gabriel Gagne and at 16:25 from forward Jared VanWormer to take a 4-1 lead into the intermission.

One more cane for the Americans early in the second period at 1:36 when Gagne nabbed his second goal of the night, which spread the lead to its largest of the evening, 5-1. The Steelheads limited the damage in the second and third periods and looked to gain momentum in the final frame.

In the third period, the Steelheads struck first at 1:12 on a turnover forced by Merchant to lead forward Brett Supinski in low and get the home side back on the board, 5-2. After Archambault added his second goal at 11:59 for the Americans, the Steelheads made a game of it late starting with a coast-to-coast goal from defenseman Ondrej Vala at 13:53 to come within three, 6-3. Supinski added his second goal at 18:55 on a jam attempt off the left post, but the deficit was too tall to climb in the eventual 6-4 loss.

Americans goaltender Zach Sawchenko (5-1-1) turned away 30 of 34 shots in the win, while Steelheads netminder Tomas Sholl (9-4-3) halted 17 of 23 shots in the loss.

The Steelheads and Americans meet again on Friday, Dec. 6 at 7:10 p.m. from CenturyLink Arena. Tickets are available by calling 208-331-TIXS(8497) or going online to idahosteelheads.com. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on 1350 KTIK-AM and at 7:00 p.m. on Sparklight Ch. 72 as well as ECHL.tv.

Call the Steelheads Front Office at 208-383-0080 to plan your seats for this season, including single-game, flex plans and season tickets. Stay connected to the Steelheads on idahosteelheads.com or by following the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Check out the Idaho Steelheads Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 5, 2019


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Idaho Steelheads Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central