ECHL Idaho Steelheads

Faragher's 47 Saves Stymie Steelheads

October 31, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


Boise, ID - Utah goaltender Ryan Faragher made 47 saves and Matt Berry scored twice as the Utah Grizzlies (2-2-1) beat the Idaho Steelheads (2-3-1) on Friday night at CenturyLink Arena.

The Steelheads controlled the flow of the game and the puck for most of regulation but didn't have an answer for Faragher until 12:15 of the third period, when Daniel Johnston's high zone wrister through traffic went off the post and in for his first goal as a Steelhead, bringing Idaho within two goals at 3-1.

That was as close as the Steelheads would come, as the post wasn't as helpful the rest of the game, particularly on an Andrew Carroll redirection shortly after the Johnston goal that ricocheted off the iron and out to the corner. Aside from those bad bounces, the night was a series of sprawling saves from Faragher, saves off the knob of his stick or quick kick saves with rebounds that the Steelheads could never quite reach.

The Grizzlies managed only 15 shots for the game, including Corey Fienhage's empty-netter in the final minute to seal the game. They made the most of their limited chances.

Berry opened the scoring at the midway point of the first period, on only Utah's third shot of the game, when his centering pass around the Steelhead net banked off of Zack Kamrass and came right back to Berry, who had an open net as Eric Hartzell had lunged across the crease to honor the pass.

After applying heavy pressure for much of the second period, it was again the Grizzlies that made the most of an opportunity when a puck squirted out to Charles Sarault at the top of the left circle and his wrister eluded Hartzell at 13:36. Just 5:16 later, it was Berry again sneaking back-door and redirecting a point feed from Ryan Misiak to put the Grizzlies ahead 3-0 after two periods. Philippe Desrosiers came in for the third period, stopping the only shot he saw in the third.

The Steelheads penalty kill remained strong, killing off all three Utah power play opportunities, including a lengthy 5-on-3 disadvantage at the start of the second period. The kill gave the Steelheads a spark and only further stoked a strong offensive attack all night, but Faragher had the answers.

The Steelheads and Grizzlies hit the ice again tomorrow in Utah for a 2pm puck drop at the Maverik Center, with the Steelheads looking to snap a three-game losing streak.

Check out the Idaho Steelheads Statistics



ECHL Stories from October 31, 2015


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