ECHL Idaho Steelheads

Game Day Storylines- at Norfolk

Published on November 16, 2016 under ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


Programming Note: Tonight's broadcast will be joined in progress on 93.1FM KTIK at 6pm MT. Game coverage on ECHLTV will begin at 5pm MT.

Steel Reel The Steelheads make their first ever trip to Norfolk looking to earn their first three-game winning streak of the season against an Admirals team in search of their first home win of the year. The teams square off in the first game of a three-game set at Norfolk Scope, with Idaho looking to transfer some of its home-ice success to the road. The Steelheads have won their last two games away from Boise to bring their road record to 2-3-0.

The Steelheads took two out of three from the Adirondack Thunder at CenturyLink Arena, finishing the series with a 4-2 win on Saturday night. The Steelheads scored two goals in the third period to break a 2-2 tie, with Kyle Jean and Joe Basaraba finding the back of the net. Anthony Luciani and Charlie Dodero also scored for Idaho, helping to improve the Steelheads to 6-2-0 over their last eight games.

Comeback Comfort... Falling behind early against a fast Thunder team didn't faze Idaho last weekend. The Steelheads came from behind in both weekend wins, overcoming a 2-0 deficit after the second period on Friday and a 1-0 deficit in the second period on Saturday. The Steelheads have now earned at least a point in three of the eight games this season in which they trailed after 40 minutes, and in two of the last three. Helping their cause is a plus-6 goal differential in third periods, tied for sixth best in the league. Their 20 goals in the third period are fourth-most in the ECHL.

Breakout Boss... After struggling to find the back of the net to start the season, Joe Basaraba is burying his chances. Basaraba scored the shootout winner for Idaho on November 4th in Colorado, and since has scored three goals in four games and recorded four points in that span. Basaraba's goal on Saturday night came short-handed, the Steelheads first short-handed goal of the season. Kyle Jean hopes to have a similar response, scoring a shootout winner for Idaho Friday night and then scoring the game-winner on Saturday to snap a nine-game goal-scoring drought.

Historic Scope... The Steelheads will play three games at Norfolk Scope, an arena with a lot of hockey history and some of it quite recent. The building has hosted Admirals hockey since 1989, originally the Hampton Roads Admirals in the ECHL, then the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League, and now the ECHL's Admirals once again. The Scope was home to the 2011-12 AHL Admirals coached by current Tampa Bay Lightning bench-boss John Cooper, a team that set a North American pro hockey record with 28 consecutive wins on the way to a Calder Cup Championship. The late John Brophy, the winningest coach in ECHL history and the namesake of the league's Coach of the Year award, coached the Hampton Roads Admirals at the Scope from 1989-2000 and won three Kelly Cups.

About the Admirals... Norfolk enters Wednesday's contest with points in two straight games following back-to-back overtime losses, but they still have just one win in their first 11 games and none at the Scope. The Admirals' 17 goals are the second-fewest in the ECHL this season, and their past two games were the first this season in which they scored more than two goals. Nick MacNeil leads the Admiral offense with three goals and six points, but newcomer Jaedon Descheneau has been a strong addition to the team with three points in four games. Connor Knapp has fared well in net for the Admirals, the former Buffalo Sabre prospect posting a 2.98 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage despite an 0-3-1 record. Norfolk's minus-17 goal differential is second-worst in the ECHL, despite ranking in the middle of the league in goals-against per game and sitting fourth in penalty-kill percentage.

Idaho Leaders Admirals Leaders Goals: Four tied (4) Goals: MacNeil (3) Assists: Dahl (11) Assists: Six tied (3) Points: Dahl (15) Points: MacNeil (6) Plus/Minus: Dahl (+4) Plus/Minus: Descheneau (+1) Power Play Goals: Merchant (3) Power Play Goals: Alberga (1) Goals-Against Average: Komm (2.87) Goals-Against Average: Knapp (2.98)

Check out the Idaho Steelheads Statistics

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ECHL Stories from November 16, 2016


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