ECHL Idaho Steelheads

Idaho Drops Another Tight One to Utah

February 25, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


(Boise, ID) - The visiting Utah Grizzlies scored on the power play and scored short-handed Saturday night and those two goals wound up being the difference in a 4-2 victory over the Idaho Steelheads in front of 4,450 fans at CenturyLink Arena.

With the win, Utah (25-25-5, 55 points) leaves town with six points in the three-game set, moving past Idaho into sixth place in the ECHL's Western Conference playoff race. Idaho (23-27-7, 53 points) has now lost eight consecutive games.

Idaho struck first at 2:28 of the first period when Michael Neal out-skated Utah's David Strathman to a loose puck in the Grizzlies' defensive zone. Neal got the puck onto his forehand and slipped a shot under the legs of Utah goaltender Andrew Engelage to put Idaho on top, 1-0. The goal was Neal's sixth of the season, tying a career-high for the 22-year-old winger.

The Grizzlies answered with two goals in a 100-second span later in the first frame. First, it was Paul McIlveen beating Jerry Kuhn over the blocker at 8:23, a short-handed goal, to tie the game at one. Then, at 10:07, Ryan Turek's shot from the blue line bounced through traffic, ultimately re-directed past Kuhn by Matt Sorteberg, to give Utah a 2-1 lead after one period. Utah moved to a two-goal advantage at 6:07 of the second period when Nick Tuzzulino's power-play shot was tipped over Kuhn's shoulder by an Idaho stick, making it 3-1.

Just like Wednesday and Friday, when the team also faced 3-1 deficits, Idaho battled back. Seven minutes into the third period, Tommy Lange carried the puck into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 rush. His shot from the high slot was deflected by Tuzzulino, attempting to block the shot, over Engelage's shoulder, to make it 3-2. It was Lange's sixth tally of the season and also represented his third straight game with a goal.

Idaho had several opportunities later in the third, including a goal-mouth scramble where Utah's CJ Severyn got a piece of a Lange tip-in attempt, that were all denied. Engelage came up large in the final frame for Utah, making a series of key saves. Utah tacked on a late. empty-net goal from Logan MacMillan to round out the scoring.

Engelage finished the night with 42 saves on 44 shots for Utah, while Jerry Kuhn absorbed the loss after turning aside 19 of 22 before the final empty-netter for the Grizzlies. Utah's power play went 1-6, while Idaho was 0-5 with the extra attacker.

The Steelheads remain at home next weekend, hosting the Pacific Division-leading Las Vegas Wranglers on Friday, March 2,, and Saturday, March 3. The team will wear specially-themed University of Idaho jerseys both nights that will be auctioned off via silent auction to beneft St. Luke's Elks Childrens Rehab and Mountain States Tumor Institute. Tickets are available by calling the CenturyLink Arena box office (208.331.TIXS) or by logging on to www.idahosteelheads.com.

Check out the Idaho Steelheads Statistics



ECHL Stories from February 25, 2012


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