Real Deal Illo!- Steelheadsâ?? forward scores twice in debut
February 6, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release
Boise, ID - The Idaho Steelheads (25-19-4) came out on top Saturday night with a 5-2 victory at CenturyLink Arena, taking the final game of their three-game series against the Alaska Aces (17-24-2).
Radoslav Illo made his mark during his Steelheads debut. Illo, acquired by the Steelheads late Friday night, scored his first two goals as a Steelhead, giving him five for the season, and also added an assist. Defenseman Jake Rutt also had a three-point night with two assists and his first professional goal.
The Steelheads capitalized on an open net in the final minute, scoring back to back goals at 19:00 and 19:43 by Torin Snydeman and Andre Morrissette, respectively. It was Snydeman's first as a Steelhead and third of the season, while Morrissette's tally was his eighth of the year and second in the last three games.
An energetic first period ended in a 1-1 tie. Aces' defenseman Davis Vandane opened the scoring at 3:24 of the first, backhanding his first professional goal past Jack Campbell from between the circles. Just under four minutes later, the Steelheads responded with Illo's first goal, a redirection of a beautiful Shawn Boutin slap-pass that got past Aces goaltender Troy Redmann.
Former Steelhead Daniel Johnston put Alaska back in front 1:06 into the second period. With the teams playing 4-on-4, Johnston took advantage of the extra space and cut through the middle of the Idaho zone, taking a feed from Mitch Jones and flicking it past Campbell.
Rutt's long wrist-shot through traffic squeezed through a maze of bodies and over Redmann's shoulder at 11:51 of the second period to tie the game. Just 6:25 later, Illo put Idaho in front for the first time with a wrist shot from the high-slot that bounced off Redmann's glove and trickled over his shoulder to make it 3-2.
The Aces rank second in the ECHL in shots on goal per game, and they launched 41 shot at Campbell throughout the course of the night with the goaltender making 39 saves. An impressive defensive performance by the Steelheads prevented secondary opportunities in the third period, with the Steelheads killing all three Aces power plays throughout the game. The late empty-net goals by Snydeman and Morrissette sealed the win.
The Steelheads will resume play on Friday night at CenturyLink Arena against the Utah Grizzlies in the first of a home-and-home set. The Steelheads sit one point back of the division-leading Grizzlies in the standings. Puck-drop is at 7:10pm MT, and the game is available on 1350AM KTIK, CableOne, and ECHLTV.
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