ECHL Idaho Steelheads

STEELHEADS: Aces Top Steelheads, Snap Points Streak

Published on December 1, 2016 under ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


Aces Top Steelheads, Snap Points Streak
Aces Top Steelheads, Snap Points Streak
(Idaho Steelheads)

Boise, ID (11/30/16)- Peter Sivak scored his second goal of the night and the eventual game-winner with just under three minutes left in regulation to push the Alaska Aces (12-4-1) to a 5-3 win over the Idaho Steelheads (11-6-2) on Wednesday night at CenturyLink Arena. The Idaho loss snapped a seven-game points streak of the Steelheads, while the Aces leap-frogged both Idaho and the Colorado Eagles to claim first place in the Mountain Division.

Sivak scored twice in the third period for Alaska, giving the Aces their first lead at 4:46 of the third period and then restoring that lead at 17:02 of the third for good. Tyler Ruegsegger also scored twice for the Aces, as Philippe Desrosiers made 43 saves for Idaho in a losing effort.

With the game tied 3-3, the Steelheads struggled to clear the zone after Desrosiers had fought off a Sivak shot from the high slot. Tim Coffman found Sivak above the circles again, and this time his shot rang off the post and in for a 4-3 Alaska lead. Daniel Moynihan added a short-handed empty net goal to close out the game.

The game was tied 2-2 at the start of the third period when Sivak struck the first time. With Kyle Jean skating in front of the Idaho net, Sivak knocked the puck off his stick. Coffman collected the turnover and fed the puck back to the front of the net for Sivak to whack past Desrosiers.

Sivak now has goals in five straight games, eight in that span, and his 15 tallies lead the league.

Trailing 3-2, Branden Troock drew Idaho even in his first ECHL game of the season. At 8:27 of the third, defenseman Travis Walsh fired a wrist shot at the Alaska net, just below shoulder height, which Troock reached out and redirected past Aces' goaltender Kevin Carr. Troock almost beat Carr on a point-blank chance earlier in the game, but Carr was able to rob the Steelheads with a right pad save for one of his 24 stops on the night.

Idaho opened the scoring in the first period at 13:08 when Will Merchant took a stretch pass from Anthony Luciani and cruised in 2-on-1 with Jefferson Dahl. Merchant fed Dahl for a chance that Carr stopped, but Merchant buried his sixth of the season on the rebound for a 1-0 Idaho lead. It was Merchant's first career even-strength goal.

Ruegsegger tied the score for Alaska exactly three minutes later, beating Desrosiers from just above the goal line with a wrist shot from the left-wing corner.

At 10:34 of the second the Steelheads again grabbed the lead when Lucinai fed David Glen from behind the net for the rookie's third goal of the year. Again Ruegsegger answered quickly, scoring right off the face-off just 4:54 later.

Idaho had just one power play opportunity in the game until Sivak was called for high-sticking with 1:09 remaining. The Steelheads pulled Desrosiers from the net for the extra skater, but could not convert on the power play. A turnover at the offensive blue line became Moynihan's empty-net tally.

Anthony Luciani and Joe Basaraba each had two assists on the night for Idaho.

The Steelheads finish with an 8-3-1 record in the month of November, while the Aces have now won six consecutive games. The Steelheads and Aces meet again on Friday night with a 7:10pm MT puck-drop at CenturyLink Arena. The game is available on 1350AM KTIK, Cable One, and ECHLTV.

STEELHEADS STATS:

Goals: Merchant (6), Glen (3), Troock (1)

Philippe Desrosiers: 43 saves on 47 shots

Power Play: 0-for-2

Penalty Kill: 3-for-3

CENTURYLINK THREE STARS OF THE GAME

1. Peter Sivak ALK

2. Tyler Ruegsegger ALK

3. Anthony Luciani IDH

COORS LIGHT OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME

Peter Sivak: 2 goals, plus-1 rating, 7 shots

PLAY OF THE GAME:

The Steelheads did a solid job for the first two periods keeping the line of Peter Sivak, Tim Coffman, and Tim Wallace in check. In the third period, Sivak found some space and made Idaho pay. Twice Sivak got shots off from the high slot and he found the back of the net with the second for the game-winner. The Steelheads were unable to clear the puck and were caught out of possession, not able to recover after Coffman so quickly recovered Sivak's initial missed shot and fed it back to him. Sivak now has 13 points during this six-game points streak, including eight goals. The Steelheads monitored him, but the ECHL's leading goal scorer found a way to be the difference.

Check out the Idaho Steelheads Statistics

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Aces Top Steelheads, Snap Points Streak
Aces Top Steelheads, Snap Points Streak
   



ECHL Stories from December 1, 2016


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