Steelheads Fall to Rush in Overtime
October 18, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release
Jonathan Narbonne's first goal of the season was the overtime winner as the Rapid City Rush stormed back with four consecutive goals to erase a 4-1 Steelheads lead and hand Idaho their first loss of the season.
At 2:01 of overtime, the Steelheads were threatening in their first taste of the ECHL's new 3-on-3 overtime format. Rob Linsmayer charged into the zone and pulled up inside the blue line as Rush defenseman Michael Young fell to the ice. The puck was knocked away from Linsmayer and past the pinching Daniel Johnston, and it was Young who got back to his feet and pounced on the loose puck in the neutral zone to lead a defensemen-only, 2-on-0 break and set up Narbonne's winning goal.
The Rush forced overtime with two goals in the final 12:06 of the third period, first with Young firing a shot from the top of the right circle through traffic and past Steelheads goaltender Philippe Desrosiers. Then with time winding down and the score 4-3 Idaho, Scott Brannon hammered a one-timer from the top of the left circle that beat Desrosiers with .1 second remaining to force the extra session.
The Steelheads came out on fire in the first period, taking advantage of some good fortune along the way. Taylor Peters opened the scoring just 2:31 into the first period when he played a helpful hop off the backboards back into the Rapid City Crease, banking it in off of goaltender Danny Battochio.
Three and a half minutes later Jefferson Dahl pushed the lead to 2-0 when he found the puck at the side of the net and lifted it over a sprawling Battochio for his second goal in two games. After Brannon's first goal of the night cut the lead in half, Dahl was back to work setting up rookie defenseman Cole Martin in the slot for his second goal in two games to push the lead to 3-1. A Carson McMillan tally at 17:44 of the first period capped the Idaho offense for the night.
Idaho still led 4-1 midway through the second period when a neutral zone hit from Brandon Magee drew the ire of Rapid City forward Jimmy Bonneau, who took Magee to the ice. The ensuing melee led to a game misconduct for Bonneau, but also one for Andrew Panzarella for Third Man In on the altercation. The Steelheads were forced to play with five defensemen the rest of the game, and Daniel Barczuk cut the Steelhead lead to 4-2 just over three minutes later.
Desrosiers played well for much of his professional debut, stopping 28 shots that included an acrobatic post-to post robbery on a drive from Spencer Pommells. Battochio, after a four goal first period, battled back with 13 saves over the final two periods to give the Rush the chance to come back.
The Steelheads hit the road for their next three games against the Alaska Aces, with the road trip beginning Wednesday night at Sullivan Arena.
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ECHL Stories from October 18, 2015
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