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Idaho Steelheads

Steelheads: Game Day Storylines - Game 1, Mountain Division Final

April 28, 2018 - ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


Steel Reel

The Steelheads and Colorado Eagles met 12 times during the 2017-18 season, but the stakes will be much higher at Budweiser Events Center on Saturday night when they face off in Game 1 of the Mountain Division Final. The Steelheads are playing in the second round of the U.S. Bank Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2014 following their seven-game series win over the Allen Americans. The defending Kelly Cup champion Eagles advanced past the Wichita Thunder in six games in their first round series, which wrapped up last Monday.

With a 4-1 win in Wednesday night's Game 7 at CenturyLink Arena, the Steelheads became the second team in ECHL history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit, joining the 2010 Kelly Cup champion Cincinnati Cyclones. Brady Brassart and Tommy Thompson both scored for Idaho, and Jefferson Dahl and Jack Nevins added empty-net goals in the final minutes to seal the win. Philippe Desrosiers made 32 saves, and the Steelheads improved to 4-1 in the ECHL era in winner-take-all playoff games.

Rocky Mountain Rematch...

The Steelheads and Eagles meet for the fourth time in post-season play, but for the first time beyond the first round. The Eagles defeated the Steelheads in five games during last year's first round, with the Steelheads winning Game 1 in Colorado before losing the next four. The Steelheads earned first-round wins over the Eagles in 2013 and 2014, both six-game series and with the 2014 series capped by a four-overtime win for Idaho that still stands as the longest game in ECHL history. Idaho went 7-4-1 against the Eagles during the regular season, including a three-game sweep in Loveland in February. At the time, the Eagles had lost one game in regulation on home ice all season. The Steelheads were the only team to earn consecutive wins in Loveland this season.

Back to Their Identity...

While the Steelheads needed an historic surge to recover from their three-game deficit against Allen, their stats in Games 4 through 7 were much more comparable to their regular season totals. The Steelheads were ranked fourth in the ECHL during the regular season with 2.61 goals-against per game, but they surrendered 13 in the first three games of the series. Over the final four games, the Steelheads held Allen to six goals while giving up just under 35 shots a game. The Steelheads also came back from 1-0 deficits in Games 4 and 5, after going 13-11-4 this season when giving up the first goal.

Registering Points...

The Steelheads will see Matt Register in the playoffs for the third straight year. The ECHL's back-to-back winner of Defenseman of the Year honors was with the Eagles last spring and was also with the Allen Americans in 2016. Over the course of 12 playoff games against Idaho in the past two years, Register has totaled five goals and 13 points, including a five-point performance in Game 4 of last year's first round series. Register led all ECHL defensemen this year with 65 points, and he notched seven assists in the first round against the Thunder. Register had four goals and nine points in 12 regular-season games against Idaho this year.

Idaho Leaders Eagles Leaders

Goals: French (3) Goals: Beaudin (4)

Assists: Ully (6) Assists: Register (7)

Points: Ully (7) Points: Three players (7)

Plus/Minus: Hanna (+5) Plus/Minus: Register (+6)

Power Play Goals: French (3) Power Play Goals: Five players (1)

Goals-Against Average: Desrosiers (1.84) Goals-Against Average: Cannata (3.09)

Check out the Idaho Steelheads Statistics

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