ECHL Idaho Steelheads

STEELHEADS: Game Day Storylines- at Rapid City

Published on March 4, 2017 under ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


(32-18-5-2) (15-10-2-2 Road) (21-28-8-0) (9-14-4-0 Home)

Steel Reel

The Steelheads wrap up their longest road trip of the season on Saturday night when they look for a series sweep of the Rapid City Rush at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. The Steelheads scored three unanswered goals in the third period to earn a 3-1 victory over the Rush on Friday, improving the Steelheads' record to 6-1-0 on their trip. Saturday will mark the Steelheads' final game of the regular season at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, where they are 4-2-0 this season.

Ryan Misiak got the Rush on the board early on Friday night, scoring midway through the first period for a 1-0 Rapid City lead. That would be the only puck to beat Landon Bow, who stopped 29 of 30 shots for his 15th win of the season, and his seventh win in his last 8 appearances. The Steelheads would break through against Adam Morrison in the third period, tying the game with an early power play goal by Joe Faust and taking the lead on Anthony Luciani's team-leading 25th goal of the season. Joe Basaraba finished things off with an empty-net goal with one second left on the clock to lock in a 3-1 Steelheads win.

Road Warriors...

The Steelheads have done solid work during their eight-game road trip, winning four of five games against the Utah Grizzlies and Missouri Mavericks, teams that were five and six points, respectively, in back of them in the standings when the trip began. Now Idaho is looking for its second three-game sweep on the road swing. Having already collected 12 points, the Steelheads are experiencing their most successful road trip since they went 6-1-0 on a seven-game swing from February 16th to 28th during the 2014-15 season. The Steelheads are five games above .500 on the road, their new high-water mark for this season.

Faust tied for First...

Joe Faust's power play goal early in the third period on Friday was his 13th goal of the season, tying him with Jarad Bourassa for the Steelheads single-season ECHL record for goals by a defenseman. Faust tied Bourassa's mark set during the 2005-06 season, when Bourassa scored 13 goals in 72 games. Faust scored his 13th in just his 55th contest, tying him for third place among ECHL defenseman in goal-scoring this season. Faust also notched his fifth power play goal, the most scored by a Steelheads blue liner since Jeremie Blain scored five during the 2012-13 season.

One, not done...

Despite trailing by a goal heading into Friday's third period, the Steelheads were able to overcome that deficit to earn the win. The Steelheads are 11-12-4 this season in games in which they surrender the first goal, winning two such games on this road trip. The Steelheads are also 7-9-3 this season when trailing after the first period, their 17 points in such games the fifth-most in the ECHL.

Idaho Leaders Rush Leaders

Goals: Luciani (25) Goals: Walters (24)

Assists: Dahl (36) Assists: Walters (32)

Points: Luciani (53) Points: Walters (56)

Plus/Minus: Glen (+13) Plus/Minus: Weselowski/Young (+4)

Power Play Goals: Merchant (11) Power Play Goals: Walters (6)

Goals-Against Average: Bow (2.15) Goals-Against Average: Morrison (2.86)

Check out the Idaho Steelheads Statistics

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