ECHL Idaho Steelheads

Steelheads Net Six on Teddy-Bear Toss Night

December 13, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


Boise, ID - Brett Robinson scored two goals and Wade MacLeod added three assists Saturday night as the Idaho Steelheads defeated the Alaska Aces, 6-4, in front of 4,034 fans at CenturyLink Arena on Teddy-Bear Toss Night in Boise.

Idaho improves to 15-8-2 (32 points) with the win, moving back into sole possession of first place in the ECHL's Pacific Division.

The Steelheads got the big goal out of the way early when Robinson snapped a wrist shot past Niklas Lundstrom at the 4:21 mark of the first period to trigger the cascade of teddy bears onto the ice. In all, 1,198 teddy bears were thrown onto the ice, gathered and donated to the US Marine Corps' "Toys for Tots" campaign. After a brief delay to gather the toys, Idaho looked like it was going to immediately add on to the lead as the home team attacked the zone for a four-on-one rush. Alaska's Colten Hayes sprawled on the ice to block a Charlie Dodero shot from the left wing, which jump-started the Aces back the other way. The end result was a Brendan Connolly two-on-one goal at 4:47 to even the score at one.

Idaho took the lead for good at 7:59 when Gaelan Patterson finished David deKastrozza's centering pass, Patterson's third goal of the season, to give Idaho a 2-1 lead. Early in the second, Connolly received a double-minor penalty for high sticking and Idaho cashed in on both minors to seemingly take command of the game. First, at 5:22 of the second, Dodero banged home a rebound of a Jason Bast shot, his third goal of the season, to make it a 3-1 lead. Then, at 6:56, Robinson squeezed his second goal of the night past Lundstrom at the right-wing post, his fourth of the season, to make it 4-1.

The Aces jumped back to life thanks to a fortunate bounce at 10:11 of the second. A Justin Johnson shot from the left wing was headed well wide of the net but deflected off Mike Dalhuisen's hip and into the net to make it a 4-2 game. Then, at 14:59, Johnson tapped home a loose puck on a goal-mouth scramble to cut Idaho's lead to just a goal at 4-3. A little over a minute later, Idaho was whistled for a penalty to put Alaska on the power play but it was Idaho who struck gold. Charlie Dodero knocked the puck loose from an Aces player behind the Idaho net and Steve Quailer turned and moved up the right-wing wall. Quailer banked a perfect, long-range pass off the boards to spring Bast into the zone and Idaho's leading goal-scorer put his 14th of the season through the legs of Lundstrom just as the Alaska man-advantage was expiring, Idaho's fifth short-handed goal of the season, to take a 5-3 lead into the third period.

After a Tyler Currier goal got Alaska back within one, James Livingston delivered a crucial insurance goal from the high slot at 11:14, his fifth of the season, to give Idaho the margin it needed to hold on for a 6-4 win. The two-goal win was Idaho's first multi-goal victory since November 12, a 6-2 win over Alaska. Each of the team's six wins since were by one goal.

MacLeod (three assists), Robinson (two goals), Bast (goal, assist) and Dodero (goal, assist) all had multi-point nights for Idaho. MacLeod now has 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) to lead the Steelheads.

Olivier Roy picked up his 12th win of the season by stopping 36 Alaska shots. Lundstrom was the loser, allowing six goals on 27 shots. Idaho was a perfect 2-for-2 on penalty-kill and scored a short-handed tally during the relatively whistle-free game while the power-play converted on both of its chances.

Idaho heads on the road to play four games in five nights next week, starting Wednesday night in Ontario (CA) against the Reign.

The Steelheads return to home ice the night after Christmas, December 26, to face the same Reign team at CenturyLink Arena. Tickets are available online at www.idahosteelheads.com or by calling the CenturyLink Arena box office at 331-8497.

Check out the Idaho Steelheads Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 13, 2014


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