Steelheads Rally for Win in Front of Sellout Crowd
January 27, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release
(Boise, ID) - Jacob Cepis scored two third-period goals, both assisted by Michael Neal, as the Idaho Steelheads rallied past the Utah Grizzlies, 3-2, Friday night at CenturyLink Arena in Boise.
The game was played in front of 5,321 fans, the largest crowd at CenturyLink Arena this season.
Utah scored first off a defensive-zone turnover by Idaho, with Blair Yaworski picking up a loose puck in the slot and firing it into an empty net as Jerry Kuhn was pinned behind the cage. Yaworski's fifth of the season gave Utah a 1-0 lead after one period.
Idaho tied it midway through the second on Chris Hepp's first professional goal, a wrist shot from the top of the right-hand circle that was deflected by a Utah defender past Andrew Engelage. Utah took the lead back at 15:28 of the second on Mitch Wahl's power play goal. Wahl nearly extended it to a two-goal lead for Utah, but his shot from the right-hand circle in the final second of the period clanged off the post.
Trailing 2-1 going into the third, Idaho turned it up early. Kory Scoran and Michael Neal combined to feed Cepis on a breakaway and the Parma, Ohio, native backhanded the puck between Engelage's legs at 2:46 of the third period to tie the game at two. It stayed tied until the final four minutes when Idaho struck again. Neal won an individual battle along the right-hand wall and fed a pass to Cepis, springing him for another breakaway. Again, Cepis went backhand through the five-hole of the Utah goaltender to give Idaho the 3-2 lead. The goals were Cepis's 13th and 14th of the season.
Jerry Kuhn turned aside 23 of 25 Utah shots as Idaho improved to 20-19-3 on the season. Andrew Engelage stopped 18 of 21 as the Grizzlies slipped to 17-20-4. Utah was 2-3 on the power play while Idaho was 0-5.
Idaho and Utah trade locations and play two more games, Saturday and Monday, in West Valley City. Idaho returns home on February 8 to host the defending Kelly Cup champion Alaska Aces. Tickets are available by calling the CenturyLink Arena box office (208.331.TIXS) or by logging on to www.idahosteelheads.com.
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