ECHL Idaho Steelheads

Steelheads' Slide Continues With 4-0 Loss To Aces

Published on December 21, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


Anchorage, AK - The Alaska Aces used tallies from four different skaters and 32 saves from goaltender Derek Gustafson, as the defending Kelly Cup Champions coasted to a 4-0 blanking of the Steelheads at Sullivan Arena on Wednesday night.

It's the seventh loss in the last eight games for the Steelheads (12-10-1-1), who were shut out for the first time in the regular season since Derek Laxdal took over as head coach at the start of last season. Meanwhile, the first-place Aces (16-8-0-0) have now won five straight games and their West Division lead stands at three points over the Phoenix RoadRunners and six points over the Steelheads.

The Aces got the only goal of the first period, using a four-on-four situation to take a 1-0 lead. At 13:49, defenseman Corbin Schmidt was the recipient of a give-and-go passing play with veteran forward Kimbi Daniels, with Schmidt's one-timer from the slot beating Steve Silverthorn (nine saves) to the blocker side.

Three, second period goals helped the Aces take a 4-0 advantage heading into the second intermission. At 6:02, defenseman Joey Hope took Daniels' feed in the high slot and beat Silverthorn, with Matt Robinson collecting the second assist. Then late in the frame, the Aces scored twice in 23 seconds off goals by Julian Talbot and Robinson. Daniels drew the lone helper on Talbot's eighth of the season, while Robinson went sliding to his stomach to sweep home a rebound off forward Ryan MacMurchy's offering to make it 4-0.

Through two periods, the shots favored the Steelheads at 16-13, but their deficit was four goals.

Neither team scored in the third period, in which Steelheads' rookie goaltender John Daigneau (four saves) came in to start the frame, replacing Silverthorn. Gustafson stopped 16 shots in the third period for his first shutout of the season. The final shots favored the Steelheads, 32-17.

The Steelheads continue their three-game series at Sullivan Arena on Friday, December 22. The puck drops at 9:15 p.m. MST. The game can be viewed in its entirety via the B2 Networks for $6. Visit www.idahosteelheads.com for more details. Locally in Boise, the start of Friday's game will be pre-empted on KTIK "The Ticket, The Sports Station". The Steelheads' next home game is Thursday, December 28 versus Bakersfield. Steelheads' single-game tickets can be purchased via www.idahosteelheads.com (using the all-new, print-at-home feature), by calling 331-TIXS or from the Qwest Arena box office.

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