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ECHL Idaho Steelheads

STEELHEADS: Steelheads Ground Eagles in Game 1

April 15, 2017 - ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


STEELHEADS: Steelheads Ground Eagles in Game 1
STEELHEADS: Steelheads Ground Eagles in Game 1
(Idaho Steelheads)

Loveland, CO (4/14/17)- Landon Bow made 32 saves in his professional playoff debut and linemates Jefferson Dahl, Rob Linsmayer, and Will Merchant all had two-point nights, as the Idaho Steelheads captured Game 1 of the Mountain Division Semifinals with a 4-2 win over the Colorado Eagles on Friday night at Budweiser Events Center.

The Eagles poured on the pressure in the third period, but the Steelheads won the special teams game with a power play goal and a short-handed goal to compliment a perfect penalty-killing night. When the Eagles did manage to break through late with a chance to tie the game, Bow made his best stop.

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@01D2B570.6E9A3450] With under three minutes to go in regulations and the Steelheads up 3-2, a left-wing shot towards the Idaho net was blocked. The loose puck bounced to the right-wing side, where Shawn St. Amant was alone and had a wide open net from the face-off dot. Bow lunged across the crease and reached out with his left arm to bat the sailing shot from St. Amant away from the top corner and over the crossbar to preserve the one-goal Idaho lead.

Shortly after with 24 seconds left on the clock, Brian Nugent stripped Colorado's Casey Pierro-Zabotel in front of the Idaho bench and fired a puck the length of the ice into an empty net to secure Idaho's series-opening victory.

The Steelheads got on the board first at 8:27 of the first period when they scored on their only power play of the night. Joe Faust made a slick move at the blue line to hold the puck in and evade a stickless Matt Garbowsky. Kellan Lain and Merchant would then move the puck around the outside of the zone before feeding Dahl at the left circle.

Dahl was playing his first playoff game since April of 2015 after an injury kept him out of last year's post-season. Dahl wasted no time making an impact, wiring a shot past the glove of Eagles' goaltender Kent Simpson for a 1-0 Steelheads lead.

That lead was shortlived as Johnny Lazo would bury a loose puck behind Bow just 1:11 later to tie the score. The Steelheads would rely on their penalty kill to put them ahead in the second.

At 7:19 of the second period, Linsmayer took a pass in the neutral zone from Dahl and skated in front of the Idaho bench. With his teammates heading for a change, Linsmayer took one stride over the blue line and whistled a wrist shot over Simpson's shoulder, knocking the water bottle off the net and giving Idaho a 2-1 lead on the second shorthanded goal of Linsmayer's career, the other coming back in the 2014 playoffs.

Linsmayer would make another play to extend Idaho's lead. At 13:55 of the second, Linsmayer's left-wing shot was kicked away by Simpson, but the rebound was quickly collected by Will Merchant. Merchant slid the puck out to the high slot where defenseman Justin Hache was all alone to fire a shot past Simpson's blocker for a 3-1 Idaho lead.

Sean Zimmerman drew the Eagles back within a goal at 15:18 of the second period on a shot from the blue line, but Colorado would come no closer.

In their first playoff games, Lain earned an assist, Merchant had two helpers, and Hache scored his first playoff goal and first goal as a Steelhead. The Steelheads penalty kill carried over strong work from the regular season, when they finished the year 28-for-29 on the kill.

This is the third time the Steelheads and Eagles have met each other in the ECHL playoffs, with all three meetings occuring in the past five years. In each series, Idaho has won Game 1.

The Steelheads and Eagles return to Budweiser Events Center on Saturday night for Game 2 of the Mountain Division Semifinals. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7:05pm MT, with the game available on 1350KTIK and on ECHLTV.

STEELHEADS STATS: Goals: Dahl (1), Linsmayer (1), Hache (1), Nugent (1) Landon Bow: 32 saves on 34 shots Power Play: 1-for-1 Penalty Kill: 4-for-4

CENTURYLINK THREE STARS OF THE GAME

1. Jefferson Dahl IDH

2. Rob Linsmayer IDH

3. Landon Bow IDH

COORS LIGHT OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME Jefferson Dahl: Goal, assist, 1 shot, plus-3 rating

PLAY OF THE GAME: The Steelheads played a strong, disciplined road game in Colorado, but the Eagles were still inches away from sending the game to overtime. On a night where Idaho managed every momentum swing, the Eagles best chance to swing the game their way came on Shawn St. Amant's effort from the right face-off dot with the net wide open. Landon Bow sprawled from right to left for a game-saving stop on a puck labeled for the top corner, shutting down Colorado's best opportunity to send the game to overtime and buying time for Brian Nugent to seal Game 1 with an empty-net tally.

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STEELHEADS: Steelheads Ground Eagles in Game 1
STEELHEADS: Steelheads Ground Eagles in Game 1
 STEELHEADS: Steelheads Ground Eagles in Game 1
STEELHEADS: Steelheads Ground Eagles in Game 1
  



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