ECHL Idaho Steelheads

Steelheads Stifle Grizzlies, 3-1

Published on February 6, 2014 under ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


Boise, ID (2/5/14) - Brett Robinson scored a pair of goals and the Idaho Steelheads held the Utah Grizzlies to just 17 shots on net Wednesday night as the homestanding Steelheads knocked off Utah, 3-1, in front of 2,857 fans at CenturyLink Arena.

The 17 shots against represented a season-low for the Steelheads, who improved to 22-16-5 with the victory.

After a tight start to the game, Idaho notched the game's first goal on a line rush. Tommy Grant carried the puck into the offensive zone up the left wing, centered the puck to William Rapuzzi and Rapuzzi played it across to Robinson on the right wing. Robinson's one-timer beat Aaron Dell at 9:51 of the first to give the Steelheads a 1-0 lead.

The home team extended the lead in the second on a very similar goal, just skating the opposite direction. Rob Linsmayer carried the puck in the right wing, centered to Gaelan Patterson and Patterson played it across to Luke Judson - making his Steelheads debut - for the one-timer at 9:22 of the second to double Idaho's lead at 2-0. The goal was Judson's fifth of the season, his first with his new team.

The Steelheads nearly swelled the lead even further early in the third when Rapuzzi got loose on a short-handed breakaway but Dell got a piece of Rapuzzi's shot to keep the game within reach for the Grizzlies. A few moments later, Utah struck on the power play when Kris Hogg finished a nice assist from David Vallorani at 10:48 of the final stanza, making it 2-1.

In the closing minutes of the game, Utah thought it tied the game when Mike Folkes' shot from outside the zone ricocheted wildly off the left-wing glass and into the back of the net. However, Utah had one player offsides when the shot occurred, which negated the goal. After dodging that bullet, Idaho settled back in and held the Grizzlies at bay for the final moments before Robinson deposited his second goal of the night (seventh of the season) into the back of an empty net with just 23 seconds left to secure the victory for the Steelheads.

Pat Nagle picked up his 12th win of the season for Idaho, stopping 16 of 17 Utah shots. Dell took the loss, allowing two goals on 27 Idaho shots as the Steelheads out-shot an opponent (28-17) for the first time January 11 at Colorado.

Robinson (2 goals), Patterson (2 assists) and Linsmayer (2 assists) all had multi-point nights for Idaho.

Idaho's power play came up empty, going 0-4, and the penalty-kill unit was 5-6. In its past 15 games, Idaho's penalty-killing unit is 64-70 (91 percent).

Idaho's six-game homestand continues on Friday when the Colorado Eagles come to town for Mini-Stick Giveaway Night. Tickets are available by calling 208-331-8497. COORS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME - Gaelan Patterson (2A)

CENTURYLINK THREE STARS: 1) Pat Nagle (ID) 2) Luke Judson (ID) 3) Brett Robinson (ID)

Group outings at a Steelheads game are a great way to gather friends, colleagues, or co-workers for a fun night out in downtown Boise. Ticket prices are discounted and you can get a Pepsi, Double-R Ranch Hot Dog, and bag of Tim's Cascade Chips with each ticket. Contact the Steelheads front office at 208.383.0080 or log on to www.idahosteelheads.com for more information.

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ECHL Stories from February 6, 2014


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