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ECHL Idaho Steelheads

Utah pulls away late to take series lead

April 25, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Idaho Steelheads News Release


Boise, ID "" Utah scored on a power play and a rebound off a rush midway through the third period Saturday night, adding two late goals to pull away from the Idaho Steelheads, 5-2, in Game 5 of the two teams' U.S. Bank ECHL Kelly Cup quarterfinal series in Boise.

With the win, the Grizzlies took a three-games-to-two in the best of seven series. Idaho has a chance to even the series on Monday in Utah (7 PM, KTIK 1350) and a win would force a return trip to CenturyLink Arena for a winner-take-all Game 7 on Wednesday (April 29).

Idaho had to fight off a pair of early Utah overlapping power plays, including 30 seconds of 5-on-3 time, to keep the game scoreless through the first ten minutes. At that point, Idaho got going. Martin Lee steamed a pass up the right-wing side to Jefferson Dahl, who tapped it forward to a streaking Colton Beck in the right-wing side. Beck snapped a shot past Utah goaltender Igor Bobkov at 10:48 of the opening period, Beck's fourth of the postseason, to put Idaho up, 1-0. Utah answered on the next shift as Connor Hardowa took a pass from Michael Pelech in the right-wing circle and shot a quick wrister along the ice past Idaho goaltender Chris Rawlings just 17 seconds later, at 11:05, tying the game at 1-1.

That score held into the second period before Idaho recaptured the lead. Rawlings steered a puck to defenseman Mike Dalhuisen deep in his own end at the end of a long shift. Dalhuisen spotted Wade MacLeod, streaking free up the left wing side and delivered a pass two-thirds of the way up the ice onto MacLeod's tape and Idaho's top goal-scorer buried his fifth of the playoffs, tied for most in the ECHL, at 6:11 of the second to make it a 2-0 lead.

Idaho pressed to add to the lead early in the third. Jesse Root was robbed on the doorstep by Bobkov, Dahl hit the post with a shot and an ensuing shot toward the net was again snagged by Bobkov before it could find the back of the net, keeping Utah close. The Grizzlies tied the game with a power play goal "" just the third combined power-play goal from either team in 42 total chances through five games "" at 6:11 of the third, making it 2-2. Moments later, Utah turned the puck over deep in its own end and Levi Nelson found himself all alone at the hashmarks, but Bobkov came up with another big glove save to keep the game tied.

The Grizzlies caught a break at the end of an Idaho power play with about eight minutes left when a Patrick Wellar hit "" very close to a penalty "" separated Idaho's William Wrenn from the puck. TJ Syner picked up the puck and skated ahead, throwing a puck toward the net that Rawlings initially stopped. But Hardowa, following up the play, jabbed home the rebound at 12:29 to give Utah a 3-2 lead.

Idaho pressed for the equalizer but, forced into taking chances, surrendered a breakaway goal to Alex Krushelnyski and a Syner empty-netter in the final two minutes to make the final score seem more lopsided than the game it was.

Bobkov stopped 23 of 25 shots, many of them under duress, in net for Utah. Rawlings stopped 26 of 30 shots between the pipes for Idaho. The Steelheads came up empty on four power-play chances while Utah went 1-4.

Game 1: Idaho 3, Utah 2 (OT) Game 2: Utah 3, Idaho 2 Game 3: Idaho 5, Utah 4 (OT) Game 4: Utah 4, Idaho 1 Game 5: Utah 5, Idaho 2; Utah leads series, 3-2 Game 6: Idaho at Utah (Mon, April 27, 7:05 PM) Game 7: Utah at Idaho (Wed, April 29, 7:10 PM) "" IF NECESSARY

Tickets for a potential Game 7 in Boise will go on sale once the game is deemed necessary. Fans can secure the same seat to all possible Steelheads' home playoff games through the "Pay as We Play" program, call the Steelheads front office at 208-383-0080 for more information.

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