RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Idaho Steelheads (5-5-0) led early but were not able to hold the lead in a 4-2 loss to the Rapid City Rush (3-4-1) on Friday night from Monument Ice Arena.
The Steelheads found tallies in the first period and continued the momentum left from Wednesday evening. Forward Will Merchant (10:48 1st) put back a rebound on a rush into the offensive zone to take the initial 1-0 lead. On the team’s first power play, Steelheads forward Zack Andrusiak (PP, 18:19 1st) tapped in his own rebound from a net front scrum to double the lead, 2-0. In the second period, the Rush were able to tack on two of their own and found one more in the third to take the 3-2 lead. One more was added into the empty net to provide the 4-2 result.
ICCU 3 STARS OF THE GAME
1. RC – Max Coatta (hat-trick)
2. RC – Gabriel Chabot (2 assists)
3. RC – Lukas Parik (W, 25-27 saves)
PEPSI PLAYER OF THE GAME
Will Merchant (F) – goal, assist
STEELHEADS STANDOUTS
– Will Merchant: Merchant tallied his second multi-point game of the season, earning one goal and one assist. He now has goals in three of his last four games and four points (3-1—4) in that stretch.
– A.J. White: White totaled a pair of assists in the game for the other multi-point result for the Steelheads. His two assists mark his second multi-point game of the season and now owns seven points (4-3—7).
CATCH OF THE DAY
The two-assist night by A.J. White moves him up the all-time Steelheads ECHL standings for assists. He now owns 88 assists with the Steelheads, vaulting him into sixth place in the ECHL era, overtaking Scott Burt (’03-’07) on the list. He now is three assists behind Rob Linsmayer (’12-’17), who earned 91 assists in his career.
ATTENDANCE: 3,957
LOOKING AHEAD
The Steelheads finish their three-game weekend against the Rapid City Rush on Satuday, Nov. 13 at 7:05 p.m. from the Monument Ice Arena in the final game of their road trip. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on 1350AM KTIK and FloHockey.
Idaho Steelheads release