BOISE, ID – Mitch Moroz and Brady Brassart each had a goal and an assist and A.J. White provided the finishing touch, as the Idaho Steelheads (1-0-0) overcame a 45-save effort from opposing goaltender Jake Paterson to earn a 4-2 win over the Norfolk Admirals (0-1-0) in front of 4,396 fans at CenturyLink Arena on Opening Night.
The Steelheads improved to 9-4-2 in season-openers during the ECHL era, calling on four different goal-scorers to down Norfolk in the Admirals’ first ever visit to Boise.
Brassart opened the scoring at 9:54 of the first period with his first goal as a Steelhead, converting shorthanded to give Idaho a 1-0 lead. In front of his own net, Brassart intercepted a centering pass and quickly broke the other way on a 2-on-1 with linemate Tommy Thompson. After a give-and-go, Brassart muscled off Norfolk’s Trevor Mingoia to get to the net and lift a backhander under the bar to put Idaho on top.
The Steelheads had eight shorthanded goals last season, six of them coming at home.
The Steelheads had 22 shots in the first period, but led only 1-0 thanks to the play of Paterson for the Admirals. Early in the second period, the Admirals would draw even on another power play. Mingoia took a feed at the left circle from Angelo Miceli and beat Philippe Desrosiers to tie the game at 5:48.
That tie was short-lived, as Henrik Samuelsson put Idaho back on top at 13:04 after scooping a puck off the end-boards and sliding it behind Paterson. Two and a half minutes later, Moroz built on that lead with Idaho’s first power play goal of the season, snapping a left wing shot over Paterson’s shoulder for a 3-1 lead.
Norfolk again drew within a goal near the midway point of the third period after Idaho nearly netted a second shorthanded tally. After Paterson made a toe save on a 2-on-1 rush from rookie defensemen Eric Sweetman and Shane Hanna, the Admirals brought the puck down the other end and scored a power play goal on a high-slot shot from TJ Melancon.
White put the game away with 2:04 remaining, driving to the net and burying the rebound of a Brassart shot to seal the win.
Desrosiers made 23 saves in a winning effort. Idaho’s 49 shots were their most in a game since Neil Graham became head coach prior to the 2015-16 season.
Thompson and Jefferson Dahl each had two assists for Idaho.
The Steelheads and Admirals will complete their two-game, season-opening set on Saturday night with a 7:10 pm MT puck-drop at CenturyLink Arena.
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