Luciani, Steelheads steal win from Wheeling

WHEELING, WV — Anthony Luciani’s breakaway tally with 7:31 left in regulation time snapped a 2-2 tie and sent the Idaho Steelheads (37-21-7) on their way to a 3-2 win over the Wheeling Nailers (32-26-8) on Friday night at WesBanco Arena, reducing Idaho’s magic number to clinch a playoff spot to four points.

Luciani’s goal and the Steelheads penalty kill made the difference as Idaho killed off all eight Nailer man-advantages.

With the Nailers bringing pressure in the Idaho zone, rookie defenseman Kevin Schulze made a drop pass at the blue line that was read and intercepted by Luciani. Luciani raced in and slid a forehand deke under the outstretched left pad of Wheeling goaltender Sean Maguire. Maguire made the initial save but couldn’t stop his momentum sliding backwards into the net, as the puck crept over the goal line for Luciani’s team-leading 28th goal of the season and the eventual game-winner.

Luciani is now one point shy of 300 for his professional career, including his time playing in Europe last year.

The Steelheads opened the scoring at 12:07 of the first period when rookie defenseman Brandon Anselmini fired a wrist shot from the right wing that beat Maguire over the blocker for Anselmini’s fourth goal of the year. Mike McMurtry earned an assist in his first game back with Idaho since February 1st, having been reassigned to Idaho from Texas earlier this week.

The Steelheads would maintain their lead until 5:29 of the second period, when Johnny Daniels fed Kale Kerbashian in front of the Idaho net to tie the game 1-1 with his eighth goal of the season, extending his points streak to nine games. The Steelheads would retake the lead with a power play goal from Kellan Lain at 12:49 on the rebound of a Will Merchant shot, Lain’s 12th goal of the season.

The Nailers tied the score on a broken play at 4:04 of the third period, a failed clearing attempt bouncing to Garrett Meurs at the left circle for a one-timer past Landon Bow, his 23rd goal of the season. Bow would shut the door from there, earning his 16th win of the year after he too was returned from AHL Texas this week.

Justin Hache made his Steelheads debut after joining the Steelheads from AHL Texas, forming a strong shutdown pair with Corbin Baldwin that contributed to the penalty kill’s lockdown performance. Bow made several saves in the final flurry to give him 27 in the win.

Rob Linsmayer earned an assist to move into sole possession of fifth place on the Steelheads all-time ECHL scoring list, his 145 points moving ahead of Scott Burt. Linsmayer also appeared in his 193rd game for the Steelheads, moving past Blake Forsyth for sixth place on the Steelheads’ ECHL list.

The Steelheads will clinch a playoff spot with any combination of four points in the standings gained by the Steelheads or lost by the Missouri Mavericks. The Mavericks played in Wichita on Friday, the game still underway at the end of Idaho’s contest.

The Steelheads and Nailers will play the rubber-game of their series on Saturday night at WesBanco Arena, with puck-drop scheduled for 5:05 p.m. MT.