West Valley, UT (1/31/18)— Steve McParland scored in the sixth round of the shootout and Ryan Faragher denied Sam Windle to secure a 6-5 victory for the Idaho Steelheads (24-14-6) over the Utah Grizzlies (16-19-10) on Wednesday night at Maverik Center.
After Daniel Tedesco and Utah’s Taylor Richart both scored in the opening round of the shootout, goaltenders Faragher and Angus Redmond went save for save over the next four rounds. McParland, with two assists in regulation, put Idaho in front with a wrist shot over Redmond’s blocker in the sixth round. Faragher closed the door on a Windle deke, closing the pads together to end the game.
McParland now has points in six straight games for Idaho.
The Steelheads opened a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes of play, with Connor Chatham, Cole Ully, and Alex Dahl all beating Utah starting goaltender Sean Maguire in a span of 5:14. Chatham netted Idaho’s eighth shorthanded goal of the season at 10:13 of the first period, forcing a turnover behind the Utah net and wrapping the puck around Maguire in front while falling to the ice for his ninth goal of the season.
Just 59 seconds later, Ully extended the lead with his sixth goal of the year, beating Maguire with a shot from the high slot. At 15:27, Alex Dahl netted his third goal of the season on a 2-on-1 rush at 15:27, giving Idaho a 3-0 lead and chasing Maguire from the game.
The Grizzlies had eight power plays in the game, compared to zero for the Steelheads, and they used the man-advantage to climb back into the game. At 1:36 of the first period, Ryan Walters beat Faragher with a one-timer from the right circle for his 17th of the season. At 7:58 of the second period, Austin Ortega scored on a one-timer from the right wing for his eighth of the season and Utah’s second power play goal of the game.
Idaho restored their two-goal lead 25 seconds after Ortega’s goal, with Alex Dahl finishing an end-to-end rush with a feed to Zach Bell at the right point. Bell fired a one-timer past Redmond for his first goal of the season and a 4-2 Idaho lead.
The Grizzlies scored three goals in the third period to force overtime. Brad Navin redirected a James Melindy shot from the right-wing wall past Faragher for his fourth goal of the season at 2:23 of the third. AJ White would get it back for Idaho at 7:27, banking a puck off of Redmond from below the goal line for his seventh of the year and a 5-3 Steelheads lead.
Navin scored his second of the game at 11:12 on a power play rebound in front to make it a 5-4 game. Walters would tie the score with his second of the game at 15:57, finishing a feed between the circles from Kyle Thomas.
The Steelheads killed off a 4-on-3 Utah power play in the final minute of overtime after a bench minor for too many men on the ice. Idaho’s penalty kill finished 5-for-8. It was the first game this season in which the Steelheads didn’t earn at least one power play.
The Steelheads’ victory, coupled with a loss for the Wichita Thunder in Tulsa, gives the Steelheads a three-point advantage for second place in the Mountain Division. Idaho’s win snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Steelheads and Grizzlies continue their series at CenturyLink Arena on Friday night. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7:10pm MT with the game available on 1350AM KTIK and on ECHLTV.
With Idaho Steelheads release
You must be logged in to post a comment.