Boise, ID (4/25/18)— Brady Brassart and Tommy Thompson netted Idaho’s first two goals to send the Steelheads on their way to a 4-1 victory over the Allen Americans in Game 7 of the Mountain Division Semifinals at CenturyLink Arena. The Steelheads won four straight games to overcome a 3-0 series deficit, advancing to the second round of the U.S. Bank Kelly Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Philippe Desrosiers stopped 32 shots to earn his fourth consecutive win, playing to a .957 save percentage over the final four games of the series.
Brassart opened the scoring midway through the first period after Steve McParland forced a turnover just inside the Allen blue line. At 10:06, Zach Pochiro failed to clear the Allen zone and instead gave the puck away to McParland. McParland whipped the puck down low to Brassart alone in front, and he lifted a shot past Jake Paterson for his second goal of the playoffs.
At 10:00 of the second period, Thompson capitalized on another Allen turnover. Paterson rimmed a puck around the wall that Thompson knocked down near the hash marks, sending it back below the goal line for McParland. Thompson went back to the front of the net for the return pass and snapped it past Paterson for his first professional playoff goal and a 2-0 Idaho lead.
The Americans would draw within a goal with 13:40 left in regulation when a David Makowski point shot deflected in off of Zach Pochiro for Pochiro’s third goal of the series. Desrosiers would not allow another goal, preserving a one-goal lead in the closing minutes with a lunging pad save on Spencer Asuchak.
Jefferson Dahl and Jack Nevins would both score into empty nets to secure the win for the Steelheads, as the Steelheads improved to 4-1 in the ECHL era in winner-take-all playoff games and earned their first victory in a Game 7.
The Americans are eliminated from the playoffs in the first round for the first time under Head Coach Steve Martinson.
The Steelheads will face the Colorado Eagles in the Mountain Division Final, a series that begins in Loveland with Game 1 yet to be officially announced. The Steelheads and Eagles meet in the playoffs for the fourth time in the past six years, most recently in 2017 when the Eagles eliminated the Steelheads in the first round.
Mountain Division Final games will be available on 1350AM KTIK and on ECHLTV, with home games also broadcast on Cable One.
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