Steelheads even series with Americans

BOISE, Idaho – The Allen Americans looked to take a commanding 3-1 series lead on Friday night in game four of their Kelly Cup Quarterfinal series, but the Idaho Steelheads showed they are not yet ready for summer. Idaho played a strong three periods and evened the series at 2-2.

In a series that keeps see-sawing back and forth, the one constant in every game of this series has been the score with each game decided by an identical 3-1 outcome. A fairly tight opening frame saw no goals scored by either team, and Allen holding a slight edge in the shot count at 10-9 by the first intermission.

The Steelheads didn’t waste any time changing things up in the second period and got the important first goal of the game when Kyle Jean lit the lamp just 50-seconds in, sliding the puck past Riley Gill in the Americans’ net. Allen answered back late in the period, when Tristan King redirected a Chad Costello shot past Philippe Desrosiers at the 16:53 mark to bring things level. The score remained even until the final period.

Idaho came out determined in the third and had another strong start, as Joe Basaraba netted the puck just 71-seconds into the frame to put Idaho on top 2-1. The Steelheads doubled up the Americans in shots 12-6, keeping Allen at bay with good offensive pressure until they were able to cement the win with Jean’s empty netter at 18:35.