ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Jack Campbell made 34 saves to earn his third shutout in his last six appearances, pacing the Idaho Steelheads (18-17-5) to a 2-0 win over the Alaska Aces (15-19-5) at Sullivan Arena.
In seven January starts, Campbell has three shutouts and a one-goal game, improving his goals-against average with Idaho to 1.51 and his save percentage to .947 this season.
Branden Troock joined the Steelheads in Anchorage after being reassigned this morning by the AHL’s Texas Stars, and Troock got right into the action. At 13:25 of the first period, Andrew Carroll held a puck in at the Steelheads’ offensive blue line and slid it to the high slot . Troock took the pass right on the tape, curled in the high slot, and fired a wrist shot through the legs of Aces’ goaltender Troy Redmann to give the Steelheads a 1-0 lead.
The two teams combined for 28 shots in the second period, but both goaltenders held the fort to send the Steelheads to the third period with a one-goal lead. The Steelheads were 13-1-1 entering the night when leading after two periods, while the Aces were 0-14-4 when trailing after two periods.
Idaho extended that lead to two goals at 11:29 of the third with Jefferson Dahl’s team-leading 16th goal of the season.
The Aces had opportunities to get on the board in the third period with two power play opportunities, including one with just over two minutes remaining in regulation, the net empty, and one of Idaho’s key penalty killers in the box in Carson McMillan.
The Steelheads responded with a perfect penalty kill, thanks to Campbell’s play but also to shutdown work in front of the Idaho net by defensemen Corbin Baldwin and Shawn Boutin, each of whom were unbeatable all night in front of the Idaho net.
The Steelheads win, combined with losses by Quad City and Cincinnati, pushed Idaho into sixth place in the Western Conference. They are tied with the fifth-place Mallards with 41 points in the standings.
The Steelheads and Aces play the second game of their three-game set tomorrow night at Sullivan Arena. . Puck-drop is scheduled for 9:15pm MT, with the game available on radio on 1350AM KTIK and on ECHLTV.
With Idaho Steelheads release
You must be logged in to post a comment.