Steelheads open road trip with win in Utah

WEST VALLEY CITY, UT – The Idaho Steelheads (26-12-3) turned up the heat 5-on-5, taking a 7-4 win over the Utah Grizzlies (23-12-4) on Monday afternoon at the Maverik Center.

The Steelheads jumped out to an early lead at 5:50 of the first period when forward Steve McParland hopped around a check at the right circle and fired a shot under the crossbar to take a 1-0 lead. The Grizzlies scored two-unanswered on the power play at 7:13 from forward Caleb Herbert followed by another by forward J.T. Henke at 12:31, taking a 2-1 lead. Just under one minute later at 13:25, Steelheads defenseman Jeff King found the answer back on a rebound from the right post to tie the game, 2-2.

The momentum continued into the second period for the Steelheads with three-more unanswered goals. At 4:54, Steelheads forward Tanner Froese fed forward Spencer Naas in a 2-on-1 rush for an open one-time shot in the left circle to take back the lead, 3-2. Steelheads defenseman Clint Lewis followed up with a wrist shot from the blue line that skimmed through traffic at 8:23 to double the advantage, 4-2. Then, at 9:15, Steelheads defenseman Nolan Gluchowski made quick work of the Utah defense by handling through two players then the netminder to triple the lead at 5-2. The Grizzlies came back with two goals at 16:38 from forward Joey Raats then another by Herbert on the power play at 19:15 to cut the lead to one at 5-4.

The Steelheads found two more goals in the third period to ensure the victory. At 5:58, McParland earned his second of the day on a rebound in the high slot to open up the lead 6-4. Then, at 17:31, Steelheads forward Brad McClure sealed the 7-4 win with an empty net goal from his own zone and put the game out of reach.

Steelheads goaltender Ryan Faragher (5-3-1) turned aside 23 of 27 shots in the win, while Grizzlies netminder Joe Cannata (11-8-3) saved 18 of 24 shots in the loss.

The Steelheads open a two-game weekend against the Wichita Thunder on Saturday, January 26th at 6:05 p.m. fro, Intrust Bank Arena. The Steelheads return to CenturyLink Arena on Wednesday, February 13th at 7:10 p.m. to open a three-game weekend against the Rapid City Rush.

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