BOISE, Idaho (1/4/17)— Idaho scored two goals in each period of Wednesday night’s game and Branden Komm made 44 saves for his fifth victory in his last six starts, as the Steelheads (19-11-3) defeated the Alaska Aces (18-8-5), 6-1 at CenturyLink Arena. The Steelheads tied the Aces with 41 points in the Mountain Division standings, though the Aces will maintain control of third place.
Joe Basaraba had a three-point night with a goal and two assists, while linemate Travis Ewanyk had a goal and an assist and Kyle Jean had two helpers as well.
Joe Faust got Idaho on the board at 14:34 of the first period, sending a puck to the front of the net from the right corner that banked in off of Alaska defenseman Ryan Trenz. It was Faust’s tenth of the season, giving him goals in back-to-back games and four in the last seven.
Kellan Lain extended the lead 2:18 later, finishing a tic-tac-toe passing play with a redirect from the slot through the legs of Aces’ goaltender Michael Garteig. The power play goal was his seventh goal of the season and just the second power play goal surrendered by the Aces in their previous nine contests. Alaska came into the game 34-for-35 on the kill over their last eight.
Ewanyk boosted Idaho’s lead at 1:01 of the second period. Basaraba’s high-slot drive trickled behind Garteig, laying in the crease for Ewanyk to pot his 14th of the year. Ewanyk is in the midst of a five-game points streak and has 14 points in his last nine outings.
At 7:11 of the second, Rob Linsmayer forced a defensive zone turnover and sprung Anthony Luciani on a breakaway, Luciani burying his 11th of the year for a 4-0 Idaho lead.
After Tim Wallace broke through for the Aces at 2:20 of the third, a power play one-timer for his eighth of the year, Idaho tacked on two more. Branden Troock scored on a nifty deke, getting a pass in the slot from the left wing wall and out-waiting Garteig before lifting his fourth goal in six games this season into the net at 9:08.
Just 32 seconds later, Basaraba took a feed in front of the Aces bet and buried his eighth of the year to cap the scoring.
Coming off a 47-save shutout in his last appearance for Idaho, Branden Komm was nearly just as good. He stopped 44 of 45 shots, including 17 in the third period. He was also a strong part of an Idaho penalty kill that went 6-for-7. Komm is now 9-6-1 on the season.
The Steelheads and Aces continue their series on Friday night at CenturyLink Arena, with Idaho looking to match a season-high with four consecutive wins. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7:10pm MT, with the game available on 1350KTIK, Cable One, and on ECHLTV.
With Idaho Steelheads release
You must be logged in to post a comment.