BOISE, Idaho – Kyle Jean and Joe Basaraba both scored in the third period and Idaho won its sixth game in the last eight outings, as the Steelheads (7-5-1) handed the Adirondack Thunder (7-2-3) their first regulation road loss of the season with a 4-2 decision in front of 5,074 fans at CenturyLink Arena.
The Steelheads came from behind to beat the Thunder for the second straight night, trailing 1-0 until the closing minutes of the second period. After Peter MacArthur put the Thunder in front at 6:07 of the second period on a shot from the left circle, the Steelheads continued to put pressure on Thunder goaltender Ken Appleby, with 15 shots in the middle frame.
At 18:25 of the second, Idaho finally broke through on the power play. After a 2-on-1 attempt was blocked off by the backcheck work of Thunder defenseman Alex Wall, the Steelheads quickly recovered the puck. With Wall not yet back in position, Anthony Luciani had room to grab the puck from the left wing and beat Appleby through the legs with is fourth goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1.
With 12 seconds left in the period, on another power play, Idaho pulled in front when Charlie Dodero’s right point wrist shot through a screen got past Appleby for his second of the season.
The Thunder tied the game at 5:44 of the third period on a right point shot by Dana Fraser, his third goal of the season. Idaho retook the lead 1:53 later when Brandon Anselmini broke up a Thunder 2-on-1 rush. The Steelheads beat Adirondack back up the ice and Jean banked a puck in off Appleby for a 3-2 Idaho lead. It was Jean’s third of the season and first in nine games.
The Steelheads would seal the game at 16:33 with their first short-handed goal of the season, a 2-on-1 snap shot from the right wing by Basaraba for his third goal of the season and his third in the last four games to give Idaho a 4-2 lead.
Jefferson Dahl’s career-long points streak came to an end after ten games. He had 15 points in that stretch.
With two power play goals, Idaho has scored with the man-advantage in 11 of 13 games this season. They netted five power play goals in three games against a Thunder penalty kill that was ranked third in the league at the start of the series on Wednesday.
The Steelheads now leave for their first ever visit to play the Norfolk Admirals. The Admirals are 1-7-3 in their first 11 games. The three-game series begins Wednesday, with puck-drop scheduled for 5:15pm MT at Norfolk Scope. The game is available on 1350AM KTIK and on ECHLTV.
With Idaho Steelheads release
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