Duluth, GA (1/30/16)— Emil Molin and Jefferson Dahl both converted in the shootout while Jack Campbell shut down both Garry Nunn and Derek Nesbitt, sealing a 2-1 win for the Idaho Steelheads (22-18-5) over the Atlanta Gladiators (25-16-3). The win is Idaho’s third in a row and fifth in their last six games.
Molin led off the shootout for Idaho, moving between the circles and coming to an almost complete stop before deking Atlanta’s Matt Ginn out of the net and burying the puck into the empty cage. After Campbell made a lunging blocker save on Nunn, Dahl padded the lead with a wrist shot from between the hash marks. Nesbitt, the ECHL’s leading goal-scorer, tried to squeeze the puck between Campbell’s pads to keep the shootout alive, but Campbell closed the door for Idaho’s second shootout win this season in three tries.
The shootout was preceded by a run-and-gun overtime period in which both teams had a chance to end the game. Late in overtime, Andre Morrissette and Joe Basaraba criss-crossed high in the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 rush before Morrissette slid the puck for a Basaraba one-timer. Ginn reached across the mostly empty net and kept the puck out for the best of his 28 saves. Moments later, with under a minute remaining on the clock, Nesbitt streaked down the right wing and rang a shot off the far post.
The Gladiators opened the scoring on Teddy Bear Toss night at 10:37 of the first period when Tyler Murovich’s 14th goal of the season zipped past Campbell from the left wing. The Steelheads answered back at 11:01 of the second period when Shawn Boutin threw the puck on net from the right wing half-boards and Ginn spit a rebound right to the back post where Jefferson Dahl was waiting to bury his 17th of the season.
The Gladiators were 12-0-0 this season when leading after the first period, while the Steelheads were 2-12-1 when trailing after 20 minutes. The Steelheads hard work and steady defensive play bucked both trends on Saturday night.
Jack Campbell made 26 saves to push his record to 9-3-0. He has given up one goal or fewer in seven of his 12 starts for Idaho this year .
The Steelheads and Gladiators wrap up their three-game series tomorrow afternoon, with the Steelheads looking for their first three-game sweep of the season. Puck-drop scheduled for 12:05pm MT at Infinite Energy Arena. The game is available on 1350AM KTIK and ECHLTV.
With Idaho Steelheads release
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