After the third-straight scoreless first period, the Steelheads struck first on special teams for the second-consecutive night but while up a player. At 7:47 of the second period, forward Colby McAuley pounded home a rebound coming from a shot by defenseman Ondrej Vala at the blue line for his third-straight game with a goal and the 1-0 lead. The Grizzlies found an answer on a deflection by forward Mitch Maxwell at 11:36 to tie the game at 1-1.
The Steelheads needed just one goal to set the difference and found that tally in the third period. Steelheads forward A.J. White had his own deflection coming from a shot, this time defenseman Brady Norrish took the attempt to deflect at 6:09 to edge ahead, 2-1. Despite a strong effort by the Grizzlies in the final minute of the game, the Steelheads held off the pursuit and claimed the win.
Steelheads goaltender Tomas Sholl (21-7-5) stopped 34 of 35 shots in the win, while Grizzlies netminder Martin Ouellette (17-9-2) halted 21 of 23 shots in the loss.
The Steelheads head east to open a two-game road weekend against the Toledo Walleye on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 5:15 p.m. MT from Huntington Center. Coverage begins at 4:55 p.m. on 1350 KTIK-AM “The Ticket” & ECHL.tv.
The Steelheads return to CenturyLink Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7:10 p.m. for their final game of the season series against the Kansas City Mavericks.
With Idaho Steelheads release
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