BOISE, ID — Three defenseman scored goals for Idaho to power a five-goal outburst, as the Steelheads (34-19-7) bounced back on Saturday to earn a series split with a 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones (32-26-4) in front of a sellout crowd at CenturyLink Arena.
Travis Walsh, Brandon Anselmini, and Aaron Harstad all scored for Idaho, as the Steelheads scored three times in a span of 2:27 in the first period and twice more in a span of 3:14 in the second period. Branden Komm made 32 saves to earn his third straight victory.
The Cyclones got on the board first just 49 seconds into the contest when Shawn O’Donnell stripped Harstad at the offensive blue line and carried the puck ahead on a 2-on-1, beating Komm from the right wing for his third goal of the weekend and 12th of the season.
Idaho did not wait long to answer, with Jefferson Dahl finishing off a 4-on-2 rush at 3:40 for 17th goal of the season to tie the game 1-1, giving Dahl goals in back-to-back games.
Just 1:49 later, Joe Basaraba gave the Steelheads their first lead of the series when his wrister from the top of the right circle beat Cincinnati goaltender Joel Rumpel for his 19th of the season and a 2-1 Idaho lead. Walsh extended that lead 38 seconds later with a slap shot through traffic from near the same spot to make it 3-1.
The Steelheads would add to their lead with Anselmini’s goal at 8:35 of the second period. Rob Linsmayer earned his second assist of the night when he sailed a puck from the right faceoff dot to the left post, hitting Anselmini on the back door for the rookie’s third goal of the season. Idaho’s power play got involved at 11:49 of the second when Harstad released a one-timer from the right point on a 5-on-3 power play that beat Rumpel for Harstad’s fourth of the season and second as a Steelhead, making it a 5-1 game.
The Cyclones would draw closer with a power play goal for Nick Huard at the back post in the final minute of the second period to make it 5-2. Jordan Sims’ would bring the Cyclones within two with a goal from in front of the net with 2:54 left on the clock to make it 5-3 but Cincinnati would get no closer.
The Steelheads have now won ten of their last 13 games and are 18-9-3 at home. The Steelheads also improved to 13-13-4 in games in which they surrender the first goal.
The Steelheads’ home stand continues on Wednesday night when the Rapid City Rush begin a three-game series in Boise. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. MT.
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