BOISE, Idaho – Patrick Polino scored a power play goal in his 300th professional game to slash a second period deficit, but it wasn’t enough as the Idaho Steelheads got all their offense in the first period, beating the Greenville Swamp Rabbits 4-2 on Saturday night. The loss snaps the Swamp Rabbits point streak at six games, and gives them a 4-1-0-1 record in their six-game two-week road trip.
The Steelheads came out flying in the opening frame to carry a three-goal lead into the dressing room. Chris Dodero started off the entries at 6:06, slashing to the net and burying a corner pass in point blank range past Swamp Rabbits net-minder Mattias Sholl, putting Idaho up 1-0. Brendan Hoffman, the ECHL’s leading goal scorer, struck 3:25 later when he intercepted a rim in the Swamp Rabbits zone, walked into the slot, and rifled a shot past Sholl to quickly double the lead to 2-0 at 9:31. Moments later, the Swamp Rabbits got some momentum from Tim Lovell to cut the deficit. With 4:35 left in the first, Lovell navigated the neutral zone, skated coast to coast by all defenders, and flung a shot past Jake Barczewski in net to get the Swamp Rabbits on the board at 2-1 with his second goal of the week. The momentum was short-lived: 2:05 later with 2:30 to play, Hoffman slipped a second past Sholl, just barely getting enough of Chris Dodero’s pass to re-establish the two-goal lead at 3-1 for the Steelheads. Nick Canade, the Steelheads captain, hit pay dirt 41 seconds after that when he blasted a blue line shot through a sea of bodies that screened Sholl, vaulting the Steelheads to a 4-1 lead with 1:49 left.
Starting the second, Sholl was substituted in net with Pierce Charleson, and shortly after, the Swamp Rabbits got one back one a two-man advantage that carried over to the start of the second. Just 71 seconds into the second, Josh Atkinson rifled a blue line shot that hit the post and bounced off of Barczewski to the crease. Patrick Polino, in his 300th professional game, pocketed the rebound to cut the deficit to 4-2 (Atkinson’s assist extended his streak to seven straight games with a helper). Both team’s couldn’t solve each other for the remaining 38:49 of regulation, resulting in a 4-2 Steelheads win, the first regulation loss suffered by the Swamp Rabbits since January 19th.
Mattias Sholl suffered the loss, stopping one of five shots in 20 minutes (8-8-2-0). Pierce Charleson played the remaining 36:13 of the game and turned away all 13 shots he saw in relief.
The Swamp Rabbits now return home for a four-game-in-five-day stretch, with three of the games coming on home ice. The stretch begins on Wednesday, February 11th, against the Atlanta Gladiators, with puck drop slated for 7:05 p.m. EST at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
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