Matchup: Utah Grizzlies at Idaho Steelheads, Wednesday, 7 PM. Alaska Aces at Idaho Steelheads, Friday/Saturday, 7 PM. All games played at Qwest Arena.
Déjà vu all over again? Barely a week ago, Idaho played two games against Alaska and a third game against Utah in a three-day span. Now here we are again. Idaho split the two contests with the Aces in Boise before bussing down to West Valley City to beat the Grizzlies in overtime, a win that improved Idaho’s record to an ECHL-best 18-4-1 after the first week of December.
Home-heavy: After opening the season with only seven home games in the first seven weeks, this three-game set concludes a stretch of eight home games in 17 days. The team returns to the Qwest Arena ice on New Year’s Eve.
Helping out on offense: Defensemen, much like offensive linemen in football, often don’t get the credit they deserve because they don’t accumulate a big pile of gaudy statistics. Rookie defenseman Brendan Milnamow is out to change that. Through Idaho’s first 23 games, the Union College product had 13 points – pretty solid for a blue-liner – and is on pace for a 41-point season. None of Idaho’s d-men topped 40 points last season.
Matt McKnight scored with just over 40 seconds remaining to secure the third consecutive win for the Idaho Steelheads (22-5-2); a 3-2 victory tonight over the Alaska Aces (11-14-2), who have now lost five consecutive games for just the second time in their ECHL history. John Swanson factored into all three Steelheads goals, and Adam Huxley had two points in Idaho’s win.
After a scoreless first period, Colin Hemingway and the Alaska Aces struck first when Hemingway received a pass in the high slot from former Steelheads forward Scott Burt, and Hemingway fired a one-timer glove-side on Idaho’s Rejean Beauchemin.
The Steelheads answered at 13:23 of the second period when John Swanson extended his point streak to seven games with a power play goal. Swanson knocked home the rebound from an Ashton Rome point shot to tie the game with his eighth of the season. Brad Miller also assisted on the goal.
Bryan Miller gave the Aces their second lead of the game at 10:16 of the third period as he capitalized on a Steelheads defensive zone turnover.
With the Aces leading 2-1, John Swanson fired a puck toward the net, and Adam Huxley fired home the rebound to tie the game for the Steelheads. For Huxley, the goal was his fourth; Matt McKnight also assisted on the goal.
With just 40 seconds remaining, Matt McKnight settled a rebound in front of Alaska goalie Scott Reid and sent it over the line for the eventual game-winner. Swanson and Huxley chipped in with assists on the game-winning tally, which marked the fifth goal of the year for McKnight.
Rejean Beauchemin is 12-3-1 after stopping 22 of 24 shots in the win. Scott Reid falls to 5-6-2 with the loss; he stopped 30 of 33 shots.
The Steelheads are back in action December 26th in Utah. Idaho returns home for three games against the Stockton Thunder on December 31st, January 1st, and January 2nd.