After an overtime win in Game One, the Idaho Steelheads extended their series lead to 2-0 with a nice win against the Allen Americans in Game Two.
Starting Lineups
The Allen Americans started Game Two with a forward trio of Colin Jacobs, Chaz Smedsrud, and Mikael Robidoux. They had a defensive pairing of Eric Williams and Justin Allen with Mark Sinclair in net.
The Idaho Steelheads started with a forward trio of Connor Mylymok, Lynden McCallum, and Jade Miller. They had a defensive pairing of Nick Canade and Jake Murray, with Jake Kielly between the pipes.
First Period
The first period started with all the momentum going Idaho’s way, allowing Idaho to see an early lead in the period. 1:36 into the first, Wade Murphy was able to find the back of the net to give the Steelheads a 1-0 lead, and just 3:10 later, the Steelheads would extend their lead after Mark Rassell deflected a shot from the blue line and into the back of the net. Rassell’s goal gave the Steelheads a 2-0 lead and was assisted by Nick Canade and Pelton-Byce. Matt Register would continue the party 36 seconds later, giving the Steelheads a 3-0 lead less than six minutes into the game
The Steelheads ended the first period with a 3-0 lead after outshooting the Americans 12-9.
Second Period
The second period was a very quiet period compared to the first, with neither team finding the back of the net. The Americans came out a lot stronger in the second period and instead of chasing the Steelheads, they were actually able to play with the Steelheads. Both teams had their chances and had some good looks, but neither goaltender let any pucks find the back of the net.
The Americans and Steelheads both had 11 shots in the second period, but the Steelheads still led 3-0.
Third Period
The third period started the way the second period ended, with both teams still getting chances, but the ice was starting to tilt in Idaho’s favor. After Mark Rassell picked up a neutral zone turnover, Ty Pelton-Byce found the back of the net to give the Steelheads a 4-0 lead. Pelton-Byce’s goal came 6:28 into the third period and was assisted by Rassell. With a two-man advantage, Rassell and the Steelheads were able to put the nail in the coffin. Rassell’s powerplay goal was assisted by Patrick Kudla and Pelton-Byce.
The Steelheads outshot the Americans 15-8 in the third period.
Final Stats and Thoughts
The Steelheads won by a score of 5-0 after outshooting the Americans 38-28. Both goaltenders had pretty decent games, with Allen’s goaltender, Mark Sinclair, making 33 saves on 38 shots for a save percentage of .868. Meanwhile, Idaho’s goaltender Jake Kielly had 28 saves on 28 shots for a save percentage of 1.00. Both teams did pretty well on the penalty kill, with Allen going 6/7 and the Steelheads going 4/4. Neither team found a lot of success on the powerplay, though, as the Americans went 0/4 and Idaho went 1/7.
Allen did start to find some power in the third period, but they were just not able to solve Idaho’s goaltender. The Americans will need to watch themselves in Game Three as they started to let their frustrations get the best of them, which is what gave the Steelheads a 5-on-3 powerplay, where they scored their fifth goal of the game. The Steelheads played a really well-rounded game and really made it hard for the Americans to get anything going for themselves.
In order to have a chance and winning and preventing themselves from going down 0-3 in the series, the Americans are going to need to figure out how to play a full 60 minutes, control their frustrations, and not commit stupid little penalties.
The Steelheads and Americans will be back in action for Game Three on Friday, April 26, with puck drop at 7:10 pm CDT.
