Observations from a four-game night in the ECHL.
One team put itself back in the playoff race Wednesday night, while another recorded a big shutout on the road against the defending Kelly Cup champions. Here are three takeaways from a four-game slate in the ECHL.
Steelheads Tie For Final Playoff Spot
Hockey is one sport where a team can still gain ground even if they lose.
The Idaho Steelheads fell at home to the Rapid City Rush 5-4 in overtime on Wednesday, but still managed to tie for the fourth and final playoff spot with a point.
A sellout crowd at Idaho Central Arena watched as the Steelheads built a 4-2 lead into the third period. Rapid City fought back, however, scoring a pair of unanswered goals in a span of 3:29 to knot the game 4-4 and send it into overtime.
Just 84 seconds into the extra period, Blake Bennett won it for the Rush with a shot from the high slot that got past Steelheads goaltender Bryan Thomson, who made 26 saves in the loss. Christian Propp stopped 29 of 33 shots for Rapid City to earn the victory.
Ironically, the comeback by Rapid City came one game after the club gave up a two-goal lead in their previous game against the Allen Americans, which they lost.
Wednesday’s game was the fourth in which the Steelheads and Rush needed overtime and the seventh that was decided by one goal.
It was a disappointing loss for Idaho in front of their 57th consecutive regular-season sellout crowd, but the one point gave them a 23-15-6-0 record, good for 52 points and keeping them in the playoff hunt.
Everblades Stunned At Home by Swamp Rabbits
Dryden McKay did his best Cam Johnson imitation Wednesday in Estero, Fla. The only difference is he plays for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, not the Everblades.
McKay made 38 saves as the Swamp Rabbits shut out Florida 3-0 on the road. It was McKay’s second shutout of the season.
The Swamp Rabbits scored 2:36 into the first period after Bryce Brodzinski followed up on his blocked shot. Carter Savoie made it 2-0 later in the period after squeaking a shot past Will Cranley, then Parker Berge put the final nail in the Everblades’ coffin with an empty-netter to preserve the shutout.
Florida had its eight-game point streak snapped in the loss, falling to 29-9-6. Greenville has now won three straight and improves to 18-19-5. The shutout was the club’s fourth of the season and first on the road.
Railers Win Despite Being Shorthanded
The Railers climbed back to the .500 mark with their 3-2 win over the Atlanta Gladiators at the DCU Center. Their record now stands at 19-19-6, and they are back in sole possession of fourth place in the ECHL’s North Division.
You have to go all the way back to Nov. 10, 2024 for the last time the Railers were at .500, when they were 6-6-0. They have accumulated 21 points over their last 15 games, going 9-3-3 during that stretch.
Wednesday’s victory came despite Worcester suiting up just 17 skaters. They became one man short following the three-game suspension of Griffin Loughran, who incurred a boarding major in Maine against the Mariners last Sunday.
The game was tied 1-1 heading into the third. Then, Matt DeMelis scored on a wraparound for a 2-1 Worcester lead and Connor Welsh made the score 3-1 at the 4:58 mark for the eventual game-winner.