A sellout crowd at Idaho Central Arena saw an exciting game, but went home disappointed as Tulsa prevailed over the Steelheads in overtime.
The Idaho Steelheads have had no trouble drawing crowds at Idaho Central Arena. Friday night’s game against the Tulsa Oilers marked the 45th consecutive regular-season sellout.
The 5,281 fans were treated to an exciting matchup but ultimately went home disappointed, as Tulsa prevailed 5-4 in overtime.
Reece Harsch gave the Steelheads a 1-0 lead with his second goal of the season nine minutes into the contest. A.J. White got the puck in the left corner and found Hank Crone in the high slot, who then found Harsch in the right circle.
Tulsa, however, got its offense going on full throttle, scoring three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 lead into the dressing room after the opening period. Ruslan Gazizov tied the score 1-1 just over three minutes later, followed by a Michael Farren power-play tally at 1647.
Alec Butcher widened the gap to 3-1 with 1:59 remaining in the period for his team-leading 10th goal of the season. The Oilers had a 19-8 shot advantage in the frame. Farren and Butcher have each scored in back-to-back games.
The Steelheads picked up a couple of power-play goals in the second period to tie the game 3-3. Crone capitalized on a wrister from inside the right circle into the top right corner at 11:20 to notch his 10th goal of the season.
Mark Olver then tied things up 3-3 on another power-play opportunity after deflecting a Matt Register shot inside the center point with 2:25 left in the period. It was Olver’s second goal of the season.
Ty Pelton-Byce scored his 13th of the year at 6:07 of the third period, taking a pass from Thomas Caron from the right circle and firing a shot from the back post to put Idaho in front 4-3.
Tulsa pulled goalie Talyn Boyko late in the period, and it paid off. Justin Michaelian tallied the equalizer with 42 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime.
That’s when Duggie Lagrone scored the game-winner with 38 seconds left in the extra frame, putting one in the back of the net off former Steelhead Reid Petryk’s rebound to give the Oilers a 5-4 victory in Boise.
Boyko stopped 28 of 32 shots to earn the win in goal for Tulsa, who improves to 13-8-1. Ben Kraws suffered the loss, making 43 saves on 48 shots as Idaho drops to 12-10-1.
The Steelheads went 2-for-4 on the power-play, while Tulsa converted one of their four chances. The Oilers heavily outshot Idaho 42-28.
By picking up an assist, Register earned his 400th career ECHL helper, becoming the fourth player in league history to reach that milestone.
Despite the loss, Everett Sheen reached a mark of his own, coaching his 300th game behind the Steelheads’ bench.
The two teams close out the series Saturday night at Idaho Central Arena, with puck drop set for 7:10 Pm MT. It will be the Steelheads’ annual Teddy Bear Toss game.