Steelheads Weekly Report (3/8/10): Off to Victoria
Every Monday, Big D Hockey will present a report on the Idaho Steelheads. This will include any relevant news or noteworthy stats from the weekends’ games, as well as a look at the upcoming games and then the team itself. Through these reports, we hope to offer you an insider’s look at the Dallas Stars’ ECHL affiliate and some of the players who may one day play in Big D.
First off, let’s take a look at this last weekend. The Steelies hosted the Bakersfield Condors for a three-game series on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. After managing just a point in their 3-1 loss on Wednesday, Idaho exploded for 12 goals in the next two games. Mark Derlago led the team with 8 points in the series (4G, 4A) and a +6 rating. Tyler Spurgeon was right behind him with 6 points (3G, 3A) and a +6 rating as well.
After Steelheads goalie Rejean Beauchemin allowed 2 goals on 17 shots in Wednesday’s game, Richard Bachman came in for Saturday and Sunday’s game, posting a shutout on Saturday and stopping 36 of 39 shots in the 2 games.
Forward Mark McCutcheon was suspended by the league for two games on Monday, because of an illegal hit in Friday night’s game against the Condors. McCutcheon sat out on Saturday night, so he will only miss one of the upcoming games (Wednesday night’s game in Victoria).
Idaho now sits atop the Pacific Division by 15 points. With 15 games left in the season (and 3 games in hand on the second-place Victoria Salmon Kings), they’re certainly in a fantastic position. But, it would be far too early to say they had things locked up.
Looking ahead this week, the Idaho Steelheads will be busy, as they will visit the Salmon Kings for three games on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Victoria is 31-23-4-2 on the year so far, but only 3-6-0-1 over the last 10 games, so they’ve been struggling a bit.
I think Idaho has to feel good going up against the S-Kings right now. But, they don’t want to assume it’s going to be a cake walk; Victoria is a very good team, and they’re getting some help in net right now, just as they need it.
On Monday, Matt Keetley was assigned to the Salmon Kings from the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat by the Calgary Flames. This is Keetley’s second stint in Victoria – this past November, Keetley posted a 2-1-0 record with a 0.965 save percentage, a 1.01 goals against average, and two shutouts for the Salmon Kings. Keetley was then named the Reebok Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week for November 9th – 15th. If he can bring that same effort for this series against the Steelies, it’s going to be a very interesting stretch.
Last Week’s Transactions:
3/1/10 Steve Oleksy, D – activated off IR
3/1/10 Weston Tardy, D – placed on the 3-day IR
3/7/10 Matt McKnight, F – activated off IR
3/7/10 Ashton Rome, F – placed on the 3-day IR
3/8/10 Weston Tardy, D – transferred to the 7-day IR