Steelheads Outduel Tulsa In Shootout

The Idaho Steelheads picked up a big win at the BOK Center in Tulsa Friday, sneaking away with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Oilers in a shootout.

The goaltending was stellar on both sides, but Ben Kraws made 48 saves to earn the victory for Idaho, who improves to 19-14-3 for 41 points. Tulsa falls to 20-12-4-1 for 45 points.

Connor MacEachern, playing in his first game since coming back from an injury, scored his 13^th goal of the season at 8:06 of the first period for a 1-0 Steelheads lead.

From the high slot, Matt Register found MacEachern below the right circle. MacEachern fired a wrister into the top right corner after Oilers goalie Talyn Boyko went down on the ice.

Ruslan Gazizov knotted the score 1-1 for the Oilers at the 4:54 mark of the second period. Tulsa outshot the Steelheads 20-9 in the frame, but Kraws refused to allow anything further.

The Oilers kept up the pressure throughout the third period, but Kraws made 16 saves to keep them off the scoreboard. Idaho couldn’t score, either, managing just seven shots against Boyko. The 6,640 fans at BOK Center were treated to some free hockey when the game went into overtime.

The Steelheads outshot Tulsa 7-4 in OT, but the stalemate continued into a shootout.

Easton Brodzinski scored for the Oilers on the first shot of the shootout, but Patrick Moynihan kept Idaho alive by scoring.

After Kraws made a stop, Andrew Bellant delivered the game-winner for the Steelheads in the fourth round, preserving the 2-1 victory.

Kraws stopped 48 of 49 shots for the win, while Boyko turned aside 32 of 33 shots in the loss.

The Steelheads were unsuccessful in both of their power-play opportunities, while Tulsa scored on their only chance with the man advantage.

MacEachern paced all Steelheads skaters with seven shots, while Moynihan was right behind him with six.

The two teams play each other twice more this weekend. Puck drop for Saturday’s game is set for 6:05 Pm CT, with Sunday’s contest scheduled for 3:05 Pm.