BOISE, ID – There was no shortage of offense Saturday night in Boise as the Idaho Steelheads won the rubber match against the Greensboro Gargoyles 7-4.
Idaho scored twice in the first period 28 seconds apart to take an early 2-0 lead. The Gargoyles responded as Deni Goure scored his second goal in consecutive games, assisted by Arty Borshyov and Demetrios Koumontzis at 16:03.
The Steelheads dominated the second period, scoring four unanswered goals to extend a 6-1 lead. Greensboro switched goaltenders after Ty Pelton-Byce scored Idaho’s fifth goal, substituting Ruslan Khazheyev in for Nikita Quapp with 7:28 left in the second.
Tyler Weiss notched his fourth point of the weekend, scoring 3:44 into the third, assisted by Bryce Montgomery. After being loaned to the Gargoyles on Thursday, Montgomery opened his time in Greensboro with assists in both appearancese. Ryan Richardson scored at 6:48 from Greg Smith cutting the lead to three.
As Greensboro pressured, Smith would score with 2:36 left in regulation to get Greensboro within two goals, assisted by Colton Leiter and Anthony Rinaldi. The Gargoyles pulled Khazheyev for the extra attacker, but Idaho finished the game with an empty netter to close out a 7-4 win with 54 seconds remaining.
Defenseman Trevor Zins was saluted by the crowd on his way off the ice. The 27-year-old defenseman was traded to Greensboro on October 28 after three seasons in Idaho, and picked up two points in his return to Boise. “It’s emotional,” said Zins, “the laughs we shared and the love we had means a lot, and to see that at the end of the game, to know that people truly cared about who I am and what I do on the ice was extremely special.”
Khazheyev made 13 saves on 14 shots in his relief effort. The Gargoyles went 0-for-2 on the power play and 2-for-4 on their penalty kill.
“Everyone knows that there’s no quit in this group,” said Head Coach Scott Burt. “Looking back at the first two periods, I thought we looked pretty tired. We’ve had a lot of travel the last two weeks. At the end of the day these are the tough ones, but we have to find a way to pull it out.”
The team closes out an eight-game road trip in Reading, PA Friday, January 16, Saturday, January 17, and Monday, January 19. Greensboro celebrates Affiliation Weekend when the Gargoyles return to the First Horizon Coliseum on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, January 23-25. Come join Doyle, Stormy, and the Canes Crew as the Gargoyles host Adirondack. Tickets and more information are available at gargoyleshockey.com.