Hockey playoffs: Junior Steelheads eliminate Wolverines

by The Daily Inter Lake
| March 15, 2015 12:10 AM

McCALL, Idaho — Skating stride for stride with one of the best junior hockey clubs in North America, the Whitefish Wolverines ran out of gas in a 6-2 loss to the Idaho Junior Steelheads on Saturday night and were eliminated from the Western States Hockey League playoffs.

For the second straight game, the Whitefish Wolverines compiled just 11 shots but managed to outshoot the Junior Steelheads in the second period 8 to 6.

Trailing 3-1 after the opening period, Kieffer Helbing scored 1:26 into the second frame to make it a one-goal game.

Danny Roe and Riley Ingalls assisted on Helbing’s goal.

Idaho put up two more goals in second before holding the Wolverines to one shot in the final period while Nikita Zgirskis scored his second goal of the night for the final tally.

Wolverines goaltender Joakim Hidestrand stopped 29 shots.

Whitefish failed to convert on its seven power-play opportunities as Idaho finished 1 for 5 on advantages.

Nathan Luznar-Purdy scored the Wolverines’ first goal of the night just over seven minutes into the game.

Whitefish 1 1 0 — 2

Idaho 3 2 1 — 6

First period — 1, Idaho, Dimitris Jones (Arturs Sevcenko, Ondrej Valo), 4:18. 2, Idaho Nikita Zgirskis, pp, (Kris Apsitis, Robert Neuwirth), 7:12. 1, Whitefish, Nathan Luznar-Purdy (Cruise Brown, Riley Ingalls), 7:36. 3, Idaho, Alex Criswell (Valo, Kyle TenEyck), 19:05.

Second period — 2, Whitefish, Kieffer Helbing (Danny Roe, Ingalls), 1:26. 4, Idaho, Arturs Sevcenko (Johannes Yucel, Parker Lewis), 12:23. 5, Idaho, Macky Power, sh, (Apsitis) 18:01.

Third period — 6, Idaho, Nikita Zgirskis (Hunter Lester, Robert Neuwirth), 6:12.

Shots on Goal — Whitefish 2-8-1 — 11. Idaho 22-6-7 — 35. Power-play opportunities — Whitefish 0 for 7. Idaho 1 for 5. Goalies — Whitefish Joakim Hidestrand (35 shots-29 saves). Idaho — Austin Althaus (11-9).