Idaho Steelheads open ECHL hockey playoffs Friday night, home games will have to wait

Idaho last hoisted the ECHL Kelly Cup in 2007, and 10 years later, the quest for a new hockey championship starts Friday and Saturday nights in Colorado.

The No. 3 seed Steelheads and No. 2 Eagles open their best-of-seven Mountain Division semifinal at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colo. Games 1 and 2 start at 7:05 p.m.

Colorado won 47-of-72 games during the regular season; Idaho won 43 games. The Steelheads, who finished the regular season with four straight wins, were 6-4-1 against the Eagles this season, and 2-2-1 at the Budweiser Events Center.

The series includes three games in Boise next week: Wednesday, Friday, April 21, and Saturday, April 22. All three games start at 7:05 p.m. in CenturyLink Arena.

Games 6-7 are scheduled for April 25-26 in Loveland.

The winner advances to the Mountain Division finals against the No. 1 Allen (Texas) Americans and No. 4 Utah Grizzlies. Allen is the two-time champion of the ECHL, a 27-team league that features four divisions, 16 playoff teams and stretches to the East Coast.

All Steelheads playoff games are available on 1350AM KTIK and ECHLTV. All home playoff games will be televised live on Cable One. Tickets for Games 3 and 4 are on sale at the CenturyLink Arena box office. More information available at 331-8497 or IdahoSteelheads.com.

NOTES: Idaho is 2-0 all-time in playoff series against Colorado. ... Joe Faust set a Steelheads ECHL record for goals by a defenseman with his 14th goal last Saturday night in Alaska. He also became the fourth Steelheads ECHL defenseman to record 40 points in a season. ... The two goalies on Idaho’s playoff roster are Branden Komm (coming off consecutive shutouts for the first time in his career, both against Alaska last week) and Landon Bow (ECHL All-Rookie Team).

This story was originally published April 13, 2017 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Idaho Steelheads open ECHL hockey playoffs Friday night, home games will have to wait."