Steelies' season ends in overtime - Idaho Press-Tribune

Posted: Monday, April 23, 2012 1:17 am | Updated: 6:46 am, Mon Apr 23, 2012.

BOISE - As Eric Lampe howled among a hushed CenturyLink Arena, the red light flashed behind him, his Las Vegas Wranglers exited the bench in celebration, and the Idaho Steelheads sulked in sadness as their season ended with a 2-1 overtime loss.

Idaho forward Ian Lowe dropped to a knee, a look of dejection.

His teammate, Matt Case, laid on his stomach, helmet buried in gloves.

And Lampe, whose one-timer at the 10:46 mark of the extra period darted past Steelheads goalie Jerry Kuhn on the 53rd shot of the night, raced to center ice to meet the Wranglers, who eliminated the seventh-seeded Steelheads in Game 5 of the ECHL's Western Conference semifinals.

“I give the guys credit in our room â€" they battled hard all night, all year,” said a teary-eyed, sniffling Marty Flichel, the long-tenured Steelheads captain who was stuffed on a glorious chance in overtime.

“Lot of adversity this year â€" lot of injuries, call-ups (to the American Hockey League). Other teams had the same thing, but it seemed we may have had a little bit more.”

He paused. He took a long, deep breath among his tears.

“There’s a lot of heart in that room.”

The Steelheads’ dreams of capturing the third championship in their 15-year history came to a close when Judd Blackwater finished a check, allowing the puck to squirt to linemate Adam Miller, who found Lampe perched inside the right face-off circle.

Lampe, who was scoreless through 29 shots in the series, including a chance minutes earlier in overtime, this time buried the shot that ended Idaho's season.

Steelheads forward Cody Purves crouched and stared at the ice.

His linemate, Chad Nehring, stood in the corner, a pose of disbelief.

Throughout the game, they were the digging in the corners and playing admirably for a team missing injured goal scorer Jacob Cepis.

But in the end, fate wasn’t on their side.

“They gave us everything they had tonight,” Idaho coach Hardy Sauter said.

As did Kuhn, who made 51 saves, a similar theme to his regular-season dominance, when he stopped 2,001 pucks, the second most in ECHL history.

Kuhn’s best save of the night came in overtime, when Lampe cut across the crease, dragging Kuhn to the ice. The hearts of the Steelheads' faithful jumped into their throats, but there was Kuhn, extending his right leg pad to thwart Lampe.

“Hopefully someone watched (Kuhn) play this year, and sees his value,” Sauter said.

Kuhn stopped 215-of-229 shots in the series for a .939 save percentage. Afterward, he crouched at center ice after the series-ending handshake, a feeling of defeat after a hard-fought season.

“He’s been the backbone of our team all year,” Idaho forward Derek LeBlanc said.

Ron Meyers gave Idaho a 1-0 lead at the 10:11 mark of the second period. Miller tied it 7:14 later.

It remained knotted through the end of regulation, then Flichel nearly extended the series to a sixth game at the 5:10 mark of overtime.

That’s when Wranglers center Chris Francis lost an edge, slipped and relinquished control of the puck as it glided into the slot.

Here came Flichel, who has 23 goals in 75 career playoff games on his resume, now a chance to push the series back to Las Vegas.

He's been the hero before. Most recently was Game 1 of the first-round series against Ontario, when he scored the go-ahead goal with 1:34 remaining in regulation.

Now with another chance to shine in the clutch, Flichel looked toward the right corner and wristed a shot. The home crowd readied to explode in a moment of electricity. But there was Las Vegas goalie Joe Fallon, snatching the puck in his glove, yet another display of the talent that's allowed him to play 64 career games in the AHL.

“We had a couple of good looks in overtime,” Sauter said. “What are you going to do?

“In the end, we couldn’t get that goal we needed to carry on the series.”

Instead the season concludes, and maybe Flichel’s nine-year Steelheads career (eight consecutive). He turned 36 in March, but still is a key member with his veteran leadership and “boyish” love for the game, as Sauter notes.

After the teams shook hands, Flichel honored the crowd, tears flooding his eyes. He raised his stick in the air and saluted the Steelheads fans, clapping both hands together in a season-ending tribute around the ice. His teammates glided behind him, raising their sticks as CenturyLink Arena rang cowbells and exercised their vocal cords.

Afterward, Flichel fought tears while talking to reporters. He stood in his game jersey, a different sight for the captain, who usually rides the bike for several minutes after a contest.

“Have you thought about your future at all?” someone asked Flichel.

He paused for a couple seconds, staring at the floor. His eyes were glazed as he contemplated an answer, then paused for a few more seconds.

“I don’t … I don’t know. We’ll see,” Flichel said. “I haven’t made a decision yet, but it’s getting close, we’ll see … probably decide in a month or two, see how the summer goes.”

He’s first in franchise history in games played and points. But an even bigger asset is the character he flashes to his younger teammates, and the role he plays in the community as an ambassador to the organization.

If this is indeed the end for Flichel, it’s a cinch that his No. 16 will hang on the CenturyLink Arena wall.

“It’s an amazing career,” Sauter said. “I can see him being hard on himself with the chance in overtime.

“He should take some time, and wait.”

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Posted in Sports, Steelheads on Monday, April 23, 2012 1:17 am. Updated: 6:46 am.