Fighting the Current, Steelheads Look to Change Their Season’s Trajectory

(Credit: Idaho Steelheads) 

The Idaho Steelheads have not been having an Idaho Steelheads-like season.

Does that make any sense?

Steelheads head coach Everett Sheen kept it very simple about his team's performance this season.

“We're kind of our own worst enemy, at times,” Sheen told 100 Degree Hockey during the team's recent visit to Allen.

Sheen is no stranger to success. Just two seasons after the Steelheads lost their 22-season playoff streak, the first time the franchise missed the playoffs in its history, Sheen led the team to its best finish in franchise history of 54-11 and their fourth Kelly Cup appearance.

This year, Idaho’s performance can vary on any given night; one night the team can dominate, netting six goals and then the next getting shelled due to lukewarm goaltender play.

Through 32 games, Idaho holds a record of 17-13-3 and the fifth place spot in the Mountain Division, just outside the playoff picture. Nonetheless, Sheen has remained positive about this season’s group.

“We have a very good group,” Sheen said about this season. “When we're on it, we're very hard to play against. When we're off, very easy to play against.”

With the nature of the ECHL, players tend to beat themselves up when the going gets tough and overthink their past mistakes. Something Sheen has identified as an area where the team needs to work on.

“We kinda beat ourselves up and go into a shell; it really compounds,” Sheen said about his players' response in tough moments. “It's already happened, let's move on to find a way to move past it.”

Still finding their identity and building proper cohesion, Sheen seeks to find the best pairings with his players. Mixing around with the lines trying to find that right combination for success.

“I try to mix guys that I think, you know, whether it's style play or speed wise, or even just kind of compliment each other,” Sheen said. “My belief is to find the best group, that best group of three – that confidence.”

One of the biggest advantages that continues to aid the Steelheads’ confidence and identity are the fans that pack the Idaho Central Arena. For the man behind the bench stating the team needs them more than ever.

“We’re going to need them, Utah is a big rival of ours and then we have Florida coming in who are three-time Kelly Cup champs,” Sheen commented on the upcoming schedule. “It’s going to be a really big test for us, and we are going to need all of the support we can get.”

With 40 games left in their season, every game will count going forward in a very competitive Mountain division. Sheen knows where the weak points are for his group, and he's already started plugging them with five separate trades since his visit to Texas, but the biggest question is – will the guys on the ice execute them?