SteelHounds snap skid; Beech posts a shutout

Joel Irving scored twice and set up another goal in Youngstown’s 4-0 victory.

By TOM WILLIAMS

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — Losing leading scorer Eric Przepiorka after a jarring check into the boards had the Youngstown SteelHounds desperately needing a superior performance to salvage a critical weekend.

Riding to the rescue were forward Joel Irving (two goals, one assist) and backup goaltender Kevin Beech (38 saves for a shutout in his SteelHounds’ debut) in Sunday’s 4-0 victory over the Mississippi RiverKings at the Chevrolet Centre.

In his first game since playing for the Laredo Bucks three weeks ago, Beech stopped every shot the RiverKings threw at him.

“It’s a tough situation, coming in with a new team and not playing for awhile,” said Irving of Beech. “He was strong, he was solid on the puck. He had good angles and not many rebounds.”

Beech, who was 10-4-1 with the Bucks, said he “prepared all week as if I were going to play in every game.”

Sunday’s game was the SteelHounds fifth in six days. They split with Texas then lost to the RiverKings, 5-1, Friday and 6-5 in a shootout Saturday.

“You just have to be ready as a backup because you never know when you might go it in,” Beech said after his third shutout.

“This one definitely ranks up there as one of the top [victories] this season,” said the 21-year-old netminder. “We’re neck-and-neck with them so it’s been a huge weekend for points.”

The win moves the SteelHounds (27-16-3, 57 points) one point ahead of the RiverKings in the Northeast Division standings.

“It’s definitely a sweet victory because you want to get off on the right foot here to give your guys confidence that you can play,” Beech said.

With the RiverKings two men short two minutes into the game, Irving was in the slot when Chris Richards sent him the puck. His shot beat RiverKings goalie Ian Keserich for a 1-0 lead.

Later in the period, Petr Pohl set up Irving’s second goal on a shot from the top of the faceoff circle.

As the game wound down and Keserich was pulled for an extra skater, Irving passed up a chance for an empty-net goal, instead sending the puck to Richards who scored.

“I knew I had a chance to have a hat trick, but the logical play was to throw it out there,” Irving said. “The main thing at this time of the year is to get the wins so I’ll take the assist.”

Pohl beat Keserich on a breakaway with 1.7 seconds remaining.

The game’s most frightening moment came late in the first period when Przepiorka was shoved into the boards behind the RiverKings’ goal. SteelHounds forward Bryan Lachapelle chased down Jason Lawmaster for a fight as Przepiorka laid on the ice.

Lawmaster was not assessed a boarding penalty.

SteelHounds coach Kevin Kaminski said Przepiorka was taken to the hospital to be examined for a concussion.

“We played pretty solid,” Kaminski said. “Beech was big tonight. Defensively as a whole unit, we played well away from the puck. When there was a breakdown, he was there. We played a lot better away from the puck than we did [Saturday].”

As much as he enjoyed playing and winning, Beech said Przepiorka’s injury is a reminder of how dangerous hockey can be.

“It’s kind of scary when the person with the stretcher comes out, you never know what to expect,” Beech said. “It’s a bit of a relief when they were able to help him on to his feet.”

williams@vindy.com