From the Idaho Statesman …

The Idaho Steelheads (7-1-1) lost in regulation for the first time this season as the Utah Grizzlies skated to a 5-2 win Wednesday at the E-Center in West Valley City, Utah.

Dylan Hunter netted a hat trick for the Grizzlies (4-2-0), who scored three of their five goals on power plays.

Marty Flichel and Evan Barlow scored goals for Idaho and Weston Tardy, Brendan Milnamow and Mike Stuart added assists.

Goalie Richard Bachman suffered the first loss of his professional career (4-1-1). He stopped 21-of-26 shots.

From the ECHL …

Idaho Steelheads netminder Richard Bachman has been named the Reebok Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week for October 26 to November 1.

Bachman, a rookie out of Colorado College, was 2-0-1 between the pipes with a goals-against average of 2.25 as Idaho took five of a possible six points in a weekend series against the Alaska Aces.

The 22-year-old is 4-0-1 on the season with a .909 save percentage. The four wins is tied for tops in the ECHL.

While this is the first league-wide honor for Bachman, it already marks the second time this year an Idaho goaltender has been honored for his play. Rejean Beauchemin was the ECHL’s Goaltender of the Week for his play on October 16 and 17.

From Oursportscentral.com …

Before leaving the Boise International Airport Thursday morning for Alaska, Idaho Steelheads head coach Derek Laxdal announced some changes between the pipes for his ECHL hockey club.

Goaltender Rejean Beauchemin has been loaned to Manitoba of the American Hockey League. To fill his spot on the roster, the Steelheads have signed ECHL veteran Kevin Nastiuk.

Nastiuk, 24, has played for the ECHL’s Alaska Aces, Las Vegas Wranglers, Gwinnett Gladiators, and Florida Everblades. He also has 23 games of experience in the AHL since turning pro in 2005.

“Beauch earned this opportunity by playing well in Manitoba’s training campand then playing well here for us to start the season,” Laxdal said of the promotion. “And Nastiuk is a solid player who knows the situation and knows how to handle himself professionally.”

Laxdal said he’s unsure how long Beauchemin will be gone, which is why the organization chose to sign an established goaltender to team with Richard Bachman in net for Idaho. Beauchemin is 3-0-0 with the Steelheads with a .940 save percentage and 1.67 goals-against average. He’s among the ECHL’s league leaders in all three categories.

From the Dallas Stars web site …

The Stars continue to get better at the NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Mich., and that’s a great sign for all involved.

“That’s why you’re here,” said Glen Gulutzan, the new coach of the Texas Stars, who is coaching the prospects, as well. “You want to see progress, you want to see players learn, and we’re seeing that.”

Dallas took a hard-fought 4-3 win over Columbus Wednesday to move to 1-1-1 in pool play. The Stars finished third in the Western Division of the eight-team tournament .

Richard Bachman was great in goal as he had 35 saves and allowed only two 5-on-3 goals and a puck that deflected in off of his own defenseman. That was a big improvement on Bachman’s performance in a 9-6 loss to St. Louis in the tournament opener.

“You just want to get out there and play again after a game like that, so this was fun,” Bachman said. “It’s good to just get in there and forget about everything else and just play.”

Bachman was under siege early as he had to stop a Columbus power play just 1:19 into the game and also had to face a penalty shot in the first period. He came through untarnished by either and the Stars came out with a 1-0 first period lead on a deflected goal by Sergei Korostin.

“It’s good sometimes to get tested, especially if you get through it,” Bachman said. “You get a lot of confidence.”