SAVANNAH, Ga. — Josh Davies scored the first two goals of his professional career as the Ghost Pirates (7-2-0-0) fended off the Idaho Steelheads (5-4-0-0) by a score of 4-3 at Enmarket Arena on Saturday night.
Davies collected his first goal of the night at 7:54, finishing off a terrific setup by Kai Schwindt from the far goal line. Devon Paliani started the rush through the neutral zone as the 23-year-old deposited the puck into a wide open net.
The Calgary, AB, native scored 36 goals in 55 games with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks last season; he was assigned to Savannah’s roster on November 7.
Idaho tied the game under two minutes later with Brendan Hoffman’s third goal of the season. The visitors took the lead late in the opening frame thanks to Thomas Caron’s second tally in as many games against the Ghost Pirates this weekend.
Will Riedell evened up the scoring at 17:57, notching his second goal of the 2024-25 campaign with assists from Logan Drevitch and Liam Arnsby.
Ross Armour gave Savannah a 3-2 lead at 3:39 of the second period, firing a wrist shot from the left circle over the left shoulder of Steelheads goaltender Bryan Thomson.
Hoffman tipped in a point shot from Matt Register on a power play, equalizing the game for Idaho at 15:57 of the middle stanza. Despite the Ghost Pirates outshooting Idaho 18-5 in the second period, the game was tied 3-3 heading into the third.
Davies would come up big again, deflecting a centering pass from Andre Anania at the side of the goal, bringing a crowd of 7,485 at Enmarket Arena to their feet. Anania’s primary assist marked his first point as a pro in his third career game.
Cooper Black recorded his first ECHL win in his Ghost Pirates debut, turning away 15 of 18 shots. Savannah outshot the Steelheads 47-18, including 33-9 in the last two periods.
Savannah’s power play struggled, going 0-for-5; they killed off one of two chances for Idaho.
The Ghost Pirates improved to 7-2 this season, continuing their lead over the South Division through nine games. Idaho dropped to 5-4 and are currently in fourth place in the Mountain Division.
-GHOST PIRATES-
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