Winning Streaks Halted

Published on December 4, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


PHOENIX, Ariz. - WEEK RECORD 1-2-0 - SEASON RECORD 10-9-0 - 3RD WEST DIVISION

'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners toppled the Utah Grizzlies Tuesday to open the week on a positive note, but followed that victory with back-to-back defeats against Utah and Fresno, the first time the RoadRunners dropped consecutive games since Nov. 3-4. With a record of 10-9-0 and 20 points, the RoadRunners are currently third in the West Division and seventh overall in the National Conference. Phoenix is just four points behind division leader Idaho, but now 11 points behind conference leader Las Vegas. The top eight teams in the National Conference advance to the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Tuesday, Jeff Kyrzakos scored the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal with 8:02 remaining in regulation to propel the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 4-3 win over the Utah Grizzlies before 2,515 at US Airways Center.

Phoenix (10-7-0) struck for the game's first goal at 15:59 of the first period on the power play. Scott May fed a cross-ice pass to Brian Yandle along the right-wing boards and Yandle moved the puck into the slot where he found Brett Smith's stick. Smith re-directed the puck by Utah goaltender Sean Fields to give the RoadRunners a 1-0 lead. But the lead was short-lived as the Grizzlies (4-12-3) tied the game 20 seconds later at 16:19. Ryan Kinasewich collected the bouncing puck in front of the net and jammed it past RoadRunners goaltender Cody Rudkowsky to tie the score at 1-1. Matt Craig gave Utah a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission as he finished off a cross-ice pass in front of the cage from Kinasewich and buried it by Rudkowsky at 18:09 of the period.

Phoenix wasted little time in the second period to net the equalizer. Cam Paddock tipped Dusty Demianiuk's shot from the right point past Fields just 51 seconds into the period to the game at 2-2. The RoadRunners would then reclaim the lead on a power play goal from Brock Hooton at 6:51. On a two-man advantage, Hooton worked the puck down low by two Utah defensemen and tapped the puck through Fields' pads to give Phoenix a 3-2 lead.

However, this time it would be Utah's turn to strike quickly as Travis Rycroft re-directed Ed Campbell's shot from the left point at 2:33 of the third period on the power play to tie the score at 3-3. It would remain tied until Kyrzakos cleaned up Todd Jackson's rebound in front of the net and lifted the puck into the upper corner of the cage at 11:58 for the game-winner.

Phoenix out-shot Utah 44-36. Rudkowsky made 33 saves to improve to 2-1-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-9 on the power play while Utah was 1-8.

Thursday, Danny Stewart's first professional goal broke a 2-2 tie and proved to be the game-winner as the Utah Grizzlies defeated the Phoenix RoadRunners 3-2 before 2,685 at US Airways Center.

After a scoreless first period, the RoadRunners (10-8-0) struck first as Jake Ortmeyer jammed home Brock Hooton's rebound by the side of the net at 3:00 of the second on the power play for a 1-0 lead. Utah's Brendan Cook would tally the equalizer at 9:21 of the second as he beat RoadRunners goaltender Mike Morrison with a slap shot under the glove to tie the game at 1-1.

The Grizzlies (5-12-3) took a 2-1 lead at 7:18 of the third period as Ryan Kinasewich re-directed Gordon Burnett's shot through Morrison's pads. However, Brett Smith would net the equalizer for the RoadRunners as he lifted Cam Paddock's rebound over Utah goalie Rob McVicar at 11:04 to tie the game at 2-2. Stewart scored the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal at 14:20 of the third as he ripped a slap shot through Morrison from the left-wing circle.

Phoenix out-shot Utah 34-33. Morrison made 30 saves in his RoadRunners debut but suffered the loss to fall to 0-1. The RoadRunners went 1-3 on the power play while Utah was 0-2.

Saturday, John Morlang netted a hat-trick and the Fresno Falcons scored three first period goals on their way to a 4-2 win over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 9,409 at the Save Mart Center.

Fresno (11-7-0) opened their first period scoring spree with a power play goal at 4:59. Tomas Fojtik pounced on Cory Murphy's rebound at the side of the net and lifted a backhand shot by RoadRunners goaltender Cody Rudkowsky to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. Morlang extended the lead with a two-man advantage power play goal at 7:10 of the period. Morlang jammed home Colin Shields' rebound in the crease through Rudkowsky's pads to make it 2-0. Morlang then tacked on his second goal of the game as he batted down the loose puck in mid-air just inside the left post at 16:20 to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead going into the first intermission.

The RoadRunners (10-9-0) responded in the second period as off a Falcon turnover, Brett Smith finished off Todd Jackson's cross-ice pass on a two-on-one rush flipping the puck over Fresno goaltender Ryan MacDonald at 14:49 to cut the Phoenix deficit to 3-1.

Morlang gave the Falcons their three-goal lead back at 14:12 of the third period as he finished the hat-trick by beating Rudkowsky with a slap shot from the left-wing circle to make it 4-1. Alexandre Rouleau scored a power play goal at 17:25 to get the RoadRunners back to within two goals but that's as close as they would come.

Phoenix out-shot Fresno 35-28. Rudkowsky stopped 24 shots as he fell to 2-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-7 on the power play while the Falcons were 2-6.

NO ORDINARY SMITH: RoadRunners' center Brett Smith is currently riding a season and team-high four-game goal streak and has produced seven points (four goals, three assists) in his last four games. Smith's four-game goal streak matches his career high from last season from Feb. 10-17 while skating for the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs of the Central Hockey League. Smith ranks third on the RoadRunners with seven goals and tied for third overall in team scoring with 14 points in 17 games.

SECOND PERIOD SWAGGER: The RoadRunners have outscored their opponents 24-10 in second periods this season. The 10 goals allowed are fewest among all ECHL teams in the second period and fourth fewest in the league for any period. For comparative purposes, the RoadRunners have been outscored 25-18 in first periods and 27-21 in third periods this season.

SAVE MART BLUES: With Saturday's loss, Phoenix is now 0-3-1 lifetime at Fresno's Save Mart Center. The RoadRunners' troubles seem to stem from rough first periods. Phoenix has been outscored 9-1 in four first periods at Fresno (17-10 in the four games overall), and the Falcons have scored five of their nine first period goals in the opening six minutes of the hockey game. Meanwhile, Fresno's John Morlang has feasted against the RoadRunners this season with six goals and seven points in four games against Phoenix.

"MO" IS A GO: Goaltender Mike Morrison made his RoadRunners' debut Thursday stopping 30 of 33 shots in a 3-2 loss to the Grizzlies. Morrison was assigned to the club last week from the parent Phoenix Coyotes of the NHL from San Antonio of the American Hockey League. Morrison is 11-7-0 in 29 NHL games split between Edmonton, Ottawa, and Phoenix and a former Hockey East First Team All-Star at the University of Maine.

BOWL WITH THE ROADRUNNERS: Registration is currently open for the Phoenix RoadRunners' Booster Club annual Holiday Bowling Party on Sunday, Jan. 7 from 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. at Sunset Lanes (8941 N 12th Street, Phoenix). The cost is $20 for club members and $30 for non-members. The deadline to register is Dec. 30 and for more information, visit www.roadrunnersboosters.com.

NEWS & NOTES: With their late power play goal Saturday, the RoadRunners extended their club-record to 10 consecutive games with at least one power play goal...Goaltender Cody Rudkowsky was placed on the three-day injured reserve Sunday...The RoadRunners opened a stretch Saturday of seven out of their next eight games away from the US Airways Center. Phoenix will visit Idaho this week for three games and following a home game on Dec. 12 against Victoria, will travel to Texas for three games from Dec. 14-16.

WATCH THE 'RUNNERS LIVE IN '06-07: The RoadRunners have teamed up with B2 Networks to bring you live action of Phoenix RoadRunners hockey in 2006-07. RoadRunners fans will be able to click the "Watch Online" link at www.phxroadrunners.com to view and listen to the game. These broadcasts are available to fans for a charge of $6 per game. All 36 RoadRunners home broadcasts will be available in addition to over 25 road games in Alaska, Idaho, Las Vegas, Stockton, Utah, and Bakersfield. A cable or DSL Internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 are required to view the games.

UP NEXT: The RoadRunners continue their current four-game road trip as they travel to Boise this week to face-off against the first place Idaho Steelheads at 7:10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday at Qwest Arena. Catch all the action live at www.phxroadrunners.com beginning with "RoadRunners Countdown" 20 minutes prior to face-off. Individual game tickets for the 2006-07 regular season start as low $7 in the lower section and can be purchased at the US Airways Center Box Office and at all Ticketmaster outlets including Ticketmaster.com. Information on season tickets, half-season packages, and flex plans are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.

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