Chasing Idaho and Alaska

Published on December 11, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners captured four out of a possible six points during a three game series at West Division leader Idaho after posting their first two victories in club history against the Steelheads Wednesday and Saturday. With a record of 12-10-0 and 24 points, the RoadRunners are currently second in the West Division and tied for fifth overall in the National Conference. Phoenix is just two points behind Idaho and Alaska for the top spot in the division, and nine points behind conference leader Las Vegas. The top eight teams in the National Conference advance to the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Wednesday, four different skaters tallied goals to lead the Phoenix RoadRunners over the Idaho Steelheads 4-3 before 3,832 at Qwest Arena.

The RoadRunners (11-9-0) quickly broke loose with three first period goals. Brett Smith got the scoring started at 3:17 on the power play as he lifted a backhand shot from the slot over the right shoulder of Idaho goaltender Steve Silverthorn for a 1-0 lead. Alexandre Rouleau made it 2-0, beating Silverthorn with a one-time slap shot from the blue line at 12:59 on a two-man advantage power play. Brock Hooton netted his second goal of the season as driving the net he tipped the puck through Silverthorn's pads 16:31 to give the RoadRunners a commanding 3-0 lead. Greg Rallo finally got Idaho (11-7-2) on the scoreboard on a 4-on-3 power play at 18:42 of the first. Rallo picked up Marty Flichel's rebound in the slot and slid a backhand shot by RoadRunners goaltender Mike Morrison at 18:42 to cut the RoadRunners lead to 3-1 after twenty minutes.

Scott May extended the RoadRunners advantage back to three goals at 4-1 on a shorthanded goal at 19:06 of the middle period. With Phoenix down two skaters, Paul Ballantyne tipped the puck ahead to May who slipped behind the Idaho defense and beat Silverthorn with a shot to the far side for the shorthanded tally.

The Steelheads came up with goals from Taggart Desmet at 14:27 and D'Arcy McConvey at 18:05 of the third period to cut the RoadRunners lead to a single goal, but Idaho would get no closer as Phoenix held on for the win.

Idaho out-shot Phoenix 33-21. Morrison stopped 30 shots to improve to 1-1-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-9 on the power play while Idaho was 1-8 with the man advantage.

Thursday, D'Arcy McConvey tallied a pair of goals while Marty Flichel and Darrell Hay each recorded multiple-point games to lead the Idaho Steelheads to a 3-2 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 3,454 at Qwest Arena.

McConvey got the scoring started for Idaho (12-7-2) at 6:14 of the first period. Off a scramble in front of the net, the puck fell onto McConvey's stick at the left-wing circle, and McConvey beat RoadRunners goaltender Cody Rudkowsky to the short side to give the Steelheads a 1-0 lead. Hay made it 2-0 on a 5-on-3 power play goal at 18:25. Flichel fed Hay at the left circle who beat Rudkowsky with a one-time slap shot to the upper right corner of the net.

The RoadRunners (11-10-0) responded with a power play goal at 8:46 of the second period. Dave Pszenyczny found Scott May at the Idaho blue line. May skated by the lone Steelheads defenseman and beat goaltender Steve Silverthorn with a shot along the ice to cut the deficit to 2-1.

McConvey gave Idaho their two goal lead back when he played the puck from the left-wing corner off Rudkowsky's skate and into the net at 16:52 of the third period. Cam Paddock re-directed Alexandre Rouleau's shot from the blue line by Silverthorn at 19:53 on a two-man advantage power play to get the RoadRunners back to within a goal at 3-2, but Phoenix would come no closer.

Idaho out-shot Phoenix 31-28. Rudkowsky stopped 28 shots but fell to 2-3-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-8 on the power play while Idaho was 1-12 with the man advantage.

Saturday, Justin Aikins tallied a pair of goals and Brock Hooton notched a goal and an assist to lead the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 5-2 victory over the Idaho Steelheads in the rubber match of their three-game series before 4,979 at Qwest Arena.

The RoadRunners (12-10-0) jumped out in front early as off a scramble in front of the Idaho net, Olivier Latendresse found the loose puck and jammed it by Steelheads' goaltender Steve Silverthorn at 4:44 of the first period to give Phoenix a 1-0 lead.

Greg Rallo netted the equalizer for Idaho (12-8-2) at 1:49 of the second. Mike Gabinet found Rallo out in front of the net and Rallo snapped the puck by RoadRunners goaltender Mike Morrison to tie the game at 1-1. Phoenix wasted little time reclaiming the lead as Hooton fired a shot from the left-wing boards off the blocker of Silverthorn and into the net at 2:31 giving the RoadRunners a 2-1 advantage. Aikins made it 3-1 with a power play goal at 13:30 of the second to end Silverthorn's night, before Kyle Peto beat Morrison from the top of the right-wing circle with a shot to the upper right corner of the net at 19:27 to cut the RoadRunners lead to 3-2 after two periods.

Dave Pszenyczny potted his second goal of the season when he scored on the power play from the left-wing circle at 12:44 to give the RoadRunners a 4-2 cushion. Aikins sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 18:53

Phoenix and Idaho each produced 22 shots on goal. Morrison stopped 20 shots to improve to 2-1-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-7 on the power play while Idaho was 0-11 with the man advantage.

AWFULLY SPECIAL: The RoadRunners enjoyed a tremendous week on special teams. Phoenix tallied two power play goals in all three games and went a combined 6-30 on the man advantage, an even 20% efficiency rate. The RoadRunners are now third in the ECHL with 37 power play goals and fifth overall in efficiency at 18.9%. Phoenix also extended their club record to 13 straight games with at least one power play during the trip. Meanwhile, the penalty kill actually outperformed the power play by killing off 33 of 35 Steelheads' chances over the week, a blistering 94.2% efficiency rate. Since Nov. 10, the RoadRunners have killed off 76 of 87 power play chances (87.3%) to climb from 20th to seventh overall in penalty kill efficiency in the ECHL at 85.3%.

HOOTON HEARS HE'S WHO: After recording the first multiple-point game in his professional career Saturday, rookie center Brock Hooton now has eight points in his first nine games and leads the RoadRunners with a plus-four rating. Hooton enjoyed a season-high five-game point streak with two goals and three assists from Nov. 19 through Dec. 6. The Nanaimo, British Columbia native has scored in seven out of nine games since signing with the RoadRunners on Nov. 9.

WHOA, PENALTIES! The RoadRunners' three-game series with Idaho produced 85 combined penalties that resulted in 199 total minutes. Out of those 85 penalties, 78 were minor infractions.

THE BREAKDOWN: With their 37 power play goals and five shorthanded goals scored for compared to 28 power play goals and four shorthanded goals against, the RoadRunners are an impressive plus-10 in goal differential on special teams. At even strength, Phoenix is a minus-four (34-38) in goal differential, although much of that can be based on the fact that the RoadRunners only had six even strength goals in their first eight games. Since Nov. 7 though, the RoadRunners have tallied 28 even strength goals in their last 14 games.

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: Center Scott May tallied the first three-on-five shorthanded goal in RoadRunners ECHL history Wednesday...Defenseman Brian Yandle was transferred to the 30-day injured reserve prior to Saturday's game...Phoenix is now 2-8-0 lifetime against the Idaho Steelheads...The RoadRunners are 5-3-0 against the West Division and 7-7-0 against the Pacific Division as they prepare to step out of conference to face-off against Texas this week.

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 will play four games over five nights this week as they welcome the Victoria Salmon Kings to US Airways Center at 7:11 p.m. Tuesday before hitting the road to play a three-game series at Texas Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. 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.

PHOENIX, Ariz. - WEEK RECORD 2-1-0 - SEASON RECORD 12-10-0 - 2ND WEST DIVISION

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