Condors Soar Past RoadRunners 5-2

March 17, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


Bakersfield, Calif. - Joel Irving tallied a pair of goals including the game-winner to lead the Bakersfield Condors to a 5-2 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 5,556 at Rabobank Arena in ECHL action Friday.

Bakersfield (31-23-5) opened the scoring at 18:03 of the first period. Jack Baker charging up the right-wing boards centered the puck off Tyler Scott's stick right to Brad Mehalko at the weak side of the net, and Mehalko tapped it along the ice past RoadRunners goaltender Zach Sikich to give the Condors a 1-0 lead.

Justin Quenneville would net the equalizer for the RoadRunners (19-40-3) at 6:52 of the second period on the power play. Quenneville in the slot flipped the loose puck over Bakersfield goaltender Ryan Munce's glove to tie the game at 1-1. The Condors would counter though with a pair of goals to close the period. Mathieu Brunelle jammed home Kevin Truelson's rebound at 13:45 for a 2-1 advantage. Joel Irving made it 3-1 with a power play goal on a one-time slap shot from the right-wing circle at 17:39.

Kevin St. Jacques increased the lead to 4-1 with his 21st goal of the year just 3:52 into the third period. Irving was credited with his second goal of the game at 7:30 when his centering pass across the crease deflected off a RoadRunners defenseman's stick and bounced into the net to give Bakersfield a commanding 5-1 lead. Jake Riddle closed the scoring on a two-man advantage power play at 13:24.

Bakersfield out-shot Phoenix 45-34. Sikich stopped 40 shots but fell to 1-1-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-9 on the power play.

Notes: Sikich made his RoadRunners debut, but his 11th start of the season overall. Sikich played earlier this year in Danbury (UHL), Fort Wayne (UHL), Jacksonville (SPHL), and Long Beach (ECHL)...Phoenix dropped their 10th straight game on the road. The RoadRunners haven't won away from US Airways Center since February 3 at Pensacola...Patrick Levesque, who assisted on Quenneville's goal, has six points in his last three games.

The RoadRunners conclude a two-game series with the Bakersfield Condors at 8:05PM MST Saturday from Rabobank Arena. Catch all the action live on News-Talk Radio 1100AM KFNX beginning with "RoadRunners Countdown" at 7:45PM.

Phoenix returns to US Airways Center at 7:11PM Monday as they welcome the Victoria Salmon Kings. It's the final game of the inaugural season series between the two West Division rivals. For more information or to order tickets, call (602) 462-GOAL or purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com.



ECHL Stories from March 17, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central