Dupell Hat Trick Leads 'Runners to Sweep
Published on January 8, 2012 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Topeka Pilots News Release
The second largest home crowd of the season was treated to an exceptional evening of hockey, the majority of them heading home happy after a come-from-behind 4-1 victory for the RoadRunners over their old rival St. Louis Bandits on Saturday night.
The first period was a far more wide open affair than the first period of Friday night during which the teams combined for only 6 shots on goal. In this game, Topeka outshot St. Louis 11-7 in the first period though the period ended up scoreless. St. Louis did fire a shot off the glove side pipe but goalie Peter Traber continued his scoreless streak to 10 consecutive periods.
Traber's record setting run finally came to an end in the second period. With St. Louis on the power play, veteran forward Ryan Stouffer came down the left side and snapped a pass across to Joseph Birmingham who snapped a one-timer past Traber for a 1-0 lead at 17:59. The period ended with that margin, and Traber's streak closed out at 217:59, stopping 71 shots in the process.
The Bandits have been a team that plays well with a lead, going 18-1-2 in games in which they had scored first. No one explained that to Dan Dupell, who tied the game at 6:31 of the third when he swiped a weak zone clear attempt behind the Bandit net and jammed it home. Dupell gave the 'Runners a 2-1 lead at 11:17 when Ryan White fed him a beautiful saucer pass from the left wing on a rush that Dupell slapped home from the slot. White added to his franchise record assist total at 16:26 as he set up Dupell for his third goal of the period and the natural hat trick, his team leading 17th goal of the season. Linus Johansson added an empty net goal at 18:52 for the final 4-1 score, completing the weekend series sweep for the RoadRunners, their fourth win in a row and 9th in their last 10 games.
Topeka (23-11-2) will travel to NAHL South leading Amarillo (30-3-5) for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday before returning home for a six game homestand.
North American Hockey League Stories from January 8, 2012
- Dupell Hat Trick Leads 'Runners to Sweep - Topeka Pilots
- Bulls' Streak Ends at 10 Following Shootout Loss - Amarillo Bulls
- Wild, Monsters Split Series - Wenatchee Wild
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