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Five-Point Week Kicks Off New Year

January 7, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


PHOENIX, Ariz. - WEEK RECORD 2-1-1 - SEASON RECORD 12-15-6 - 5TH WEST DIVISION

'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners split the final two games of their four-game holiday home-stand with the Idaho Steelheads, and took three of four points from the Alaska Aces to commence their season-long 12-game road trip. With a record of 12-15-6 and 30 points, the RoadRunners are currently fifth in the West Division and tied for seventh overall in the National Conference.

Monday, Steve Silverthorn turned aside all 36 shots he saw to collect his second shutout of the season and propel the Idaho Steelheads to a 2-0 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 2,737 at US Airways Center.

Idaho's (15-10-7) Darrell Hay broke a scoreless tie 7:32 seconds into the second period when his long shot from the right point split the pads of RoadRunners goalie Dave McKee giving the Steelheads a 1-0 lead.

Blake Forsyth added a late insurance goal when he jammed a loose puck sitting in the crease past McKee and into the net at 15:14 of the third period. After that, Silverthorn did the rest stopping all 14 Phoenix (10-15-5) shots in the final twenty minutes.

Phoenix out-shot Idaho 36-29. McKee stopped 27 shots but fell to 2-4-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-6 on the power play while Idaho was 0-4 with the man-advantage.

Wednesday, Thatcher Bell and Sean O'Connor each tallied a goal and added an assist and goalie Dave McKee made 34 saves to lift the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 3-1 win over the Idaho Steelheads before 2,682 at US Airways Center.

Following a scoreless first period, the RoadRunners (11-15-5) struck first when Bell found Sean O'Connor with a pass in front of the net, and O'Connor snapped the puck by Idaho goalie Steve Silverthorn at 3:43 of the second for a 1-0 lead.

Ryan Walsh gave Phoenix a 2-0 cushion 4:52 into the third period when he collected Gino Guyer's rebound in the slot and tapped it into the net. The Steelheads (15-11-7) would respond less than two minutes later on the power play as Lance Galbraith beat McKee with a slap shot to the upper right corner of the net at 6:51. The RoadRunners however would have the game's last say as Thatcher Bell whipped a shot from the right-wing circle through the pads of Silverthorn at 11:39 of the third to account for the final score.

Idaho out-shot Phoenix 35-32. McKee stopped 34 shots to improve to 3-4-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-3 on the power play while Idaho was 1-5 with the man-advantage.

Friday, Olivier Filion tied the scored on a shorthanded goal with 26.2 seconds remaining in regulation, and Matt Shasby netted the game-winner with 1.4 seconds left in overtime to lift the Alaska Aces to a dramatic 4-3 win over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 4,268 at Sullivan Arena.

Phoenix (11-15-6) opened the scoring 7:35 into the first period when Scott Kelman re-directed Corey LeClair's shot from the left point behind Alaska goalie Derek Gustafson giving the RoadRunners a 1-0 lead.

Alaska (18-10-3) countered with a pair of goals in the middle period to take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission. Peter Metcalf got the Aces on the scoreboard at 9:07 of the period on the power play collecting Shasby's rebound and tipping the puck through the pads of RoadRunners goalie Dave McKee to tie the score at 1-1. Alaska later took their first lead of the game at 13:40 of the second when Eric Neilson swept Jim Dahl's rebound behind McKee and into the net.

The RoadRunners responded with an 18-shot third period and scored two goals in a span of 2:45 seconds to re-claim a 3-2 lead. Daniel Sisca whipped a shot from the right-wing circle past Gustafson at 6:12 of the period on the power play to tie the game at 2-2. Gino Guyer later scored on a nifty two-on-one play with Justin Maiser lifting the puck over the Gustafson and into the net at 8:57 to give the RoadRunners a 3-2 advantage. But Alaska found the equalizer in the final 30 seconds as Filion, off a broken play, found the puck in the high slot and slapped it over the right shoulder over McKee at 19:33 tying the score again at 3-3.

After the RoadRunners squandered a power play chance in the overtime, the Aces led a three-on-rush up the ice in the final 10 seconds, and Kimbi Daniels found Shasby at the side of the net who tipped it past McKee at 4:58 of the extra session for the victory.

Phoenix out-shot Alaska 40-34. McKee stopped 30 shots but fell to 3-4-3 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-7 on the power play while Alaska was 1-5 with the man-advantage.

Saturday, the Phoenix RoadRunners scored four times in the first period, and then withstood a furious rally to defeat the Alaska Aces 6-4 before 4,652 at Sullivan Arena.

Phoenix (12-15-6) opened their offensive assault less than five minutes into the contest when Reagan Rome scored on a one-time slap shot from the blue line at 4:10 on the power play. Daniel Sisca increased the lead to 2-0 when he beat Alaska goalie Kris Tebbs with a rebound shot along the ice at 6:20 of the period. Justin Maiser later got into the scoring act re-directing a Corey LeClair shot from the point by Tebbs at 12:19 on the power play to make it 3-0. Gino Guyer finished the first period scoring when he stuffed his own rebound past Tebbs at 19:37 shorthanded.

Alaska (18-11-3), courtesy of six second period power plays, would steal some of the momentum back as they would cut the RoadRunners lead to 4-2 before the end of the period. Bo Cheesman scored his team-leading 17th goal of the season beating RoadRunners goalie Cody Rudkowsky along the ice from the high slot 2:26 into the period. Then on a five-on-three power play, Kimbi Daniels found the back of the net at 3:42 of the second to pull the Aces to within two goals.

Alaska would eventually complete their comeback and tie the score at 4-4 with a pair of goals to open the third period. F.P Guenette scored a power play goal at 1:24 of the third, and Vladimir Novak scored off the face-off at 10:12 to even the score. But the RoadRunners would have the final say as Maiser tallied his second goal of the game at 11:58 on the power play and Sean O'Connor sealed the victory with an empty-netter at 19:41.

Alaska out-shot Phoenix 39-30. Rudkowsky stopped 35 shots to improve to 6-10-3 on the season. The RoadRunners went 3-8 on the power play while Alaska was 2-9 with the man-advantage.

A WEEK OF FIRSTS: The RoadRunners enjoyed several "firsts" to kick-off the New Year. Wednesday, Phoenix picked up their first win in six tries this year against the Idaho Steelheads. Saturday, the RoadRunners captured their first win in eight tries lifetime at Anchorage's Sullivan Arena, and with three out of a possible four points in the two-game mini set, also won their first ever series in three years against the Alaska Aces.

HELLO AGAIN: Former Aces Gino Guyer, Justin Maiser, and Corey LeClair all enjoyed productive series against their former club. Guyer contributed two goals and three assists in the two-game set, and recorded back-to-back multiple-point outings for the first time in his career. Maiser tallied two goals and added an assist, and was credited with the game-winning goal in Saturday's win. LeClair notched single assists in both games Friday and Saturday. Maiser was a part of the Aces 2005-06 Kelly Cup Championship squad, Guyer was recently acquired for defenseman Dave Pszenyczny on Dec. 13, 2007, and LeClair played five games for the Anchorage Aces of the now-defunct West Coast Hockey League in 2002-03.

FIRST ONE TO 10: Center Daniel Sisca recorded his team-leading 10th multiple-point game of the season Saturday after notching a goal and two assists. The three-point effort also marked his third three-point outing of the year. The fourth-year pro leads the RoadRunners with nine goals and 34 points through 32 games, and ranks tied for 13th in the ECHL scoring race.

GETTING IT DONE A MAN DOWN: Center Gino Guyer recorded the RoadRunners' third shorthanded goal of the season Saturday. It was the club's first shorthanded goal in 30 games after earning two during their opening weekend series against Utah.

NEWS & NOTES: Goalie Cody Rudkowsky captured his first win in three career starts against the Alaska Aces...Rookie forward Chris Stevens missed the last three games after being placed on the three-day injured reserve Wednesday. It's the first time in his career that Stevens has missed consecutive games...After going 2-18 (11.1%) on the power play over the four-game home-stand, the RoadRunners went 4-15 (26.6%) with the man-advantage during their two-game series in Alaska.

WATCH THE 'RUNNERS LIVE IN '07-08: 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 season-long 12-game road trip with four games in six days this week. Phoenix visits Bakersfield at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, heads north to Fresno for an 8:30 p.m. face-off Friday, visits Bakersfield again at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, and returns to Fresno for a 6:05 p.m. match-up Sunday. Catch all four games live on Independent 1310 KXAM and at www.phxroadrunners.com beginning with "RoadRunners Countdown" twenty minutes prior to face-off. Information on season tickets, half-season packages, and flex plans for the 2007-08 season of Phoenix RoadRunners Hockey are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.

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