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Improbable Comeback Highlights Busy Week

November 12, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners concluded their season-opening 12-game home-stand going 1-4-0 against Stockton and Las Vegas. With a record of 5-7-0 and 10 points, the RoadRunners are in fourth place in the West Division just three points behind the Alaska Aces, and are currently tied for sixth overall in the National Conference.

Tuesday, David Rohlfs scored a pair of goals and the Stockton Thunder used two shorthanded tallies to defeat the Phoenix RoadRunners 4-3 before 2,156 at US Airways Center.

Stockton (5-3-0) jumped out to a quick 2-0 first period lead. Andy Contois opened the scoring when he fired a one-time drive past RoadRunners goalie Cody Rudkowsky at 15:08 to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead. David Rohlfs extended the Stockton lead to 2-0 beating Rudkowsky with a slap shot from the right-wing circle at 16:41.

The Thunder made it 3-0 early in second when Jonas Almtorp scored the first of two shorthanded goals on the evening at 11:42 of the period. Phoenix (4-4-0) would respond just 26 seconds later still on the power play at 12:08 when Justin Maiser ripped a slap shot past Stockton goalie Glenn Fisher to cut the deficit to 3-1.

Brian Yandle brought the RoadRunners to within a single goal at 3-2 scoring on the power play at 5:02 of the third period when his slap shot from the left point deflected off Stockton's Brian Lee and through the pads of Fisher into the net. But a second shorthanded goal, this one scored by Rohlfs at 7:56 of the period proved to be too much as the Thunder took a commanding 4-2 lead. Mitch Carefoot got one back scoring his first professional goal at 11:20 of the third cleaning up his own rebound and stuffing the puck past Fisher, but the RoadRunners would get no closer.

Phoenix out-shot Stockton 47-42. Rudkowsky stopped 38 shots but fell to 2-3-0 on the year. The RoadRunners went 2-7 on the power play while Stockton was 0-6 with the man-advantage.

Wednesday, Jeff Kyrzakos recorded his first career hat-trick and added an assist, and Ian Turner scored the go-ahead and the eventual game-winning goal with 4:13 remaining in regulation as the Phoenix RoadRunners scored a club record five goals in the third period to defeat the Stockton Thunder 6-5 before 2,395 at US Airways Center.

Stockton (5-4-0) actually jumped out to a 4-0 lead scoring four first period goals, all coming within the first 13 minutes of the hockey game. The Thunder opened the scoring at 3:43 when a centering pass deflected off a RoadRunners' defenseman's skate and trickled into the net. Geoff Paukovich scored the next two goals at 6:46 and 10:09 building Stockton's lead to 3-0. Paukovich tallied his first of the night when he found the bouncing puck at the top of the crease and jammed it past RoadRunners goalie Cody Rudkowsky at 6:46. Paukovich then finished off a two-way play with Ryan MacMurchy ripping a shot by Rudkowsky from the slot at 10:09. Ryan O'Marra capped the first period scoring with a power play goal at 12:50 collecting the puck off the end-boards and slipping it into the net.

The RoadRunners (5-4-0) would crack the scoreboard as Jeff Kyrzakos netted a power play goal at 11:17 of the second period to cut the deficit to 4-1. But Stockton would respond as MacMurchy re-directed Brad Farynuk's point shot by goalie Nathan Lawson on in relief of Rudkowsky at 17:25 on the power play making it 5-1 after two periods.

Phoenix began their comeback at 2:59 of the third period on the power play when Kyrzakos, off a broken play, beat Ellsworth with a wrist shot over the left glove. Kyrzakos completed the hat-trick 1:01 second later finishing a centering pass from Chris Murray over Ellsworth's left shoulder at 4:00, also on the power play. Mitch Carefoot sliced the RoadRunners deficit to 5-4 scoring off Daniel Sisca's face-off win when he beat Ellsworth to the short side at 7:01. Brian Yandle netted the equalizer with a one-time slap shot from the high slot at 15:30 of the third on a two-man advantage power play. Turner scored 17 seconds later at 15:47 on a five-on-four power play putting home Skinner's rebound past Ellsworth to give the RoadRunners the lead and the eventual win.

Phoenix out-shot Stockton 38-34. Lawson stopped 18 of 19 shots to earn the win and improve to 3-1-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 5-13 on the power play while Stockton was 2-13 with the man-advantage.

Thursday, Jacob Micflikier scored the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal at 7:50 of the third period and Sebastien Bisaillon added a pair of markers to propel the Stockton Thunder to a 6-4 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 2,982 at US Airways Center.

Stockton (6-4-0) opened the scoring at 17:21 of the first period with a power play goal. Andy Contois set up Sebastien Bisaillon with the puck at the blue line, and Bisaillon blasted a one-time slap shot past RoadRunners goalie Nathan Lawson to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead.

Jeff Kyrzakos netted the equalizer at 4:13 of the second tying the score at 1-1 and scoring his fourth goal in the last two nights. Stockton quickly responded with two goals in a span of 2:26 seconds. Brian Lee beat Lawson with a sharp-angle shot from the left-wing circle that trickled through the goalie's pads and into the net at 6:07 giving the Thunder a 2-1 lead. Andy Contois then made it 3-1 at 8:33 of the period when he got behind the defense and shot the puck off Lawson who came out to challenge and into the cage. Phoenix (5-5-0) would get one back as Peder Skinner made a nice move at the left-wing circle and lifted the puck over Stockton goalie Glenn Fisher at 11:46 to cut the deficit to 3-2. But Bisaillon came back to tally his second of the night driving the puck over Lawson's left shoulder from just inside the blue line at 13:47 and giving Stockton a 4-2 lead at the end of two periods.

The RoadRunners continued a flair for the dramatics scoring twice in the third period to tie the score at 4-4. Reagan Rome tallied a power play goal at 4:32 chipping Daniel Sisca's rebound over Fisher's shoulder and into the net. Thatcher Bell later tied the game at 7:13 when he tipped the sitting puck on the end-line behind Fisher and into the cage. But this time it was the Thunder who would respond as Micflikier scored the go-ahead goal 37 seconds later finishing off a two-way play with Ryan MacMurchy to put the Thunder ahead for good. Paul Caponigri scored an insurance goal at 14:48 to cap the scoring for the night.

Stockton out-shot Phoenix 39-34. Lawson stopped 33 shots but fell to 3-2-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-4 on the power play while Stockton was 1-10 with the man-advantage.

Saturday, Adam Cracknell tallied a pair of goals and added an assist and the Las Vegas Wranglers used three power play goals to defeat the Phoenix RoadRunners 6-2 before a season-high crowd of 4,846 at US Airways Center.

Las Vegas (6-2-0) jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead after twenty minutes. Cracknell opened the scoring at 11:30 on the power play when his one-time slap shot from outside the left wing circle beat RoadRunners goalie Cody Rudkowsky and gave the Wranglers a 1-0 advantage. Bruce Mulherin added to the lead scoring an even-strength goal at 17:46 as he jammed the puck through Rudkowsky's pads and into the net.

Phoenix (5-6-0) cracked the scoreboard at 5:11 of the second period when Scott Kelman tipped Regan Rome's shot from the point by the stick of Las Vegas goalie Daniel Manzato to cut the RoadRunners deficit to 2-1. The Wranglers would counter scoring a pair of goals 3:15 seconds apart. Chris Ferraro burned his former club tipping Peter Ferraro's rebound by Rudkowsky at 14:01 on the power play to extend the Las Vegas lead to 3-1. Cracknell scored his second goal of the night when he moved a backhander around Rudkowsky and into the net at 17:16 to give the Wranglers a 4-1 edge at the end of two periods.

Ryan Walsh scored in his RoadRunners debut 54 seconds into the third period collecting Daniel Sisca's rebound and tapping it back in the net to cut the Phoenix deficit to 4-2. But Las Vegas would come right back and strike 43 seconds later as Ryan Donally scored the Wranglers third power play goal of the night at 1:37 to build the lead back to three. Brandon Kaleniecki finished the scoring with a rebound goal at 15:04.

Las Vegas out-shot Phoenix 58-25. Rudkowsky stopped a RoadRunners' record 52 shots but fell to 2-4-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-7 on the power play while Las Vegas was 3-14 with the man-advantage.

Sunday, Tyler Mosienko and Curtis Fraser each tallied a goal and added three assists and the Las Vegas Wranglers swept a two-game weekend series defeating the Phoenix RoadRunners 5-1 before 3,166 at US Airways Center.

For a second straight game, Las Vegas (7-2-0) jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead. Gerry Burke opened the scoring just 2:52 into the period beating RoadRunners goalie Cody Rudkowsky with a shot along the ice and giving the Wranglers a 1-0 lead. Brandon Kaleniecki made it 2-0 just 1:34 seconds later scoring a shorthanded goal off a long lead pass from the Las Vegas zone.

Fraser added to the lead late in the second period scoring his first career goal at 18:43 on the power play.

Mosienko made it 4-0 scoring his third goal of the year at 7:17 of the third period. Aaron Power then gave the Wranglers a commanding 5-0 advantage beating Rudkowsky with a one-time slap shot from just inside the blue line at 9:28 on the power play. Justin Maiser scored the lone RoadRunners (5-7-0) goal of the night tipping Brian Yandle's pass by the stick of Las Vegas goal Tim Boron at 12:04 of the third period.

Phoenix out-shot Las Vegas 38-35. Rudkowsky stopped 30 shots but fell to 2-5-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-6 on the power play while Las Vegas was 2-6 with the man-advantage.

THIRD PERIOD PROWESS: Wednesday's magical comeback just continued an on-going trend this season. The RoadRunners outscored Stockton and Las Vegas 11-7 in the final period during the five games last week. Phoenix has now outscored their opponents 22-14 in third periods this season, and their 22 goals scored are the most of any ECHL club in any period so far this year.

HATS OFF TO KYRZAKOS: Second-year forward Jeff Kyrzakos anchored the RoadRunners' offense last week scoring four goals, including three on the power play, and adding two assists to finish with six points in five games. Kyrzakos notched his first career hat-trick and first career four-point game in Wednesday's win against Stockton. The Mississauga, Ontario native is currently tied for sixth on the club in scoring with five goals and eight points.

SISCA, MAISER AMONG ECHL LEADERS: Center Daniel Sisca and forward Justin Maiser are among the ECHL leaders in points and goals respectively. Sisca leads the RoadRunners and is tied for the ECHL scoring lead with four goals and 15 points. He recently recorded a four-game assist streak with seven assists from Nov. 6-10. Sisca is on pace for a 90-point season. Meanwhile, Maiser leads the RoadRunners and is currently tied for third in the ECHL with his eight goals. Maiser in on a pace to score 48 goals this season, which would nearly triple his career-high total of 19.

HERE WE GO ON THE ROAD: With their season-opening 12-game home-stand behind them, the RoadRunners will play 25 of their next 32 games away from US Airways Center between now and Feb.1, 2008 beginning with an eight-game road trip starting Nov. 20. The RoadRunners will return to the "Purple Palace" for a brief two-game home-stand Dec. 6-7 against Victoria, followed by another five-game road trip. After a four-game home-stand Dec. 27-Jan.2 against Bakersfield and Idaho, the RoadRunners will embark on a season-long 12-game road trip Jan. 4-29.

NEWS & NOTES: Defenseman Chris Murray was placed on the seven-day injured reserve Saturday after suffering an injury he received from a kneeing penalty by Stockton's Ryan O'Marra Thursday...Forward Jeff Smith was transferred from the seven-day injured reserve to the 30-day injured reserve Saturday retroactive to Nov. 6...Rookie center Peder Skinner enjoyed a season-high five-game scoring streak with two goals and four assists from Nov. 1-8.

MEET THE ROADRUNNERS TUESDAY: Come meet the 2007-08 RoadRunners at Big Daddy's Sports Lounge at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday. Big Daddy's NEW location is on Cave Creek Road near the corner of Peoria in Phoenix. Food & Drink Specials will be available at Big Daddy's, as well as a unique opportunity to meet some of your favorite RoadRunners.

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 are off this week and don't return to the ice until Tuesday, Nov. 20 at Las Vegas. 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.



ECHL Stories from November 12, 2007


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