On the way up

December 12, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners captured their second consecutive winning week with victories Friday at San Diego and Sunday at Stockton. Phoenix remains in sixth place in the West Division with 18 points, just one point behind fifth place Victoria and only 9 points behind fourth place Utah.

Friday, Cory Pecker scored the go-ahead and game-winning goal at 16:09 of the third period on the power play to lead the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Gulls before 4,011 at the ipayOne Center.

The RoadRunners (7-10-2) wasted no time getting on the board, scoring just 2:07 into the contest. Mike Ouellet collected Dean Tiltgen's rebound at the weak side of the net and slid it past an out of position San Diego goaltender Tyler Weiman to give Phoenix a 1-0 lead. Jason Deskins increased the lead to 2-0 just 1:42 seconds after the Ouellet goal. Deskins fired a backhand shot from the slot through Weiman's pads at 3:49 of the first period to give the RoadRunners a two-goal cushion heading into the first intermission.

San Diego (8-8-4) struck back with a pair of goals in the second period to tie the game at 2-2. Alex Kim got the Gulls on the scoreboard when his slap shot from the blue line beat RoadRunners goaltender Mike Mole over the glove at 5:05 on the power play. Chet Ferreira netted the equalizer with just 42.7 seconds remaining in the period when he jumped off the San Diego bench, took the long pass from Jesse Bennefield at the Phoenix blue line, and beat Mole with another shot over the glove to tie the score at 2-2.

Pecker gave the RoadRunners the lead for good when his shot from the right-wing circle trickled off Weiman's stick and into the net at 16:09 with Phoenix on the power play.

San Diego out-shot Phoenix 39-30. Mole stopped 37 shots to improve to 4-7-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-9 on the power play.

Saturday, Steve Slonina scored a pair of goals and goaltender Jake Moreland recorded his sixth career shutout to lead the Stockton Thunder to a 4-0 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 10,117 at the Stockton Arena.

Mike Lalonde opened the scoring for the Thunder (5-8-3) with the first goal in the history of the Stockton Arena on a two-man advantage power play. Lalonde collected his own rebound in front of Mike Mole and lifted a backhand shot over Mole's glove at 7:51 of the first period to give Stockton a 1-0 lead. Tony Johnson extended the lead to 2-0 at 12:38 of the period when his blast from the right point zipped over Mole's left shoulder and into the back of the net.

Slonina scored his first goal of the contest 31 seconds into the second period. Off a RoadRunners turnover, Maris Ziedens found a wide-open Slonina cutting to the net, and Slonina slipped a backhand shot past Mole to increase the lead to 3-0.

Slonina capped the scoring with a shorthanded goal at 2:38 of the third period to make the final 4-0.

Stockton out-shot Phoenix (7-11-2) 32-22. Mole stopped 28 shots in falling to 4-8-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-8 on the power play.

Sunday, Captain Dean Tiltgen scored the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal with 3:41 remaining in regulation to break a 3-3 tie and lift the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 4-3 win over the Stockton Thunder and a split in their two-game weekend series before 5,910 at the Stockton Arena.

For a second straight game, Mike Lalonde opened the scoring for Stockton (5-9-3), collecting his own rebound at the side of the cage and poking the puck through goaltender Mathieu Chouinard just 2:48 into the first period for a 1-0 lead. The RoadRunners (8-11-2) didn't wait long to counter. Mark Wires hit J-F Soucy with a cross-ice pass along the right-wing boards, and Soucy cut back to the slot before slipping a backhand shot by Thunder goaltender Jeff Weber at 5:36 to tie the game at 1-1.

Phoenix took their first lead of the game at 6:05 of the second period. With the RoadRunners' penalty on Peter Trovato just expiring, Jason Deskins fed Trovato a pass behind the defense and Trovato tucked a backhand shot past Weber to give Phoenix a 2-1 lead. Jake Riddle extended the lead to 3-1 at 15:16 of the second. Riddle charged the cage with the defense collapsing in front of him, deked Weber to the ice, and lifted a slap shot to the upper right corner of the net.

Stockton would strike back with a pair of power play goals in the third period. Nathan Martz brought the Thunder back to within a goal at 3-2 when his second-effort shot squeaked through past Chouinard at 13:12 of the period. Lalonde netted the equalizer at 16:19 when he curled out to the right-wing circle and beat Chouinard with a shot along the ice that slipped though the goaltender's pads to tie the game at 3-3. Yet the RoadRunners would have the final say as Deskins on a rush up the ice pushed the puck in the direction of Weber and Tiltgen re-directed it past the goaltender for the game-winner at 16:19.

Stockton out-shot Phoenix 37-20. Chouinard stopped 34 shots to improve to 4-3-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-6 on the power play.

STEADILY IMPROVING: After opening the season with just three wins in their first 13 games, the RoadRunners have gone 5-3-0 in their last eight contests and are 3-1-0 away from America West Arena during that time. A major factor in the RoadRunners improved play has been their overall defense. Phoenix surrendered an average of 3.84 goals per game during their first 13 games. They have allowed just 20 goals during this current eight-game stretch, an average of 2.50 goals against per game.

CLOSING IN: Captain Dean Tiltgen is just seven points shy of 400 for his career. Tiltgen recorded his 181st professional goal in Sunday's win to give him 393 points. The Edmonton, Alberta native will also reach the 500-game plateau sometime later this season. Tiltgen has played in 459 career games over a nine-year professional career.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: RoadRunners' newcomers Jake Riddle, Shaun Fisher, and Garrett Burnett all made significant impacts in their first weekend with the club. Riddle tallied his first goal as a RoadRunner in Sunday's victory and engaged in two fights over the weekend, while Fisher netted a pair of assists and Burnett also collected an assist. The trio is expected to make their home debuts Friday against Bakersfield.

HOME COOKING: Between now and January 19, the RoadRunners will play 12 of their next 16 games at America West Arena. After January 19 Phoenix will have only 12 home games remaining in the regular season. The RoadRunners are currently 4-6-2 at home this season.

ROADRUNNERS VINTAGE JERSEY AUCTION ALL THIS WEEK: Hey RoadRunners' fans, do you want to own a piece of history? The commemorative throwback 1977-78 jerseys the RoadRunners wore for the November 26th game against Long Beach are now available for purchase through a special online auction that can be accessed at www.phxroadrunners.com. The auction will run through Thursday with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the ECHL/Salvation Army Hurricane Relief Fund.

ROADRUNNERS IN THE COMMUNITY: RoadRunners' players will visit with patients at St. Joseph's Hospital (250 Thomas Road) at 2PM on Tuesday. For more information or to find out how you can have Rocky or your favorite RoadRunners come to your event, contact Dan Weiss at (602) 379-7870.

TOSS THOSE TEDDY BEARS: The RoadRunners, in conjunction with the Maricopa County Head Start Program, will host the first annual "Teddy Bear Toss" at 7:11PM on Friday when Phoenix entertains the Bakersfield Condors at America West Arena. Bring a teddy bear with you to the game and toss it onto the ice when the RoadRunners score their first goal. All teddy bears collected will be donated to Head Start just in time for the holiday season. Make sure to stop by and visit with Santa Claus who will also be making an appearance from his busy schedule over at Santa's World. For more information or to order tickets, call 602-462-GOAL, that's 602-462-4625.

WATCH THE ‘RUNNERS LIVE IN '05-06: The RoadRunners have teamed up with B2 Networks to bring you live action of Phoenix RoadRunners hockey in 2005-06. 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, Pensacola, Las Vegas, San Diego, 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 once again play three games in three nights beginning at 7:11PM Friday against the Bakersfield Condors at America West Arena. Phoenix will travel to Long Beach to battle the Ice Dogs at 8PM MST on Saturday before returning home at 5PM on Sunday for a return engagement with the Condors. Catch all three games live on News Talk Radio 1100AM KFNX and Pro Sports Radio beginning with "RoadRunners Countdown" twenty minutes before opening face-off.



ECHL Stories from December 12, 2005


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