One For the Books

April 10, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


Phoenix, Ariz. - WEEK RECORD: 1-2-0 - SEASON RECORD: 20-47-5 - 6th WEST DIVISION

‘RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners wrapped up their inaugural campaign in the ECHL last week by taking one of three games and snapping a 14-game winless streak. The RoadRunners finished 2005-06 with a record of 20-47-5 and 45 points, good for sixth place in the National Conference's West Division.

Tuesday, Chris Neiszner tallied a pair of goals and Shawn Limpright added three assists to lead the Las Vegas Wranglers to a 7-1 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners in the regular season home finale before 4,998 at US Airways Center.

The Wranglers (51-13-6) jumped out to a quick 2-0 first period lead. Sean O'Connor beat RoadRunners goaltender Zach Sikich with a wrist shot from the right-wing circle at 4:32 on the power play to give Las Vegas a 1-0 lead. Matt Dzieduszycki then finished off a two-on-one break with Christian Chartier at 7:20 for the Wranglers second tally of the game.

Charles Linglet extended the Wranglers advantage to 3-0 at 4:24 of the second period. A RoadRunners turnover at the Las Vegas blue line set up a two-on-one rush, and Linglet tucked the puck behind Sikich after receiving the pass in deep from Chris Kenady. Steve Crampton tallied his 19th goal of the season on a two-man advantage power play for Las Vegas at 17:50, batting down Chartier's rebound and into the cage to make it 4-0 after two periods.

Chris Neiszner tallied a pair of goals 10 seconds apart at 10:09 and 10:19 of the third period to extend the Las Vegas lead to 6-0. Nick Anderson off a turnover at center ice beat Sikich one-on-one at 16:34 to make it a 7-0 game. Shawn Snider broke up the shutout with his 12th goal of the season at 18:02 to cap the scoring.

Las Vegas out-shot Phoenix (19-46-5) 38-21. Sikich stopped 31 shots and fell to 1-5-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-6 on the power play while the Wranglers were 2-7.

Friday, Goaltender Ryan Cyr stopped 21 of 22 shots to collect his first professional victory and lead the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 3-1 win over the San Diego Gulls before 7,462 at the ipayOne Center.

Following a scoreless first period, the RoadRunners (20-46-5) struck for a pair of goals in the middle frame. Dean Tiltgen set up Taylor Christie coming into the zone, and Christie ripped a shot over the glove of San Diego goaltender Mike Mole just 4:13 into the second to give the RoadRunners a 1-0 lead. Justin Quenneville extended the lead to 2-0 on a two-man advantage power play goal at 11:17. Quenneville received a cross-circle pass from Brad Woods down low and tapped the puck by Mole for the tally.

But the Gulls (34-29-8) wouldn't go away quietly. Erik Johnson potted his second goal of the season from the right-wing circle at 3:17 of the third period to cut the RoadRunners lead to 2-1. However, Phoenix's Dusty Demianiuk would seal the win with a shot from the left-wing boards just underneath the blue line that sneaked through Mole's pads and in at 11:33 to give the RoadRunners a 3-1 advantage.

Phoenix out-shot San Diego 24-22. Cyr improved to 1-12-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-6 on the power play and held San Diego scoreless on five chances with the man advantage.

Saturday, Steve Crampton broke a 3-3 tie 11:49 into the third period to lift the Las Vegas Wranglers to a 4-3 win over the Phoenix RoadRunners in the regular season finale before 7,206 at the Orleans Arena.

Las Vegas (53-13-6) opened the scoring with a pair of goals in the first period. Todd Alexander whipped a centering pass from Sean O'Connor behind RoadRunners goaltender Ryan Cyr at 4:57 to give the Wranglers a 1-0 lead. Chris Neiszner made it 2-0 when he accepted Nick Anderson's centering pass in the slot and put a wrist shot through Cyr at 10:45 for the tally.

The RoadRunners (20-47-5) would crack the scoreboard just 5:29 into the second period as Chase Trull collected his first professional goal with a wrist shot in between the circles to cut the Wranglers lead to 2-1. Tyler Sloan gave Las Vegas their two-goal lead back at 3-1 as he ripped a slap shot from the left point that deflected off Cyr's stick and rolled into the net at 8:20 on the power play. But Phoenix would have the period's final say as Jake Riddle tapped Miguel Lafleche's rebound back into the net by Wranglers goaltender Mike McKenna at 13:51 to bring the RoadRunners back to within a goal again at 3-2.

Riddle notched his second of the game just 2:11 into the third period on a two-man advantage power play to tie the contest at 3-3. Kevin Ulanski found Riddle on the weak side of the net and Riddle slipped the puck behind McKenna for the tally. But it was the Wranglers who would prevail as Crampton redirected Matt Dzieduszycki's shot from the blue line past Cyr at 11:49 for the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal.

Las Vegas out-shot Phoenix 40-34. The RoadRunners went 1-3 on the power play while the Wranglers were 1-2 on the man advantage.

INJURIES SET THE TONE: The RoadRunners ranked among the ECHL leaders this year with a total of 210 man games lost due to injury. A total of 14 players, nearly an entire line-up, spent at least seven days on the injured reserve while five players recorded stints on the 30-day injured reserve. Because of injuries, the RoadRunners did not play one game this season with their full original roster in the line-up.

OFFENSE WAS LACKING: While injuries took their toll, the RoadRunners were hampered by their inability to score goals. Phoenix tallied an ECHL all-time low 156 goals (2.17 goals per game), breaking the previous low of 171 scored by the Wheeling Nailers last season. The RoadRunners were held to two goals or less in 40 out of their 72 games and were shutout 11 times, an ECHL single season record. Phoenix was 4-34-2 this season in games where they scored two goals or less.

RECAPPING THE MILESTONES: The 2005-06 season was a year of several team and individual accomplishments for the first year RoadRunners. Captain Dean Tiltgen became the first player in the ECHL to play in his 500th career game and record his 400th career point in the same season since Stefan Rivard accomplished the feat back in 2003-04 with the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies. Tiltgen notched his 400th point with an assist on December 31 against Fresno and played in his 500th career game on March 17 at Bakersfield. The eight-year professional also was the only player on the RoadRunners roster to play in all 72 games, marking the third time in his pro career that Tiltgen has accomplished that feat. In addition, former forward Joe Dusbabek appeared in his 350th career game on March 1 at Idaho; Jason Deskins, Paul Ballantyne, and former forward Ben Knopp each played in their 200th career game with the RoadRunners; while Justin Quenneville, Miguel Lafleche, and Jake Riddle all reached the 100-game plateau this season. Riddle also accumulated a career-high 226 penalty minutes.

Cory Pecker and Justin Quenneville both enjoyed career-best scoring streaks during the year. Pecker opened the season with a point in each of his first 11 games, and also notched multiple points in six consecutive games from October 21 through November 3. Pecker also became the first RoadRunner to receive a promotion to the American Hockey League when he was loaned to San Antonio on November 26. Quenneville put together a seven-game point streak from February 3 through February 21 in which he recorded four goals and eight points. Other accolades included Patrick Levesque tallying his first professional hat-trick and the first hat-trick in RoadRunners history on March 16 at home against Las Vegas, and goaltender Mike Mole collecting his first professional shutout and the first shutout in RoadRunners history on January 10 at home against Alaska.

As a team, the RoadRunners notched their first ECHL win with a victory on October 21 at Utah. BJ Gaustad tallied the first goal in RoadRunners history just 2:01 into the first period. The RoadRunners then collected their first home win a week later October 28 with a 4-2 triumph over the San Diego Gulls. Phoenix's first overtime win came on January 28 in Victoria, and they claimed their first ever shootout victory on January 19 at home against Las Vegas.

UP NEXT: The RoadRunners return to the ice at US Airways Center in October 2006. Keep up with everything that's happening during the off-season from player signings to community appearances and the release of the 2006-07 schedule by logging on to www.phxroadrunners.com Information on season tickets, half-season packages, and flex plans are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL. Have a great summer!



ECHL Stories from April 10, 2006


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