Phoenix Drops Three in a Row

Published on January 3, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


Phoenix, Ariz. - WEEK RECORD: 0-3-0 - SEASON RECORD: 9-18-2 - 6th WEST DIVISION

‘RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners closed out 2005 and welcomed in 2006 on an unfortunate losing note after dropping consecutive games to Long Beach and Fresno last weekend. With 20 points, the RoadRunners remain in sixth place in the West Division although just three points behind fifth place Victoria with four games in hand.

Friday, The Long Beach Ice Dogs scored three first period goals and never looked back in defeating the Phoenix RoadRunners 6-5 before 2,875 at the Long Beach Arena.

Sean McAslan opened the scoring just 2:48 into the contest. McAslan collected his own rebound in the crease off of the centering pass from Mike Woodford and jammed the puck past RoadRunners goaltender Mike Mole to give the Ice Dogs (14-13-2) a 1-0 lead. McAslan then returned the favor when he found the streaking Mac Faulkner charging down the slot. Faulkner took the pass and fired a wrist shot past Mole at 13:08 for a 2-0 advantage. Ash Goldie closed the scoring with a two-man advantage power play goal at 16:05. Goldie beat Mole along the ice with a one-time slap shot from inside the left-wing circle to give the Ice Dogs a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

The RoadRunners (9-16-2) would battle back with a pair of goals to start the second period to cut the deficit to 3-2. Jason Deskins got Phoenix on the board when he stripped a Long Beach defenseman of the puck, curled out to the left-wing circle, and beat Ice Dogs goaltender Greg Hewitt with a shot along the ice at 13:55. Brad Woods made it a 3-2 hockey game when he ripped a one-time slap shot over Hewitt's right shoulder at 18:39 on the power play. However, Long Beach would counter just 47 seconds later when off a RoadRunners turnover, Cory Urquhart found a wide open Kevin Ulanski at the weak side of the net, and Ulanski tipped the puck past Mole at 19:26 to make it 4-2 at the end of two periods.

Chris Kenady gave the Ice Dogs a three-goal lead just 1:03 into the third period when he caught Mole too far outside the cage and shot the puck from the right circle into the empty-net. Peter Trovato cut the lead to 5-3 at 4:20 when he sneaked a slap shot through Hewitt's pads off the face-off win by Mark Wires. Urquhart made it a 6-3 game at 9:47 when he slapped one by Mole in the slot. Jake Riddle and Mike Ouellet got the RoadRunners to within a single tally with goals at 16:30 and 19:58 respectively, but Phoenix unfortunately just ran out of time.

Phoenix out-shot Long Beach 40-31. Mole stopped 25 shots in falling to 5-12-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-8 on the power play.

Saturday, The Fresno Falcons tallied a season-high five power play goals en route to a 7-3 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 4,281 at America West Arena in ECHL action Saturday.

For a second consecutive night, the RoadRunners (9-17-2) surrendered three first period goals. Shawn Weiman opened the scoring for Fresno (15-4-8) just 2:47 into the contest when his shot along the ice from the point beat a screened RoadRunners goaltender Mike Mole to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. Fraser Clair extended the lead with a power play goal at 13:14. Shawn Mather collected Luke Curtin's rebound in front and slid the puck to a wide-open Clair at the snide of the net who tapped it by Mole to make it 2-0. John Wroblewski capped the scoring at 16:52 when fired a backhand shot past Mole off Rob McFeeters' rebound to make it 3-0 heading into the first intermission.

The Falcons would pad their lead with a pair of power play goals in the second period. On a two-man advantage power play, Cory Murphy ripped a one-timer from the slot by Mole at 12:07 to give Fresno a 4-0 advantage. Shawn Mather made it 5-0 on the same power play when his shot from the high slot kicked off defenseman Shaun Fisher's skate and into the net at 13:11.

The RoadRunners would fight back with a pair of goals 2:58 seconds apart to open the third period. Jason Deskins broke up Brett Jaeger's shutout when he beat the Falcons goaltender with a wrist shot from the left-wing circle at 4:43. Garrett Burnett made it a 5-2 game at 7:41 when his wrister from the slot popped off Jaeger's glove and trickled into the net. However, the Falcons would add two more power play goals to put the game out of reach. Murphy netted his second of the game at 10:49 on the man-advantage, and Rob McFeeters deflected Matt O'Dette's point shot by Mathieu Chouinard in relief of Mole at 16:07. The RoadRunners would tack on a final goal at 18:04 from Mark Wires.

Fresno out-shot Phoenix 39-28. Mole made 19 saves and saw his record fall to 5-13-2. The RoadRunners went 0-3 on the power play while surrendering a season-high five power play goals.

Sunday, Peter Fregoe tallied a pair of goals and added an assist to lead the Fresno Falcons to a 4-1 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 3,184 at America West Arena in ECHL action Sunday.

After a scoreless first period, Fresno (16-4-8) would get on the board first just 54 seconds into the second. Peter Fregoe picked up J-F Plourde's rebound at the side of the cage and tipped the puck past RoadRunners goaltender Mathieu Chouinard for a 1-0 lead. Fregoe struck again for the Falcons with a power play goal at 10:23. Plourde found Fregoe's stick with a pass across the crease and Fregoe jammed it home by Chouinard. Derek Krestanovich made it 3-0 at 11:34 on the power play when he collected Fraser Clair's rebound and wrapped it around Chouinard for the tally. The RoadRunners (9-18-2) would finally strike when Miguel Lafleche re-directed a centering pass down to Ben Knopp who slipped the puck by Falcons goaltender Jamie Holden at 18:27 to cut the deficit to 3-1.

Yet the Falcons would finish off with Phoenix with another power play goal at 3:46 of the third period from Plourde.

Phoenix out-shot Fresno 30-28. Chouinard stopped 24 shots in falling to 4-5-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-5 on the power play.

400 AND COUNTING... Congratulations to Captain Dean Tiltgen who collected his 400th career point with an assist on the RoadRunners final goal on Saturday. The Edmonton, Alberta native has 184 goals, 216 assists, and 400 penalty minutes in 467 career games. Tiltgen is attempting to become the first player in the ECHL to record his 400th point and play in his 500th career game in the same season since Stefan Rivard accomplished the feat with the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies during the 2003-04 campaign. On his current pace, Tiltgen will play in his 500th career game on March 17 at Bakersfield.

SNIDER SEEING STARS: Rookie center Shawn Snider became the first RoadRunners player to be selected to an ECHL All-Star Game when he was named to the National Conference roster on Saturday. Snider leads all RoadRunners' rookies in scoring with five goals and 13 points in 28 games.

DESKINS PLACED ON 30-DAY INJURED RESERVE: Forward Jason Deskins was placed on the 30-day injured reserve on Monday after receiving an elbow to the face from Fresno defenseman Cory Murphy during Sunday's game. Deskins is currently tied for second in scoring with eight goals and 22 points in 23 games, and was the hottest player on the roster with two goals and six points in his last three games before Sunday.

KNOPP'S ON TOP: Forward Ben Knopp has tallied a goal and added an assist in his two games since returning to the line-up after missing the last nine weeks of the season. The Calgary, Alberta native potted his first goal on Sunday since October 28 against San Diego. Knopp has four goals and six points in seven games this season. The former third round draft choice of the Columbus Blue Jackets has 29 goals and 63 points in 189 career games.

‘RUNNERS WELCOME BACK SANDY HUCUL: Former RoadRunners player and Head Coach Sandy Hucul returned to Phoenix on Saturday and were honored by the club during the second intermission. Hucul concluded a 19-year professional playing career by spending his final four seasons with the RoadRunners from the inaugural season of 1967 through 1972. Hucul was awarded the Hal Loci Cup as the Western Hockey League's top defenseman in 1968 and 1972. In his third year with the club in 1969, Hucul took over the head coaching duties in midseason and even though he was still playing, guided the club to a 12-9-4 finish. When he retired from professional hockey, Hucul stayed on as the RoadRunners Head Coach from 1972 through 1979, compiling an overall record of 184-150-25.

WHO MADE THIS SCHEDULE? Seven out of the RoadRunners next eight games come against division leaders Las Vegas and Alaska. The Wranglers and Aces recently compiled unbeaten streaks of 18 games and 16 games respectively, and have a combined record of 45-9-6 and a .800% winning percentage.

UPCOMING ROADRUNNERS PROMOTIONS: The RoadRunners host another "Thirsty Thursday" presented by Alice Cooper'stown this week. Head to Cooper'stown located behind America West Arena after the RoadRunners fly past the Aces and enjoy pints of Bud and Bud Light for just $3, the "Best Damn Margarita" for only $4 and other great drink specials throughout the night. Sunday is "Family Day" as the RoadRunners host the Stockton Thunder at a special 5PM start time. The first 2,000 fans will receive RoadRunners Thunderstix. In addition, the RoadRunners organization will be welcoming several low income families from the Maricopa County Head Start Program to partake in "Family Day" as their special guests.

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 play three games in four nights this week. Phoenix hosts the Alaska Aces at 7:11PM Thursday at America West Arena and the Stockton Thunder at 5PM Sunday at the brand new US Airways Center. The RoadRunners will travel to Las Vegas at 8:05PM MST on Friday to battle the Wranglers at the Orleans Arena. 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.

PHOENIX ROADRUNNERS SCHEDULE WEEK OF JANUARY 2ND

Monday, January 2: Off Day

Tuesday, January 3: Practice 10AM-11:30AM @ Alltel Ice Den

Wednesday, January 4: Practice 10AM-11:30AM @ Alltel Ice Den

Thursday, January 5: Morning Skate 10AM; RoadRunners vs. Alaska 7:11PM; Depart for Las Vegas, NV.

Friday, January 6: Morning Skate TBA; RoadRunners @ Las Vegas 8:05PM MST; Depart for Phoenix

Saturday, January 7: Practice TBA

Sunday, January 8: RoadRunners vs. Stockton 5PM

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