Phoenix Heads to Canada for Weekend Series with Victoria

Published on December 8, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners took care of the Las Vegas Wranglers last week earning a 6-3 victory Wednesday and a 4-1 win on Friday. With a record of 11-8-2 and 24 points, the RoadRunners are in fourth place in the West Division and sixth in the National Conference.

Wednesday, Mitch Carefoot had two goals and an assist as the Phoenix RoadRunners defeated the Las Vegas Wranglers 6-3 in front of 2,053 fans at US Airways Center.

The Wranglers (8-9-2) started things off early when Justin Taylor scored an unassisted goal from the top of the left circle 12 seconds into the game to give Las Vegas a 1-0 lead. The RoadRunners (10-8-2) came back just over two minutes later, though, when Colin Sinclair took a pass from Ashton Rome and scored to the right of Wrangler goalie Brent Krahn. Matt Fornataro had the other assist as Phoenix tied the game at 1-1.

Las Vegas took the lead again when Shawn Limpright netted the puck from the right side of the goal at 8:11. Taylor and Bret Tyler had the assists. Then at 16:52 Hugo Carpentier capitalized on a shorthanded break from the slot, giving the Wranglers a 3-1 lead. Adam Miller and Jason Dest had the assists as the Wranglers outshot the RoadRunners 16-8 after one period of play.

"We were a little out of sync," RoadRunners Head Coach Brad Church said of the first period. "We had too many neutral zone turnovers early."

The second period started with a goaltender change by the RoadRunners, replacing Kyle Jones with Craig Kowalski. At 5:18 of the period Merit Waldrop scored five-hole on Krahn from in front of the crease, narrowing the Wranglers' lead to one goal. Carefoot assisted. Then at 13:49 Phoenix tied the game at 3-3 when Carefoot scored from the slot off a pass from Rory Rawlyk with Gino Guyer getting the second assist. The tie would hold until second intermission with the RoadRunners outshooting Las Vegas 14-8 in the second period.

"I wanted to spark the team," Church said of putting Kowalski in. "Craig is a good goaltender and he knows when the team needs a big save."

Rome opened up scoring in the third period off a pass from Kimbi Daniels at 3:32, giving the RoadRunners a 4-3 lead. Just over a minute later Carefoot scored from the right circle at 4:39, taking a 5-3 lead. Waldrop and Michael Wilson assisted. Then at 9:52 Guyer scored an unassisted shorthanded goal, making the score 6-3 Phoenix which would be the final.

"We put pressure on their defense and capitalized on our opportunities," Church said. "It's the way we need to play; if we do it consistently we'll see results."

Phoenix out-shot Las Vegas 39-38. Kowalski stopped all 22 shots he faced in relief of Jones to improve to 7-6-1 on the season with the victory. The RoadRunners went 0-4 with the power play while Las Vegas was 0-3 with the man-advantage.

Friday, Gino Guyer had a goal and an assist as the Phoenix RoadRunners defeated the Las Vegas Wranglers 4-1 in front of 3,432 fans at US Airways Center.

The RoadRunners (11-8-2) opened up scoring 55 seconds into the first period on the power play when Matt Fornataro scored top-shelf from in front of the crease unassisted. Then Guyer gave Phoenix a 2-0 lead at 5:58 when he scored from the left circle. Merit Waldrop and Mitch Carefoot had the assists as the score would remain the same until the first intermission.

"The line with Waldrop, Carefoot and Guyer has had a couple good games," RoadRunner Head Coach Brad Church said. "They complement each other really well."

Phoenix got on the board first in the second period when Dane Crowley scored off a pass from Guyer at 5:13, giving the RoadRunners a 3-0 lead. Carefoot had the other assist on what would be the only goal of the period.

"We did a better job controlling the neutral zone," Church said of the night, adding that the team didn't allow as many odd-man rushes or scoring chances. "When we keep the shots down and limit the scoring chances against us, we're going to win."

Ashton Rome gave the RoadRunners a 4-0 lead at 6:56 of the third period when he rifled a shot past Wrangler goalie Kevin Lalande from the top of the right circle. Colin Sinclair assisted. The Wranglers (8-10-2) notched their only goal of the game at 12:41 of the third on the power play when Chris Ferraro scored off a pass from Hugo Carpentier to the right of RoadRunner goaltender Craig Kowalski, denying him the shutout and making the final score 4-1 Phoenix.

Phoenix out-shot Las Vegas 38-27. Kowalski stopped 26 shots to improve to 8-6-1 on the season with the victory. The RoadRunners went 1-5 with the power play while Las Vegas was 1-5 with the man-advantage.

LUCKY 21: At 11-8-2 and with 24 points, the 2008-09 edition of the RoadRunners have a better record and more points than any of their three predecessors through the first 21 games of the regular season. Phoenix has won two straight following a stretch in which they lost six out of their last nine games.

HOME SWEET HOME: With a record of 9-4-2 at US Airways Center, the RoadRunners currently have an ECHL-best 20 points at home. Phoenix did not win their ninth home game last season until Feb. 1. In their three seasons since joining the ECHL, the RoadRunners have never won more than 15 games in a single year on their home ice.

SECOND PERIOD STALWARTS: The RoadRunners are tied with the Florida Everblades for the fewest goals allowed in the second period this season with just 16 goals against. Phoenix is a plus-four in second period scoring differential compared to a minus-12 in the first and third periods combined.

800! Veteran centerman Kimbi Daniels collected his 800th career point Wednesday with an assist on Ashton Rome's game-winning goal in the third period. Daniels is also 29th on the all-time ECHL scoring list with 470 career points.

NEWS & NOTES: Defenseman Brett Peterson is one game shy of 300 for his professional career, while goaltender Craig Kowalski is one win shy of 100 for his professional career...Second-year forward Mitch Carefoot enjoyed his best week of the season by recording back-to-back multiple-point games with two goals, three assists, and a plus-five rating...Center Matt Fornataro is tied for 11th in the ECHL rookie scoring race with nine goals and 18 points...The RoadRunners climbed to sixth overall in the ECHL in shots per game now averaging 32.81.

WATCH THE 'RUNNERS LIVE IN '08-09: The RoadRunners have teamed up with B2 Networks to bring you live action of Phoenix RoadRunners hockey in 2008-09. 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 72 RoadRunners broadcasts will be available on-line. A cable or DSL Internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 are required to view the games.

UP NEXT: The RoadRunners travel to Canada Friday and Sunday when they visit the Victoria Salmon Kings for a two-game weekend series at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Friday's face-off is 8:05 p.m. while Sunday's face-off is 6:05 p.m. local Arizona time. Catch Friday's game live on Indpendent 1310 KXAM and both broadcasts live 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 2008-09 season of Phoenix RoadRunners Hockey are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.

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ECHL Stories from December 8, 2008


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