Phoenix Opens Three-Game Week Tuesday in Utah

Published on March 23, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners grabbed five of a possible eight points to keep their playoff hopes alive heading into the penultimate week of the regular season. With a record of 28-32-5 and 61 points, the RoadRunners sit in fifth place in the West Division seven points behind fourth place Utah, and in ninth place in the National Conference five points behind Stockton.

Tuesday, defenseman Steve Makway snapped a scoreless tie with a power play goal 2:04 into the third period and goalie Glenn Fisher stopped 36 shots to record his second straight shutout and lead the Las Vegas Wranglers to a 1-0 win over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 3,344 at the Orleans Arena in ECHL action on St. Patrick's Day.

The RoadRunners and Wranglers played two evenly matched periods in the first 40 minutes, but neither team could find the back of the net. Phoenix out-shot Las Vegas 12-5 in the first period and 12-11 in the second to take a 24-16 shot advantage into the final frame.

Las Vegas (30-26-8) took advantage of a hooking penalty early in the third to score the game's only goal. Adam Miller from behind the RoadRunners' net fed Makway at the left-wing circle who fired a one-time slap shot past goalie Kyle Jones along the ice with less than 18 minutes remaining in regulation. Fisher did the rest stopping 12 RoadRunners' shots in the third period.

Phoenix (26-32-4) out-shot Las Vegas 36-20. Jones stopped 19 shots but suffered the loss to fall to 6-13-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-4 on the power play while Las Vegas was 1-4 with the man-advantage.

Thursday, Kyle Jones had a career-high 38 saves and Gino Guyer had a goal and an assist as the Phoenix RoadRunners defeated the Alaska Aces 3-1 in front of 3,033 fans at US Airways Center.

The RoadRunners (27-32-4) opened up scoring at 8:23 of the first period when Daniel Sisca scored from the right circle on the power play. David Rutherford and Michael Wilson assisted. The rest of the period would remain scoreless as Phoenix outshot the Aces 11-9.

"I thought we had a good follow-up to a good effort in Vegas," RoadRunners' Head Coach Brad Church said. "We played hard and did the little things well and stayed composed during the game."

Guyer gave the RoadRunners a 2-0 lead at 14:17 of the second period when he capitalized on a turnover by the Aces (40-22-3) and scored five-hole on Alaska goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux. At 2:43 of the third period Chase Trull set up James McEwan who scored just to the left of Lamoureux. Guyer had the other assist.

"(Jones) has been playing great," Church said, adding that he's improved a lot since the beginning of the season. "The guys are real confident in front of him."

The Aces were able to finally get on the board with 3:03 left in the third when Lance Galbraith scored to the right of Jones. Alexandre Imbeault and Bryan Miller assisted. The Aces then pulled Lamoureux for and extra attacker but were unable to capitalize as the final score would remain 3-1 Phoenix.

"We need to play the same way tomorrow night," Church said of the rematch between the two teams Friday night. "Every game is important and we need to play start to finish."

Alaska out-shot Phoenix 39-28. Jones improved to 7-13-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-4 on the power play while Alaska was 0-5 with the man-advantage.

Friday, Tomas Kana and Luke Erickson scored the only two goals in a shootout to lead the Alaska Aces over the Phoenix RoadRunners 4-3 in front of 3,618 fans at US Airways Center.

The Aces (41-22-3) got on the board first at 3:42 of the first period when Colin Hemingway scored with two seconds left in a power play from the slot. Lance Galbraith and Nick Tuzzolino assisted. The RoadRunners (27-32-5) tied up the game at 1-1 when Michael Cohen scored off a rebound by Chase Trull at 11:10. Daniel Sisca had the other assist as the tie would hold through the first intermission.

"We started out sluggish," RoadRunners' Head Coach Brad Church said, noting that the Aces had the first eight shots on net in the first period. "But we responded well to their first goal."

Phoenix took a 2-1 lead at 14:45 of the second period when David Rutherford scored five-hole on Alaska goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux from the bottom left circle. Mark O'Leary and Peter-James Corsi had the assists. Scott Burt tied up the game for the Aces when he stripped the puck from RoadRunners' goalie Kyle Jones behind the net and scored at 19:39 while shorthanded. Phoenix was able to take back the lead before the end of the period though when Mitch Carefoot scored with four seconds left from the right circle on the power play. John McNabb and Jim Jorgensen assisted.

"Instead of going into the intermission on a low we responded with a big goal," Church said. "We entered the third with a lead and had a couple chances to make it a two-goal lead but didn't."

Alaska tied up the game at 3-3 at 10:03 when Brett Hemingway scored from Kana. Both teams pushed to win the game in regulation but the game went to a scoreless overtime and then a shootout where Alaska won with Kana and Erickson getting the only goals.

"We made two big mistakes; a turnover behind the net and blown coverage on the rush," Church said of the game. "A shootout is a tough way to lose a game."

Alaska out-shot Phoenix 39-28. Jones stopped 34 shots but suffered the shootout loss to fall to 7-13-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-6 on the power play while Alaska was 1-4 with the man-advantage.

Saturday, the Phoenix RoadRunners erased a 2-1 deficit with three third period goals and defeated the Ontario Reign 4-2 to set a new ECHL franchise record for single season victories before a sell-out crowd of 9, 644 at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

Following a scoreless first period, Ontario (35-27-5) struck for two quick goals in the first four minutes of the second to take a 2-0 lead. Bud Holloway punched home a power play goal through RoadRunners' goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu at 2:44 of the period for a 1-0 advantage. Mike Howe extended the Reign's lead to two just 1:03 seconds later when he put back Tim Kraus's rebound by an out-stretched Beckford-Tseu at 3:47. The RoadRunners responded with a power play goal from Jim Jorgensen with 13.6 seconds remaining in the period to cut the deficit to 2-1 heading into the second intermission.

Phoenix (28-32-5) quickly turned that one goal deficit into a one goal lead getting a pair of goals 28 seconds apart in the sixth minute of the third period. Daniel Sisca netted the equalizer when his wrist shot from the right-wing circle caromed off the blocker of Reign goalie Linden Rowat, making his professional debut, and trickled into the back of the net at 5:06 of the third. Michael Cohen scored off the ensuing face-off leading a three-on-two rush up ice and snapping the puck past Rowat's blocker and in at 5:34 to give the RoadRunners a 3-2 lead and a lead they would not relinquish. Jeremy Swanson added a shorthanded goal with a delayed penalty against Ontario in effect at 15:40 of the third to cap off the scoring.

Ontario out-shot Phoenix 36-27. Beckford-Tseu stopped 34 shots to pick up the win and improve to 2-5-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-7 on the power play while Ontario was 1-7 with the man-advantage.

KELLY CUP PLAYOFF UPDATE: With seven games remaining in the regular season, the RoadRunners are right in the thick of the Kelly Cup Playoff race. Phoenix trails fourth place Utah by seven points in the West Division, but also has played two fewer games and still has two head-to-head match-ups coming up with the Grizzlies this week. Those two games in hand will be made up March 31 (@ Idaho) and April 1 (@Idaho). Should the RoadRunners win the two head-to-head match-ups in regulation and win their two games in hand, they would own a one point lead over Utah heading into the final two games of the year. Meanwhile, under the newly revised National Conference playoff format, Phoenix is also in contention for the fourth seed in the Pacific Division playoffs. The RoadRunners trail Stockton by five points with one game in hand, and trail Bakersfield by six points with two games in hand. The seeding in the Pacific Division will be determined by final winning percentage since Las Vegas and Ontario will play an extra game, and currently the RoadRunners own a .469% winning percentage, which is .31% less than Stockton and Bakersfield who are both at .500%. The RoadRunners and Utah will play Tuesday and Wednesday, while the Grizzlies finish the week Friday at Stockton. Bakersfield hosts Victoria Wednesday and Friday and hosts Las Vegas Saturday. Stockton will host Victoria Tuesday and Saturday, Utah on Friday, and Las Vegas on Sunday.

HISTORIC WIN: With their 28th victory of the season Saturday in Ontario, the RoadRunners set a new ECHL club record for single season victories and single season points surpassing their previous high of 27 wins and 59 points set back in 2006-07, which was the only other season when the RoadRunners advanced to the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Phoenix is also on pace to easily break the mark for best overall single season winning percentage of .410% also set back in 2006-07

SISCA STILL STREAKING: Center Daniel Sisca collected one goal and three assists last week giving him six goals, nine assists, and 15 points in the last 13 games. Sisca has recorded 20 points in his last 25 games to climb into third on the RoadRunners in scoring with 13 goals and 42 points in 62 games.

MAKING HIS MARK: Rookie center David Rutherford has registered points in four of his first five games with the RoadRunners, and has two goals and two assists since being acquired from Charlotte on March 13.

NEWS & NOTES: The RoadRunners grabbed their fourth win Saturday when trailing after two periods, which equals their club record set last season...Phoenix is 19-10-0 when scoring first as compared to 9-22-5 when allowing the first goal...The RoadRunners extended upon their ECHL club record with their 12th shorthanded goal of the season Saturday...Forwards Dan DaSilva, P.J. Fenton, Matt Fornataro, and Ashton Rome; defensemen Dane Crowley and Brett Peterson; and goalie Craig Kowalski all remain on loan to teams in the American Hockey League... Phoenix finished the season series 6-6 against the Las Vegas Wranglers, their highest victory total against Las Vegas in any one season.

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 visit Utah at 6:05 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and return home at 7:05 p.m. Saturday for the regular season home finale against the Alaska Aces. Catch all three games 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 March 23, 2009


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