RoadRunners can't mess with Texas

March 12, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners dropped a pair of games to the American Conference-leading Texas Wildcatters last week at US Airways Center. With 55 points, the RoadRunners are now in fourth place in the West Division and eighth overall in the National Conference. Phoenix is just one point behind the #7 seed Victoria Salmon Kings with a game in hand and six points ahead of the #9 seed Utah Grizzlies. Their magic number for clinching a playoff berth is 19. The top eight teams in the National Conference advance to the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Tuesday, Daniel Sparre recorded his second career hat-trick and added an assist to propel the Texas Wildcatters to a 7-3 win over the Phoenix RoadRunners in the opening game of a two-game series before 2,884 at US Airways Center.

Texas (33-18-9) erupted for three goals in the first six minutes of the game. Olivier Proulx opened the scoring 54 seconds in as he re-directed Keith McWilliams' shot from the point past the blocker of RoadRunners goaltender Cody Rudkowsky to give the Wildcatters a 1-0 lead. Leon Hayward extended the lead to two goals as he deflected Mike Madill's shot from the blue line off the glove of Rudkowsky and into the net at 4:17 on the power play. 47 seconds after Hayward's goal, Sparre capped the scoring as he beat Rudkowsky with a slap shot along the ice at 5:04 to make it 3-0 after one period.

Sparre added his second goal of the game at 5:35 of the second period on the power play as he cleaned up Jonathan Paiement's rebound in front and snapped it into the back of the net to increase the Texas advantage to 4-0.

A wild third period saw a combined six goals scored with each team netting three apiece. The RoadRunners (25-29-5) cut the deficit to 4-2 in the first three minutes of play as Lance Monych and Justin Aikins potted tallies at 30 seconds and 2:15 respectively. Brandin Cote scored his first of two in the period as he tipped Kevin Baker's centering pass by Mike Morrison on in relief of Cody Rudkowsky at 7:56 to make it a 5-2 game. Tommy Maxwell got the RoadRunners back to within two as he beat a sprawling Texas goalie Matt Yeats at 8:36 of the period, but Cote potted his second of the game at 11:10 on the power play and Sparre finished the hat-trick at 16:28 to cap off the scoring.

Texas out-shot Phoenix 38-22. Morrison stopped 22 shots and took the loss to fall to 9-10-3 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-4 on the power play while Texas was 3-6 with the man-advantage.

Thursday, Goaltender Matt Yeats stopped all 20 shots he saw and Olivier Proulx tallied a goal and added an assist to lead the Texas Wildcatters to a 4-0 shutout victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 2,897 at US Airways Center.

Following a scoreless first period, Texas (34-18-9) would capitalize three times in the middle frame to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Proulx opened the scoring just 1:34 into the second as he collected Jonathan Paiement's rebound and slipped a backhand shot off the pads of RoadRunners' goalie Mike Morrison and into the net. Colin Nicholson extended the lead to two goals at 8:21 as Jason Beeman wrapped the puck out front to an open Nicholson, and Nicholson stuffed it through Morrison for a 2-0 lead. Daniel Sparre closed out the scoring in the period as he got to the front of the net, took a pass from Leon Hayward, and beat Morrison over the left shoulder at 10:33.

Paul Albers added a final tally at 10:33 of the third period to finish things off.

Texas out-shot Phoenix 28-20. Morrison stopped 24 shots and took the loss to fall to 9-11-3 on the season. The RoadRunners (25-30-5) went 0-4 on the power play while Texas was 0-7 with the man-advantage.

LATENDRESSE RETURNS FROM SAN ANTONIO: Rookie center Olivier Latendresse was re-assigned by the Phoenix Coyotes from San Antonio of the American Hockey League Sunday. Latendresse, 21, recorded four penalty minutes in six games with the Rampage after being promoted on Feb. 23. The LaSalle, Quebec native has tallied eight goals and 20 points in 37 games with the RoadRunners this season. Latendresse finished fourth in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) scoring race last season with a career-best 41 goals, 84 assists, and 125 points in just 70 games.

UP ON THE FARM: RoadRunners' center Chris Ferraro set a San Antonio club record Friday by collecting five points with a goal and four assists in the Rampage's 7-5 win over Peoria. Ferraro has eight goals and 28 points in 36 games since being loaned to San Antonio on Dec. 25...Center Cam Paddock has two assists and 11 penalty minutes in 14 games with the Rampage...Defenseman Alexandre Rouleau has 27 penalty minutes and is a plus-five in 23 games with San Antonio.

KELLY CUP COMING TO PHOENIX: The fourth-annual Kelly Cup Tour will make its fourth stop on a cross-country trip Tuesday at US Airways Center and be on display during the RoadRunners game against the Bakersfield Condors. The Kelly Cup, presented annually to the champions of the ECHL, stands 19 3/8 inches tall and weighs 25 3/8 pounds and is accompanied by a full-color display that chronicles and highlights the intensity and excitement of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

The trophy is named in recognition of Patrick J. Kelly, who is one of the founding fathers of the ECHL, which began with five teams in three states in 1988-89. Kelly served as Commissioner for the league's first eight seasons and was named Commissioner Emeritus in 1996, a title that he continues to hold. Kelly, who celebrated his 50th season in professional hockey in 2002-03, coached 1,900 career games and had 935 wins to rank second all time among professional coaches to only the legendary Scotty Bowman with 2,571 games and 1,511 wins. Kelly coached in the Eastern Hockey League, the Southern Hockey League and the National Hockey League where he was the only coach to ever lead the Colorado Rockies to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He also coached in the American Hockey League and the International Hockey League, leading Peoria to the Turner Cup in 1984-85.

This will be the first time the Kelly Cup has visited Arizona.

NEWS & NOTES: Forward Brock Hooton has seven points in his last six games with two goals and five assists...Goalie Cody Rudkowsky has allowed just seven goals in his last four appearances giving him a 2.66 GAA over that time...Phoenix has killed off 52 of 64 power play chances (81.3%) in their last 10 games.

"10 MINUTES IN THE BOX" ON 106.7 KWSS-FM: Join your favorite RoadRunners at 9:10 a.m. each and every Wednesday for "10 Minutes in the Box", a new weekly segment devoted entirely to your Phoenix RoadRunners on 106.7 KWSS-FM and online at www.kwss1067.com. "10 Minutes in the Box" will air weekly as part of the "Driving with Gass" radio show hosted by Kevin Gassman, which can be heard Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

"FACE-OFFAGAINST KIDS CANCER" CONCLUDES: The first annual "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer" will culminate at 7:11 p.m. Saturday when the RoadRunners take the ice against the Las Vegas Wranglers wearing special commemorative jerseys dedicated to those patients from Phoenix Children's Hospital participating in the program. These jerseys will be auctioned off immediately after the game with the proceeds benefiting the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Phoenix Children's Hospital and Caps For Kids, a national non-profit organization which provides hats autographed by athletes and celebrities to children who lose their hair due to the effects of chemotherapy. For more information or to find out how you can be apart of the "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer", contact the RoadRunners at (602) 379-7870.

WATCH THE 'RUNNERS LIVE IN '06-07: The RoadRunners have teamed up with B2 Networks to bring you live action of Phoenix RoadRunners hockey in 2006-07. 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, Las Vegas, Stockton, Utah, and Bakersfield. A cable or DSL Internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 are required to view the games.

UP NEXT: The RoadRunners welcome the Bakersfield Condors to US Airways Center at 7:11 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. Phoenix also faces-off in a home-and-home series with the Las Vegas Wranglers at 7:05 p.m. Friday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, and at 7:11 p.m. Saturday at US Airways Center. Catch all the action live at www.phxroadrunners.com beginning with "RoadRunners Countdown" 20 minutes prior to face-off. Individual game tickets for the 2006-07 regular season start as low $7 in the lower section and can be purchased at the US Airways Center Box Office and at all Ticketmaster outlets including Ticketmaster.com. Information on season tickets, half-season packages, and flex plans are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.



ECHL Stories from March 12, 2007


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