RoadRunners climbing up the ladder

Published on December 10, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners took five of a possible eight points last week after snatching wins against Utah and Victoria. With a record of 8-10-4 and 20 points, the RoadRunners are currently fifth in the West Division and tied for seventh overall in the National Conference.

Monday, Jeff Kyrzakos scored the go-ahead goal in the sixth round of the sudden death shootout to lift the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 4-3 win over the Utah Grizzlies before 1,987 at the "E"-Center.

Phoenix (7-9-3) built a 2-0 first period lead on goals from Thatcher Bell and Kyrzakos. The RoadRunners opened the scoring at 13:30 when a Utah giveaway behind the Grizzlies net turned into a scoring chance, and Bell snapped a shot behind goalie Mike Mole on a feed from Chris Stevens for a 1-0 lead. Kyrzakos made it 2-0 at 19:52 on the power play when he stuffed his own rebound through Mole in the closing seconds of the first.

Utah (10-9-2) got on the scoreboard at 12:23 of the second period when Justin Bourne moved a backhand shot past RoadRunners' goalie Cody Rudkowsky to cut the lead to 2-1. Phoenix regained their two-goal advantage right back on the power play as Sean O'Connor deflected Reagan Rome's slap shot over the left shoulder of Mole and into the net at 14:47 of the period. However, 17 seconds after the O'Connor tally, Ian Forbes was credited with his first goal of the season when his pass to the net deflected off a RoadRunners' skate and trickled into the cage trimming the Phoenix lead to 3-2.

Utah's Jason Pitton later tied the game at 3-3 scoring a power play goal at 13:39 of the third period setting up overtime and the eventual shootout.

Ryan Walsh also scored a shootout goal for Phoenix, while Tyler Haskins had the lone shootout goal for Utah as Rudkowsky stopped five of six shooters in the shootout.

Utah out-shot Phoenix 49-35. Rudkowsky stopped 46 shots to improve to 4-7-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-7 on the power play while Utah was 1-7 with the man-advantage.

Tuesday, goalie Dave McKee made a career-high and a RoadRunners' ECHL club record 57 saves, but Utah's Trevor Smith scored a pair of goals to propel the Grizzlies to a 3-1 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 2,315 at the "E"-Center.

Following a scoreless first period in which the RoadRunners were out-shot 22-5, Phoenix (7-10-3) opened the scoring just 51 seconds into the second when Jeff Kyrzakos collected Mitch Carefoot's long rebound in the slot and snapped it past Utah goalie Nathan Lawson. The Grizzlies (11-9-2) tied the contest at 1-1 when Jason Pitton beat Dave McKee with a wrist shot from the left-wing circle at 5:33 of the period. Smith gave Utah their first lead of the game at 2-1 scoring on a penalty shot at 10:24.

Smith tallied his second goal of the game on the Grizzlies' 60th shot of the hockey game at 18:44 to give Utah a big insurance goal and seal the win.

Utah out-shot Phoenix 60-23. McKee fell to 0-2-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-7 on the power play while Utah was 0-10 with the man-advantage.

Thursday, Kiel McLeod scored the game-winning goal in the fifth round of the shootout to complete an improbable comeback and lead the Victoria Salmon Kings to a 5-4 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 3,062 at US Airways Center.

The RoadRunners (7-10-4) opened the scoring 13:48 into the first period when Mitch Carefoot tapped Peder Skinner's lead pass behind Victoria goalie Julien Ellis for a 1-0 lead.

Phoenix padded their lead to 4-0 with three second period goals. Sean O'Connor started the middle period scoring when he stuffed home Daniel Sisca's rebound at 1:52 on the power play. Jeff Kyrzakos extended the lead to 3-0 when he re-directed Corey LeClair's point shot behind Ellis at 11:40. LeClair then got into the scoring act late in the period as he beat a screened Ellis with a slap shot from the right point at 19:08 to give the RoadRunners what appeared to be a commanding 4-0 advantage after 40 minutes.

Victoria (15-5-0) started their comeback at 5:40 of the third period on the power play when McLeod beat RoadRunners' goalie Cody Rudkowsky from the slot to get the Salmon Kings on the scoreboard. Kevin Estrada cut the deficit to 4-2 after whipping a shot off Rudkowsky's glove and into the net at 7:33. Marc-Andre Bernier made it a one-goal hockey game when he snuck around the defense and lifted the puck over Rudkowsky's glove at 14:24. Jordan Krestanovich netted the equalizer at 17:17 stuffing the rebound through Rudkowsky to tie the contest at 4-4.

Following a scoreless overtime, Ryan Walsh scored in the fourth round of the shootout to give the RoadRunners a 1-0 advantage. However, Victoria's Milan Gajic tied the shootout in the fourth round and McLeod followed up with the winning goal in round five.

Victoria out-shot Phoenix 46-34. Rudkowsky stopped 41 shots but fell to 4-7-3 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-5 on the power play while Victoria was 1-4 with the man-advantage.

Friday, goalie Dave McKee turned aside 44 shots and Sean O'Connor tallied a pair of goals to lift the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 3-2 victory over the Victoria Salmon Kings before 4,027 at US Airways Center.

Victoria (15-6-0) opened the scoring at 7:04 of the first period when Jordan Krestanovich beat RoadRunners goalie Dave McKee to the short side for a 1-0 lead.

The RoadRunners (8-10-4) wasted little time in the second period before tying the game off a Victoria turnover. Justin Maiser flipped a shot past Salmon Kings goalie Billy Thompson 12 seconds into the period to tie the score at 1-1. O'Connor then gave Phoenix their first lead of the night at 4:27 when he wrapped the puck around to the short side of the net and stuffed it through Thompson's pads and in. Victoria came roaring back 46 seconds later to tie the contest at 2-2 as Chris St. Jacques blasted a shot from the left-wing circle over McKee's left shoulder at 5:13. But O'Connor would score his second goal of the period re-directing Chris Murray's shot from the left point and behind Thompson at 13:27 to give the RoadRunners a lead they would not relinquish.

Despite being out-shot 19-4 in the third period and surrendering three power plays, McKee and the RoadRunners prevented the Salmon Kings from tying the score.

Victoria out-shot Phoenix 46-21. McKee collected his first win of the season to improve to 1-2-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-2 on the power play while Victoria was 0-5 with the man-advantage.

POINTS TAKEN: Beginning with a come-from-behind 7-5 victory in Bakersfield on Nov. 24, the RoadRunners are unbeaten in regulation in seven out of their last nine games, and have captured 10 of a possible 18 points over that time. Included in this streak is six out of 10 points from the division leading Victoria Salmon Kings, who hold the second best record in the National Conference with a mark of 15-6-0.

MCKEE IN CONTROL: In his last three starts, goalie Dave McKee has stopped 143 of 151 shots, including a career-high and RoadRunners' ECHL record 57 last Tuesday, to post a 2.59 goals against average and a sizzling .947% save percentage since Nov. 29. The 57 saves were two shy of a personal-best for McKee who turned aside 59 shots in a 1-0 triple overtime loss while playing for Cornell University on March 26, 2006 against Wisconsin in the NCAA Midwest Regional Final.

RUDKOWSKY NO SLOUCH EITHER: While McKee has been hot, veteran goalie Cody Rudkowsky has put up just as impressive numbers turning aside 171 of 187 shots in his last four starts for a .914% save percentage. Rudkowsky has faced 40 or more shots in seven out of his 14 starts this season, including a season-high 58 on Nov. 10 against Las Vegas.

HOME COOKING: Victoria, British Columbia native Sean O'Connor feasted against his hometown club collecting five goals and seven points during the recent five-game series against the Salmon Kings. O'Connor has six goals and five assists in his last 11 games and is tied for the RoadRunners' lead with 10 goals and tied for second overall on the club in scoring with 20 points.

NEWS & NOTES: After going 2-1-1 this week against Utah and Victoria, the RoadRunners are now 5-1-4 against their West Division rivals with 14 out of a possible 20 points...Forward Jeff Kyrzakos' career-best and RoadRunners' season-high six-game scoring streak came to a conclusion Friday. Kyrzakos had three goals and seven points dating back to Nov. 28. The second-year native of Mississauga, Ontario has nine goals and 17 points in his last 14 games...Tuesday's loss in Utah marked the first time this year the RoadRunners were defeated in regulation when scoring the first goal. Phoenix is 6-1-4 when scoring first, and has tallied the game's first goal in six out of their last seven contests.

WATCH THE 'RUNNERS LIVE IN '07-08: 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.

ROADRUNNERS VISIT PCH MONDAY: The RoadRunners will spend Monday visiting with patients at Phoenix Children's Hospital beginning at 2:00 p.m. The entire team will be on hand to sign autographs and deliver gifts. Phoenix Children's is located at 20th Street and Thomas in Phoenix.

UP NEXT: The RoadRunners open a five-game road trip with a three-game series Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at Idaho. Face-off each night is at 7:10 p.m. Catch Friday and Saturday's action live on Independent 1310 KXAM, and all three games 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 2007-08 season of Phoenix RoadRunners Hockey are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.

PHOENIX ROADRUNNERS SCHEDULE WEEK OF DECEMBER 10TH

Monday, Dec. 10: Practice 10AM-11:30AM @ Alltel Ice Den

Tuesday, Dec. 11: Travel day to Boise, Idaho

Wednesday, Dec. 12: Morning skate 11:15AM-12:15PM; RoadRunners @ Idaho 7:10PM

Thursday, Dec. 13: Practice TBA @ Idaho

Friday, Dec. 14: Morning skate 11:15AM-12:15PM; RoadRunners @ Idaho 7:10PM

Saturday, Dec. 15: Morning skate 11:15AM-12:15PM; RoadRunners @ Idaho 7:10PM

Sunday, Dec. 16: Travel day to Las Vegas, Nev.

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ECHL Stories from December 10, 2007


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