RoadRunners continue push for playoffs

Published on February 19, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners toppled defending champion Alaska Friday for just the second time in 11 games, but could not keep the momentum going as they fell to the Aces in Saturday's re-match and dropped Sunday's decision against Long Beach. With 50 points, the RoadRunners sit in third place in the West Division and seventh overall in the National Conference. Phoenix is just eight points behind Idaho for the #4 seed and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The top eight teams in the National Conference advance to the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Friday, Chanse Fitzpatrick netted the equalizer with less than five minutes remaining in regulation and then sealed the win in the fourth round of the shootout to lift the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 2-1 shootout victory over the Alaska Aces before a crowd of 5,567 at US Airways Center.

Following a scoreless first twenty minutes, the Aces (35-13-3) broke the ice and took a 1-0 lead late in the middle period. Kimbi Daniels' push to the net deflected off of Joe Talbot's skate and trickled past RoadRunners goaltender Mike Morrison at 17:42.

It appeared as if that would be enough until Fitzpatrick beat Alaska goalie Isaac Reichmuth over the blocker with a slap shot from the top of the right-wing circle at 15:51 of the third period to tie the game at 1-1.

After a scoreless overtime in which both teams enjoyed power plays, Justin Aikins and Fitzpatrick scored in the first and fourth rounds of the shootout respectively, and Morrison stopped all four Alaska shooters to preserve the win.

Alaska out-shot Phoenix 42-33. Morrison made 41 saves to improve to 9-6-2 on the season. The RoadRunners (23-22-4) went 0-6 on the power play while Alaska was 0-5 with the man-advantage.

Saturday, Kimbi Daniels and Joe Talbot each scored a pair of goals to propel the Alaska Aces to a 6-3 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before a crowd of 5,977 at US Airways Center.

The Aces (36-13-3) struck quickly with a pair of power play goals four minutes into the game. Daniels opened the scoring at 2:27 as his shot from the left point deflected off two RoadRunners' sticks and trickled behind goaltender Mike Morrison giving Alaska a 1-0 lead. Mike Scott made it 2-0 at 3:46 on the power play as he buried a centering pass across the goal mouth from Stephen Wood just inside the left-wing circle. The RoadRunners (23-23-4) would counter in the final five minutes of the opening period. Justin Aikins fired a shot from the right-wing boards that was initially saved by Alaska goalie Derek Gustafson, but ricocheted off his blocker and trickled into the net at 15:14 to cut the Phoenix deficit to 2-1.

The Aces would grab a 4-1 lead with two goals in the second period. Daniels scored his second of the game as he collected Vladimir Novak's rebound at the left-wing circle and snapped the puck into the back of the net at 12:48 to make it 3-1. Talbot then beat Morrison from the high slot 2:33 seconds later at 15:21 to increase the Alaska advantage to 4-1 after two periods.

Talbot notched his second of the game 3:45 into the third period before Lance Monych scored his first goal since Jan. 5 for the RoadRunners at 5:53 to make it 5-2 Alaska. Wood beat Morrison with a slap shot from the right point at 7:32 on the power play to give the Aces a 6-2 lead. Greg Hornby capped the scoring with a goal in his RoadRunners debut at 10:43 of the third.

Phoenix out-shot Alaska 34-31. Morrison made 25 saves but fell to 9-7-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-4 on the power play while Alaska was 3-4 with the man-advantage.

Sunday, Ash Goldie tallied a goal and added an assist and the Long Beach Ice Dogs scored a pair of power play goals in the third period to knock off the Phoenix RoadRunners 3-1 before 3,925 at US Airways Center.

Long Beach (19-27-3) opened the scoring at 8:01 of the first period. Mark Hurtubise angled out the right side of the net and beat RoadRunners goaltender Cody Rudkowsky with a shot above the left shoulder that caromed off the crossbar and bounced into the net giving the Ice Dogs a 1-0 lead.

Following a scoreless second period, Goldie made it 2-0 with the Ice Dogs first of two power play goals in the third as he tapped Chris Collins' rebound behind Rudkowsky at 2:22. The RoadRunners (23-24-4) finally got on the scoreboard six seconds later as Tommy Maxwell backhanded the puck through pads of Ice Dogs net-minder Brett Jaeger and in at 2:28 to cut the deficit to 2-1. But in the waning seconds of their fifth power play on the night, Ryan Bennett re-directed Gary Gladue's shot from the right point by Rudkowsky along the ice at 12:40 to give the Ice Dogs a commanding 3-1 lead and the eventual win.

Phoenix out-shot Long Beach 41-32. Rudkowsky made 29 saves but fell to 6-11-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-9 on the power play while Long Beach was 2-5 with the man-advantage.

PLAYOFF RACE TIGHTENING: Seven National Conference teams fighting for five playoff spots are separated by a mere 17 points with a little less than one-third of the regular season remaining. Idaho currently holds the #4 seed with 58 points followed by Fresno (56), Stockton (52), the RoadRunners (50), Victoria (47), Utah (43), and Long Beach (41). The 2007 ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs are scheduled to begin in the second week of April.

MILESTONES: Forward Justin Aikins collected his 100th career point Saturday after tallying his team-leading 20th goal of the season. Aikins is the first 20-goal scorer in RoadRunners ECHL history, and will set a new career high with his next goal.

SHOOTOUT DELIGHT: After going 2-4 in shootouts during their inaugural campaign, the RoadRunners have reversed that trend this season and are now 4-2 in shootouts following Friday's win. Goaltender Mike Morrison claimed his first shootout victory in three tries this year despite allowing just two goals combined in the five-round session. Morrison is now 10-12 (83.3%) in shootouts this season and currently ranks second among ECHL goalies in shootout percentage. The Medford, Mass. native ranked as one of the top shootout goalies in the NHL last season with both Edmonton and Ottawa stopping 18 of 23 shooters for a 78.2% save percentage.

HITTING 40: Newly signed defenseman Mat Snesrud became the 40th player (excluding emergency goalies) to don a RoadRunners sweater in a game this season. That eclipses the 39 players that the RoadRunners went through during their inaugural season, although the circumstances have been quite different. Phoenix has lost a total of six players due to call-ups or reassignments to the American Hockey League, and has recently been besieged by injuries, especially on defense. In the last nine days, defensemen Dave Pszenyczny, Dusty Demianiuk, Mathew Deschamps, and Chris Cava have all missed time because of different injuries. The RoadRunners finished Saturday's game against Alaska with a season-low 13 skaters and just two natural defensemen.

NEWS & NOTES: Tommy Maxwell tallied his first goal Sunday since Dec. 14, 2006 at Texas...The RoadRunners have gone a season-high five consecutive games without a power play goal and are 1-48 on the man-advantage over their last eight contests...Rookie defenseman Kyle Orr, the nephew of NHL Hall of Fame defenseman Bobby Orr, rejoined the RoadRunners for the second time this season after signing a contract Sunday.

"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" UNDERWAY: The RoadRunners hosted the second event as part of their first annual "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer" following Sunday's game as they welcomed the kids and their families down to the locker room for a special post-game ice cream party presented by Cold Stone Creamery. For the next three months, the players and children will participate in a series of social events with the hopes of creating a lasting relationship and increased awareness about childhood cancer in the community. The "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer" will culminate at 7:11 p.m. Saturday, March 17 when the RoadRunners take the ice against the Las Vegas Wranglers wearing special commemorative jerseys dedicated to those Phoenix Children's patients 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 wrap up their five-game homestand hosting the Alaska Aces at 7:11 p.m. Tuesday and the Bakersfield Condors at 7:11 p.m. Friday. Phoenix then opens a stretch of four out of five away from home at 8:00 p.m. Saturday in Bakersfield. 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.

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ECHL Stories from February 19, 2007


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