RoadRunners Do A Texas Three-Step

December 18, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


PHOENIX, Ariz. - WEEK RECORD 1-1-1 - SEASON RECORD 14-11-1 - 2ND WEST DIVISION

'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners split three games with the South Division leading Texas Wildcatters last week. After losing Thursday, the RoadRunners shutout Texas on Friday and earned a point with an overtime loss Saturday. With a record of 14-11-1 and 29 points, the RoadRunners are currently second in the West Division and tied for fifth overall in the National Conference. Phoenix trails division leader Alaska by just one point and is now just six points behind National Conference co-leaders Stockton and Las Vegas. The top eight teams in the National Conference advance to the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs, and currently seven out of those eight teams are separated by just nine points.

Thursday, Kevin Baker tallied a pair of goals and goaltender Matt Yeats stopped 35 shots to propel the Texas Wildcatters to a 3-2 win over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 1,181 at Ford Arena.

Texas (16-4-2) opened the scoring at 14:04 of the first period on the power play. Jonathan Paiement lifted a wrist shot from the blue line through traffic and over the glove of RoadRunners' goaltender Mike Morrison to give the Wildcatters a 1-0 lead. Tommy Maxwell netted the equalizer just 31 seconds later at 14:35 as he pounced on the loose puck in the slot and snapped a shot by Yeats to tie the score at 1-1. Baker netted his ECHL-leading 17th goal of the season at 16:06 of the first jamming a rebound through Morrison to give Texas a 2-1 lead going into the first intermission.

Baker potted his second of the game at 8:56 of the second period putting a back-hand shot through the pads of Morrison to extend the Wildcatters lead to 3-1. Brett Smith brought the RoadRunners (13-11-0) back to within one when he stuffed Maxwell's rebound just over the end-line and behind Yeats at 16:29 to cut the deficit to 3-2 after two periods, but the RoadRunners would not come any closer.

Phoenix out-shot Texas 37-33. Morrison stopped 30 shots but fell to 2-2-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-6 on the power play while Texas was 1-6 with the man advantage.

Friday, goaltender Cody Rudkowsky made a season-high 51 saves and Brett Smith extended his goal streak to an ECHL season-high eight games as the Phoenix RoadRunners shutout the Texas Wildcatters 2-0 before 1,836 at Ford Arena.

Following a scoreless first period, the RoadRunners (14-11-0) capitalized midway through the second with a pair of power play goals by way of a five-on-three two-man advantage. Justin Aikins scored first at 9:12 when he stuffed home Cam Paddock's rebound through the pads of Texas goaltender Miroslav Kopriva to give Phoenix a 1-0 lead. Smith made it 2-0 just 57 seconds later on the five-on-four power play as he collected Brock Hooton's rebound in the slot and snapped the puck into the back of the net at 10:09.

That would be more than enough for Rudkowsky who stopped 22 shots in the third period alone to keep the Wildcatters (16-5-2) in check.

Texas out-shot Phoenix 51-28. The RoadRunners went 2-9 on the power play while Texas was 0-9 with the man advantage.

Saturday, Brandin Cote scored with 11.8 seconds left in overtime to lift the Texas Wildcatters to a 4-3 overtime victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners spoiling Brett Smith's ECHL-high ninth consecutive game with a goal before 1,771 at Ford Arena.

The Wildcatters (17-5-2) built a 2-0 first period lead courtesy of an even-strength goal from J-F David at 8:14 of the period and a power play goal by Leon Hayward at 16:13. David skated into the RoadRunners zone from center and beat goaltender Cody Rudkowsky along the ice from the left-wing circle for the game's first goal and a 1-0 lead. Hayward made it 2-0 when he received the pass from Olivier Proulx in the slot and snapped a wrist shot by Rudkowsky's blocker on the man advantage.

The RoadRunners (11-4-1) answered at 10:06 of the second period on a four-on-four situation. Matt Smyth's shot from the left point was re-directed by Brock Hooton inside the right post of Texas goaltender Matt Yeats to cut the deficit in half to 2-1.

Phoenix netted the equalizer just 6:46 into the third period on the power play. Justin Aikins tipped Paul Ballantyne's point shot by Yeats to the near side to the score at 2-2. Texas regained the lead with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation as Mark Rooneem fed a streaking Paul Albers just out of the penalty box. Albers broke in alone on Rudkowsky and slipped the puck by Rudkowsky along the ice at 13:44 to give the Wildcatters a 3-2 advantage. Smith tied the game at 3-3 with 25.4 seconds remaining in regulation on a six-on-four power play situation with the goalie pulled as he beat Yeats with a one-time slap shot to the upper corner of the net to send the game to overtime.

Cote stuffed home Daniel Sparre's rebound in front of the net at 4:48 of the overtime period for the game-winner.

Texas out-shot Phoenix 33-30. The RoadRunners went 2-8 on the power play while Texas was 1-5 with the man advantage.

HE KEEPS GOING AND GOING AND GOING... Brett Smith continued his torrid play potting a goal in all three games last week to extend his career-best and ECHL season-high goal streak to nine games. Since beginning the streak back on Nov. 25 with a pair of goals against Long Beach, Smith has 10 goals and 12 points in his last nine games and is one game short of matching his career-high 10-game point streak from a year ago while skating for the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs of the Central Hockey League. The longest consecutive goal-scoring streak in ECHL history is 16 games set by Darren Schwartz of the former Wheeling Thunderbirds from Jan. 14 - Feb. 21, 1993. Smith's 12 goals rank third on the team behind Scott May and Justin Aikins.

FIVE ALIVE FOR AIKINS: Speaking of Aikins, the RoadRunners' second-year forward is currently riding a season-high five-game point streak. The Surrey, British Columbia native has five goals and seven points in his last five games dating back to Dec. 9, and is currently second on the club in scoring with 13 goals and 22 points. He also leads the RoadRunners with three game-winning goals. Aikins represented the Long Beach Ice Dogs last season at the 2006 ECHL All-Star Game in Fresno, Calif.

RUDY! RUDY! Goaltender Cody Rudkowsky earned his 16th career shutout Friday and his 12th shutout lifetime in the ECHL. Rudkowsky is third in career shutouts among active ECHL goaltenders, trailing only Las Vegas' Marc Magliarditi (25) and Charlotte's Alex Westlund (16). For the RoadRunners, the shutout was their third in ECHL play and their first since Mike Mole blanked Victoria 1-0 in overtime on Jan. 28, 2006. The 51 shots fired that night by the Wildcatters were also the second most allowed by the RoadRunners in club history. Phoenix surrendered 54 shots at Stockton on March 26, 2006.

SECOND HELPINGS: The RoadRunners continue to be a strong second period team as they outscored Texas 4-1 in the middle period this week. Phoenix has outscored their opponents 33-14 in second periods for the season, and their plus-19 goal differential for the period is the highest for any period of any team in the ECHL this year. Meanwhile, the Wildcatters came into this series having outscored their opponents 30-14 in third periods this year, yet the RoadRunners managed to shutout Texas in the third period Thursday and Friday and outscored them 2-1 in the final period Saturday.

BOWL WITH THE ROADRUNNERS: Registration is currently open for the Phoenix RoadRunners' Booster Club annual Holiday Bowling Party on Sunday, Jan. 7 from 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. at Sunset Lanes (8941 N 12th Street, Phoenix). The cost is $20 for club members and $30 for non-members. The deadline to register is Dec. 30 and for more information, visit www.roadrunnersboosters.com.

BOWL WITH THE ROADRUNNERS: The RoadRunners will be at Big Daddy's Sports Bar & Grill signing autographs and participating in a hot dog eating contest from 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Tuesday. Big Daddy's is located at the southeast corner of 7th Street and Dunlap in Phoenix.

NEWS & NOTES: Former NHL center Chris Ferraro signed a standard player's contract with the RoadRunners Sunday and is expected to practice with the club Tuesday at the Alltel Ice Den...Phoenix is now 3-1-1 lifetime against the American Conference. The RoadRunners will meet Texas for two more games March 6-8 at US Airways Center...Aikins was placed on the three-day injured reserve Sunday...The RoadRunners finished their stretch of seven out of eight games on the road with a record of 4-3-1. Phoenix plays nine out of their next 11 games at US Airways Center leading up to the ECHL All-Star break, but will only play 14 games at home from Jan. 13 through the end of the season.

THIRSTY THROWBACK THURSDAY: This Thursday marks another "Thirsty Throwback Thursday" presented by Alice Cooper'stown. Head to Cooper'stown following the game, present your RoadRunners' game ticket, collect your special "Thirsty Thursday" cup, and enjoy $2 Budweiser and Bud Light drafts and free soda for the rest of the evening.

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 head into the final week before the holiday break with three games in three nights Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Phoenix hosts Victoria at 7:11 p.m. Thursday and Saturday and visits Long Beach at 8:30 p.m. Friday. 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 December 18, 2006


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