RoadRunners' efforts fall short

March 19, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners took the top two teams in the Pacific Division down to the wire all week, but could not muster a victory in four attempts against Bakersfield and Las Vegas. Still with 55 points, the RoadRunners remain in fourth place in the West Division and eighth overall in the National Conference. Phoenix is five points behind the #7 seed Victoria Salmon Kings with a game in hand and four points ahead of the #9 seed Utah Grizzlies. Their magic number for clinching a playoff berth is 15. The top eight teams in the National Conference advance to the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Tuesday, Alex Kim tallied a pair of goals and added three assists, and goaltender Jamie Hodson stopped all 42 shots he saw to lead the Bakersfield Condors to a 6-0 shutout win over the Phoenix RoadRunners before a crowd of 2,987 at US Airways Center.

Following a scoreless first period, Bakersfield (37-13-10) struck for three goals in the middle frame to open up a 3-0 lead. Andrew Ianiero opened the scoring at 3:20 of the second as he beat goaltender Cody Rudkowsky from the right-wing circle. The Condors extended their advantage to two when Alexandre Bolduc won the face-off right to Kim just inside the circle, and Kim snapped a wrist shot behind Rudkowsky to the short side at 5:18. Kevin Truelson capped the scoring for the period with a power play goal at 10:47 from Kevin St. Jacques to give the Condors a 3-0 lead heading into the second intermission.

Bolduc got into the scoring mix at 6:51 of the third period when his shot from the perimeter deflected off a RoadRunners' stick and trickled past Rudkowsky. Ianiero scored his second of the game 2:40 seconds after Bolduc's goal at 9:31 banging home the rebound in front of the net. Kim finished the scoring for the evening with his second goal of the game and his fifth point of the night tallying a shorthanded goal at 11:38.

Phoenix out-shot Bakersfield 42-34. Rudkowsky stopped 28 shots but fell to 8-14-2 on the season. The RoadRunners (25-31-5) went 0-7 on the power play while Bakersfield was 1-5 with the man-advantage.

Thursday, Alexandre Bolduc tallied a pair of goals and the Bakersfield Condors withstood a late rally to hold off the Phoenix RoadRunners 4-3 before a crowd of 3,244 at US Airways Center.

Bakersfield (38-13-10) opened the scoring at 13:28 of the first period on a five-on-three power play goal. Bolduc netted his sixth of the season beating RoadRunners goaltender Mike Morrison from the slot to give the Condors a 1-0 lead. The RoadRunners (25-32-5) came back to tie the score at the end of the period as Olivier Latendresse pounced on the loose puck in front of the net and flipped it behind Bakersfield goalie Rejean Beauchemin at 19:04.

Alex Rogosheske regained the lead for Bakersfield when he beat Morrison with a slap shot from the right point at 5:43 of the second period. Bolduc tallied his second of the game beating Morrison to the short side at 9:26 to extend the Condors advantage to 3-1 and end Morrison's night in the net.

Sean Venedam scored on the power play at 1:48 of the third period to build the Condors lead to 4-1. The RoadRunners fought back with a pair of goals from Todd Jackson and Justin Aikins at 2:30 and 13:10 on the power play respectively, but could not tally the equalizer.

Phoenix out-shot Bakersfield 37-32. Cody Rudkowsky stopped 11 of 12 shots in relief of Morrison but took the loss to fall to 8-15-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-6 on the power play while Bakersfield was 2-12 with the man-advantage.

Friday, Arphad Mihaly tallied a goal and added an assist and the Las Vegas Wranglers staved off a furious comeback in the final minutes of regulation to defeat the Phoenix RoadRunners 2-1 before a crowd of 5,729 at the Orleans Arena.

After a mostly scoreless first period, Las Vegas (36-12-14) struck first as Derek Edwardson buried Mihaly's rebound behind RoadRunners goalie Cody Rudkowsky at 18:05 to give the Wranglers a 1-0 lead.

That looked as if it would be the only goal of the night until Mihaly scored from just inside the right-wing circle banging a shot off the crossbar and in at 6:23 of the third period to extend the Wranglers advantage to 2-0. The RoadRunners (25-33-5) got some life late as on the penalty kill, Justin Aikins received a perfect lead pass behind the defense from Matt Smyth and beat Wranglers goalie Kevin Nastiuk to the blocker side at 17:56 shorthanded. Despite killing off the remainder of the power play and pulling Rudkowsky for the extra attacker, the RoadRunners could not tally the equalizer.

Las Vegas out-shot Phoenix 35-25. Rudkowsky stopped 33 but took the loss to fall to 8-16-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-6 on the power play while Las Vegas was 0-6 with the man-advantage.

Saturday, Arpad Mihaly capped off a three-goal Las Vegas comeback in the third period with the go-ahead and eventual game-winning with 2:46 remaining in regulation as the Wranglers defeated the Phoenix RoadRunners 5-3 before a crowd of 6,125 at US Airways Center.

A spirited first period saw Las Vegas and the RoadRunners each find the back of the net once. The Wranglers (37-12-4) opened the scoring at 9:21 on the power play as Joe Tallari banged home Arpad Mihaly's rebound for a 1-0 lead. Phoenix (25-34-5) responded off a turnover when Jeff Kyrzakos beat Las Vegas goalie Mike McKenna with a slap shot from the right-wing circle at 13:41 to tie the contest at 1-1.

Olivier Latendresse gave the RoadRunners their first lead in six games as he buried Brian Yandle's rebound through McKenna at 1:08 of the second period on the power play to make it a 2-1 hockey game.

Lance Monych tallied the RoadRunners second power play goal of the night just 2:45 into the third period to give Phoenix at the time a commanding 3-1 lead. The Wranglers started their comeback with a shorthanded goal from defenseman and Captain Mike McBain at 8:41 to cut the deficit to a single goal. Jason Josza netted the equalizer from the top of the left-wing circle as he fired a slap shot through the pads of RoadRunners goalie Cody Rudkowsky at 13:17 to tie the game at 3-3. Mihaly gave Las Vegas their first lead since the opening period 3:57 seconds later at 17:14 as he capitalized off a Phoenix turnover and twisted the puck around Rudkowsky and into the net. Nick Anderson sealed the win for the Wranglers with an empty-net goal at 19:47.

Las Vegas out-shot Phoenix 37-22. Rudkowsky stopped 32 but took the loss to fall to 8-17-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-5 on the power play while Las Vegas was 1-6 with the man-advantage.

HOME "NOT SO" SWEET HOME: The RoadRunners have dropped a season-high six straight games at US Airways Center and are 2-10-1 at the "Purple Palace" since the ECHL All-Star Break. During their home winless streak, Phoenix has been outscored 30-12 and has surrendered the opening goal on five occasions.

PENALTY KILL STARS: Phoenix's penalty kill has allowed just four power play goals in the last five games and are 32-36 (88.9%) over that stretch. The RoadRunners' penalty kill efficiency is tied for 17th in the ECHL at 82.3%.

HOOTON RISING: Rookie forward Brock Hooton has seven assists and nine points in his last 10 games. Hooton ranks second on the RoadRunners with 14 goals and 36 points and is currently tied for 17th in the ECHL rookie scoring race.

NEWS & NOTES: Phoenix is 17-5-0 when leading after two periods...Defenseman Mathew Deschamps returned to the line-up Saturday after missing 11 games due to injury...The RoadRunners have given up the first goal 41 times and are 10-27-4 when allowing the first tally.

"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.

ROADRUNNERS IN THE COMMUNITY: The RoadRunners will be at Big Daddy's Sports Lounge from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Tuesday. Big Daddy's is located at 721 E. Dunlap Road in Phoenix.

ALICE COOPER'STOWN HOSTS CELEBRITY WAITERS & CASINO NIGHT: The RoadRunners in conjunction with Casino Arizona will host their second annual "Celebrity Waiters and Casino Night" event at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday at Alice Cooper'stown located right behind US Airways Center on Jackson Street. RoadRunners players will be all hands on deck as they serve up your favorite Cooper'stown dishes. Plus, test your blackjack skills against your favorite RoadRunners presented by Casino Arizona. Raffle tickets will be sold at the door for $1 each or six for $5 with all proceeds benefiting the "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer". For more information, call (602) 379-7506.

ROADRUNNERS RAISE $18,900 FOR "FACE-OFF AGAINST KIDS CANCER": The Phoenix RoadRunners raised a total of $18,900 towards the "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer" through a special game-worn jersey auction Saturday at US Airways Center. The proceeds from the auction will benefit 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. The RoadRunners honored several of the "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer" participants from Phoenix Children's prior to Saturday's game against Las Vegas, and each child in the program received a personalized RoadRunners' jersey with their name inscribed on the back. The top selling jersey belonged to RoadRunners goaltender Cody Rudkowsky, whose #30 sweater was purchased for $1,500. The Phoenix RoadRunners would like to thank everyone in attendance for their support of such a worthy cause. 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 Fresno Falcons to US Airways Center at 7:11 p.m. Saturday for the 2006-07 regular season home finale. 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 19, 2007


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central