RoadRunners grind out pair of victories

Published on January 8, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


PHOENIX, Ariz. - WEEK RECORD 2-1-1 - SEASON RECORD 18-14-2 - 2ND WEST DIVISION

'RUNNERS REWIND: Playing four games over five nights, the Phoenix RoadRunners took three of four points from the Idaho Steelheads and knocked off the Long Beach Ice Dogs before closing the week with a home loss to the Las Vegas Wranglers. Phoenix trails division leader Alaska by four points and National Conference co-leaders Las Vegas and Fresno by six points. 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 eight points.

Tuesday, Lance Galbraith scored the lone goal in the five-round shootout to lift the Idaho Steelheads to a 2-1 shootout victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 2,762 at US Airways Center.

After a scoreless 55 minutes of hockey, Charlie Johnson gave Idaho (17-11-2) a 1-0 lead at 15:53 of the third period as he deflected Kory Scoran's centering pass by RoadRunners' goalie Mike Morrison. But the RoadRunners (16-13-2) would come back to net the equalizer 1:40 seconds later as Justin Aikins' pass across the ice deflected off Todd Jackson's stick right to Dusty Demianiuk in the slot, and Demianiuk buried the puck behind Idaho goaltender Steve Silverthorn to tie the contest at 1-1.

Neither team scored in the five minute overtime as the Steelheads out-shot the RoadRunners 3-1

Idaho out-shot Phoenix 39-26 for the game. Morrison stopped a season-high 37 shots but fell to 4-2-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-3 on the power play while Idaho was 0-5.

Thursday, Lance Monych broke a 1-1 tie with 8:19 remaining in regulation and the Phoenix RoadRunners tallied three power play goals en route to a 3-1 victory over the Idaho Steelheads before 2,170 at US Airways Center.

Both teams exchanged power play goals in the opening period. Colin Shields collected Darrell Hay's rebound in the slot and swept the puck behind RoadRunners goaltender Cody Rudkowsky at 5:41 on the man-advantage to give Idaho (17-12-2) a 1-0 lead. The RoadRunners (17-13-2) though would come back and net the equalizer at 12:33 of the first period with a power play goal of their own. Todd Jackson snatched Dave Pszenyczny's rebound off the endboards and tipped the puck into the open Idaho net to tie the score at 1-1.

Monych scored the go-ahead goal at 11:41 of the third collecting Alexandre Rouleau's blocked shot and putting a backhander behind Idaho goalie Steve Silverthorn to give the RoadRunners a 2-1 lead. Brett Smith added some insurance with a third power play goal for the Roadrunners at 15:56 to cap the scoring.

Phoenix out-shot Idaho 33-31. Rudkowsky stopped 30 shots to improve to 5-5-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 3-9 on the power play while Idaho was 1-6.

Friday, Lance Monych and Todd Jackson each tallied a goal and added an assist and the Phoenix RoadRunners matched a season-high with two shorthanded goals as they knocked off the Long Beach Ice Dogs 3-1 before 1,356 at the Long Beach Arena.

The RoadRunners (18-13-2) struck first with a shorthanded goal at 18:35 of the opening period. Long Beach's Ash Goldie coughed up the puck to Jackson just inside the Phoenix blue, setting off a Jackson shorthanded rush down the ice. Jackson's initial shot was denied by Ice Dogs goalie Brett Jaeger, but Monych picked up the rebound and stuffed it into the cage to give the RoadRunners a 1-0 lead.

Long Beach (9-19-2) needed just 2:06 into the second period to net the equalizer. Eric Neilson tallied his second goal of the season beating RoadRunners' goaltender Mike Morrison along the ice to tie the game at 1-1. Phoenix would regain the lead late in the period with their second shorthanded goal of the night. Off another turnover at the RoadRunners blue line, Matt Smyth led Jackson into the offensive zone on the right wing, and Jackson beat Jaeger with a slap shot over the left glove at 15:40 to give the RoadRunners a 2-1 cushion going into the second intermission.

Brett Smith capped the scoring with an empty-net goal at 19:52 of the third period.

Long Beach out-shot Phoenix 32-30. Morrison stopped 31 shots to improve to 5-2-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-5 on the power play while Long Beach was 0-4 with the man-advantage.

Saturday, Derek Edwardson tallied his first hat-trick of the season and the Las Vegas Wranglers tallied a season-high four power play goals to defeat the Phoenix RoadRunners 5-2 before 4,318 at US Airways Center.

Las Vegas (18-6-7) struck for a pair of power play goals in the opening period alone. Aaron Power beat RoadRunners' goalie Cody Rudkowsky with a one-time slap shot from the blue line at 4:04 on the man-advantage to give the Wranglers a 1-0 lead. Derek Edwardson extended the lead to 2-0 as he re-directed Aki Seitsonen's slapper from the point by Rudkowsky at 15:11 of the first also on the power play.

Lucas Lawson made it 3-0 to start the second period as he took Edwardson's feed alone in front of the net and slid the puck behind Rudkowsky at 1:57. The RoadRunners (18-14-2) would fight back though with a shorthanded goal at 3:52 of the second. Brock Hooton first picked Seitsonen's pocket at the Phoenix blue line, then claimed his own rebound off the initial shot and pushed a backhander by Wranglers goalie Mike McKenna at 3:52 to cut the Phoenix deficit to 3-1.

Edwardson potted his second of the game with a wraparound goal at 1:33 of the third period on the power play to stake the Wranglers to a 4-1 advantage. Phoenix would attempt a comeback as Dave Pszenyczny scored on a two-man advantage power play goal at 3:59 to close the gap to 4-2, but that's as close as the RoadRunners would get. Edwardson finished the hat-trick as he scored his third power play goal of the evening re-directing Mike McBain's shot to the upper right corner of the net at 16:45 to seal the win.

Phoenix out-shot Las Vegas 45-36. Rudkowsky stopped 31 shots but fell to 5-6-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-9 on the power play while Las Vegas was 4-8 with the man-advantage.

WHAT A SERIES! While the RoadRunners are used to playing an opponent two or three times in a row, they have never played the same team for five straight games, which is what they will do against the Idaho Steelheads between now and Jan. 20 sandwiched around the ECHL All-Star Game. Phoenix is 10-6-2 this season when playing an opponent in consecutive games and 22-29-5 over the last two years.

HOME COOKING: The RoadRunners' 25 home points are the fourth most in the ECHL only to Fresno, Cincinnati, and Toledo. Phoenix is 12-6-1 at US Airways Center this season and has won 10 out of their last 14 home games.

WELCOME TO THE CENTURY CLUB: Forward Justin Aikins joins the century club as he skates in his 100th career game tonight. Defenseman Dusty Demianiuk played in his 100th professional game last Friday at Long Beach, while forward Lance Monych will be up next as he is expected to play in his 100th career game on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the RoadRunners will celebrate another accomplishment Wednesday as veteran defenseman Jake Ortmeyer will appear in his 300th career game.

MONYCH IS MONEY: Forward Lance Monych enjoyed his first multiple-point game last Friday since Nov. 14 and now has four goals and six points in his last seven games. It's the best stretch of the season for Monych since the second-year pro opened the year with three goals and five points in his first four games. Monych is a former fourth round draft choice of the Phoenix Coyotes at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

NEWS & NOTES: Rookie center Liam Lindstrom returned to the RoadRunners' line-up Saturday for the first time since Dec. 7 at Idaho. Lindstrom has missed 18 games this season due to injury and hasn't played in back-to-back contests since Nov.19...With Friday's win at Long Beach the RoadRunners won consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 12...The RoadRunners have three shorthanded goals in their last two games and eight shorthanded goals for the season.

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 continue their current four-game homestand with a three-game home series against the Idaho Steelheads at 7:11 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 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.

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