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RoadRunners open second half with split

January 22, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners and Idaho Steelheads kicked off the second half of the season with a two-game split Friday and Saturday at Qwest Arena in Boise. With 42 points apiece, the RoadRunners and Steelheads are tied for second in the West Division and sixth overall in the National Conference. Phoenix trails division and conference leader Alaska by 10 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 10 points.

Friday, Lance Galbraith netted the equalizer 6:21 into the third period and Derek Nesbitt scored the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal with 2:34 remaining in regulation to lift the Idaho Steelheads to a 4-3 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 5,018 at Qwest Arena.

A spirited first period saw five total goals between the two teams, with four of them coming by way of the power play. Idaho (20-15-2) struck first as Darrell Hay grabbed the loose puck in between the circles and snapped a shot behind RoadRunners' goalie Mike Morrison at 2:13 on the power play for a 1-0 lead. The RoadRunners (19-17-2) responded with three unanswered goals, all coming within a span of 3:06 seconds. Alexandre Rouleau got it started with a power play goal at 11:07. Newcomer Daniel Winnik found Rouleau at the left wing circle and Rouleau ripped a slapper past Steelheads goalie John Daigneau to tie the game at 1-1. Todd Jackson gave Phoenix a 2-1 lead when his shot from the high slot ricocheted off a skate and slid past Daigneau at 12:25 of the first. Rouleau then made it 3-1 with his second power play goal of the game at 14:13. Marty Flichel however cut the Idaho deficit to a single goal before the period came to an end. Off the feed from Kyle Peto, Flichel fired a one-timer past Morrison at 18:36 on the man-advantage to bring the Steelheads back to within 3-2 heading into the first intermission.

After a scoreless second period, Galbraith tied the game off a RoadRunners' turnover as he pushed the puck off Morrison and into the net at 6:21 to knot the score at 3-3. That set up Nesbitt's heroics as he received the puck from Greg Rallo in the slot and fired the puck off the crossbar and behind Morrison at 17:26 of the third to give Idaho the lead and the win.

Idaho out-shot Phoenix 51-23. Morrison made a season-high 47 saves but fell to 6-5-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-5 on the power play while Idaho was 3-5 on the man-advantage.

Saturday, Captain Cam Paddock tallied two goals and added an assist to lift the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 6-3 win over the Idaho Steelheads and a split in their two-game weekend series before 5,533 at Qwest Arena.

Marty Flichel opened the scoring for Idaho (20-16-2) at 11:56 of the first period. On a delayed penalty against the RoadRunners, Flichel pounced on his own rebound in the slot and fired a blast by RoadRunners goalie Mike Morrison to give the Steelheads a 1-0 lead. The RoadRunners (20-17-2) would fight back with a power play goal at 16:16 from Alexandre Rouleau. Olivier Latendresse found Rouleau at the left point, and Rouleau let a slap shot go that found its way behind Idaho net-minder Blair Allison to tie the contest at 1-1.

Cam Paddock gave the RoadRunners their first lead of the evening at 2-1 when he tipped Jake Ortmeyer's shot from the blue line past Allison at 3:27 of the second period. That lead would expire though in just 29 seconds. Derek Nesbitt found the back of the net on a slap shot from the right-wing circle at 3:56 to tie the game at 2-2. Phoenix then exploded for two goals 59 seconds apart in the final three minutes of the period. Brock Hooton found a streaking Justin Aikins ahead of the Idaho defense, and Aikins slid the puck through Allison's pads and in at 17:04 for a 3-2 advantage. Latendresse made it 4-2 going into the second intermission as he jammed Chanse Fitzpatrick's rebound home 59 seconds later at 18:03.

Todd Jackson extended that lead to 5-2 just 41 seconds into the third period as he moved around the Idaho defense and slid the puck behind Allison to continue the RoadRunners attack. Tuomas Mikkonen gave the Steelheads some life when he scored at 3:12 of the third to cut the deficit to 5-3, but Idaho would come no closer. Paddock scored an empty-net goal at 18:55 to seal the Phoenix victory.

Idaho out-shot Phoenix 27-22. Morrison made 24 saves to improve to 7-5-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-11 on the power play while Idaho was 0-6 on the man-advantage.

ALL DONE WITH IDAHO: After losing all seven games to the Steelheads during their inaugural 2005-06 campaign, the RoadRunners bounced back to win this year's season series 5-4-1. Seven of the 10 meetings in this series came over a stretch of just 18 days. Phoenix finished 16-67 on the power play against Idaho, an impressive 23.8% efficiency rate. Their 16 power play goals against the Steelheads are the most against any one team in the ECHL.

ACTION JACKSON: After missing the first three weeks of the season, forward Todd Jackson has settled into a nice scoring groove. The three-year pro has four goals and five points in his last three games, and leads the RoadRunners with six goals and nine points in the month of January.

DANDY DEBUT: Rookie center Daniel Winnik enjoyed a tremendous RoadRunners' and ECHL debut Friday as he assisted on all three goals for the first three-assist game of his professional career. He also finished the weekend with a plus-three rating. Winnik, who was re-assigned to the RoadRunners by the parent Phoenix Coyotes last Monday, was a Second-Team Hockey East All Star and a member of the All-New England Team after scoring a career-high 41 points in 39 games last season at the University of New Hampshire.

A-PLUS RATING: Despite being outscored 29-26, the RoadRunners are a plus-seven as a team through their first nine games this month, which is the first time this season that Phoenix has enjoyed a plus-rating as a whole unit. One of the reasons could be attributed to the fact that the RoadRunners have scored nearly as many even strength goals (12) as they have special teams' goals (14) in January, and three of those 14 special teams' goals are shorthanded tallies. Of their 126 total goals to date, 66, or 52.3% have come by way of either the power play or the penalty kill. Justin Aikins' is the RoadRunners plus-minus leader so far this month with a plus-six rating.

OVERDUE: Centers Cam Paddock and Olivier Latendresse finally snapped their respective goal-scoring droughts Saturday. Latendresse's goal in the second period was his first marker since Dec. 22 against Long Beach, while Paddock's goal also in the second was his first since Nov. 28 against the Utah Grizzlies. Paddock's empty-net goal later in the third gave him his first two-goal game since Nov. 14, 2005.

NEWS & NOTES: Forward Lance Monych was placed on the seven-day injured reserve Saturday. Monych left Friday's game in the first period with an undisclosed injury...Center Brett Smith was placed on the three-day injured reserve today...Center Scott May, currently on loan to Iowa of the American Hockey League, collected his first assist with the Stars on Saturday and now has three goals and four points in 17 games since being promoted on Dec. 13...Goalie Mike Morrison is 3-3-1 in January with a 2.73 goals against average and a .931% save percentage.

"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.

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 three-game road trip as they visit the Fresno Falcons at 8:35 p.m. Friday from the Save Mart 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.

PHOENIX, Ariz. - WEEK RECORD 1-1-0 - SEASON RECORD 20-17-2 - T-2ND WEST DIVISION



ECHL Stories from January 22, 2007


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