RoadRunners Split Short Week with Victoria and Long Beach

Published on November 28, 2005 under ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


Phoenix, Ariz. - WEEK RECORD 1-1-0 - SEASON RECORD 4-9-2 - 6th WEST DIVISION

‘RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners opened last week with a victory over Victoria to snap an eight-game winless streak, but fell to the Long Beach Ice Dogs on Saturday to close out Thanksgiving weekend. Phoenix is currently sixth in the West Division with 10 points, 15 points behind the first place Idaho Steelheads.

Monday, Peter Trovato scored the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal 1:13 into the third period and goaltender Mike Mole earned his first professional victory as the Phoenix RoadRunners snapped an eight game winless streak by defeating the Victoria Salmon Kings 3-2 before 3,243 at America West Arena.

After a scoreless first period, Victoria (5-9-1) struck first when Dustan Heintz collected the loose puck in the front of the net and slapped it past RoadRunners goaltender Mike Mole at 5:41 of the second for a 1-0 lead. Chad Dameworth extended the lead to 2-0 when his slap shot from the left point beat a screened Mole to the glove side at 9:17. Phoenix (4-8-2) would respond just 1:43 later when off a turnover behind the cage, Dean Tiltgen fed Shawn Snider who's first shot was denied by goaltender BJ Boxma, but Snider pushed his rebound off Boxma's mask and into the net at 11:00 of the second frame to cut the deficit to 2-1. The RoadRunners would net the equalizer at 15:35 of the period when BJ Gaustad stripped a Victoria defenseman of the puck, broke in alone on Boxma, and beat the Salmon Kings net-minder with a backhand shot off the glove to tie the score at 2-2.

Trovato gave the RoadRunners the lead for good when he pushed in Cory Pecker's rebound past Boxma with Phoenix shorthanded just 1:13 into the third period.

Victoria out-shot Phoenix 26-19. Mole stopped 24 shots to improve to 1-6-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-3 on the power play while holding the Salmon Kings to 0-6 on the man-advantage.

Saturday, The RoadRunners scored two goals in the third period, but their comeback attempt fell short as the Long Beach Ice Dogs outlasted Phoenix 4-2 before 4,553 at America West Arena.

Long Beach (7-7-2) opened the scoring 9:39 into the first period when Christian Larrivee collected Mike Vellinga's rebound to the left of the cage and tucked it past RoadRunners goaltender Mathieu Chouinard to give the Ice Dogs a 1-0 lead.

The Ice Dogs extended the lead to 2-0 at the conclusion of a RoadRunners two-man advantage power play. An errant pass back to the blue line led to a two-on-zero rush for Kevin Ulanski who beat Chouinard with a shot to the short side at 17:24 of the second period. Ash Goldie netted a power play goal 1:41 seconds later at 19:05 to make it 3-0 Ice Dogs at the end of the second period.

Phoenix (4-9-2) would counter with a pair of goals midway through the third period with goaltender Mike Mole on in relief of Chouinard. J-F Soucy tapped Ed Hill's rebound past Long Beach goaltender Greg Hewitt at 7:26 to get the RoadRunners on the board and cut the deficit to 3-1. Brad Woods brought Phoenix to within a goal when he tallied his first professional goal with a blast from the high slot at 11:47. However, Cory Urquhart regained Long Beach's two-goal advantage at 18:21 of the third when his centering pass from the side of the net trickled off a RoadRunners' stick and into the cage to make the final score 4-2.

Long Beach out-shot Phoenix 28-17. Chouinard stopped 21 shots in falling to 3-3-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-4 on the power play.

LAFLECHE ON BOARD: Center Miguel Lafleche is expected to make his RoadRunners' and season debut on Tuesday when Phoenix hosts Victoria. The Crysler, Ontario native and second-year professional suffered an injury during training camp and was placed on the 30-day injured reserve prior to the start of the season. Lafleche finished sixth in team scoring last season while skating for the Rockford Ice Hogs of the United Hockey League with 17 goals and 48 points. He paced the Ice Hogs in March with 12 assists and 14 points in 13 games and was named Rockford's Most Improved Player.

SECOND COMINGS: Center Jason Deskins is also expected to make his return to the RoadRunners line-up after missing the last four games due to injury. Deskins has tallied two goals and 10 points in 11 games this season and has at least a point in seven out of his last nine games. The fourth-year professional enjoyed a career season in 2004-05 with Quad City of the United Hockey League finishing with a career-best 27 goals and 66 points.

ROADRUNNERS VINTAGE JERSEY AUCTION THIS WEEK: The commemorative vintage jerseys the RoadRunners wore in Saturday's game to celebrate the 1977-78 squad that advanced to the Pacific Hockey League Championship will be available for purchase through a special online auction that can be accessed at www.phxroadrunners.com beginning on Thursday. The auction will run through Saturday, December 10 with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the ECHL/Salvation Army Hurricane Relief Fund.

ROADRUNNERS IN THE COMMUNITY: Several RoadRunners players will visit patients and sign autographs at Phoenix Children's Hospital (1919 E. Thomas Road, Phoenix) from 2:30PM-4PM on Wednesday. This will be the first in a series of monthly visits to Phoenix Children's Hospital The RoadRunners will also be hosting a hockey clinic and lecture at 5PM on December 6 at the University Park Recreation Center in downtown Phoenix, and visit patients at St. Joseph's Hospital at 2PM on December 13. For more information or to find out how you can have Rocky or your favorite RoadRunners come to your event, contact Dan Weiss at (602) 379-7870.

WATCH THE ‘RUNNERS LIVE IN '05-06: The RoadRunners have teamed up with B2 Networks to bring you live action of Phoenix RoadRunners hockey in 2005-06. 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, Pensacola, Las Vegas, San Diego, Utah, and Bakersfield. A cable or DSL Internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 are required to view the games.

UP NEXT: The RoadRunners conclude their current four-game homestand when they host Victoria at 7:11PM on Tuesday and Las Vegas at 7:11PM on Thursday. Phoenix will hit the road to conclude the week when they travel to Long Beach at 6PM MST on Sunday. Catch all three games live on News Talk Radio 1100AM KFNX and Pro Sports Radio beginning with "RoadRunners Countdown" twenty minutes before opening face-off.

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