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RoadRunners Swept Away by Stockton

January 12, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners dropped a pair of games last week to the Stockton Thunder. With a record of 13-15-3 and 29 points, the RoadRunners sit in fifth place in the West Division and in eighth place in the National Conference.

Tuesday, Cory Urquhart scored the game-tying and game-winning goal in a span of 1:17 seconds with less than two minutes to go in regulation as he led the Stockton Thunder over the Phoenix RoadRunners 5-4 Tuesday night in front of 1,923 fans at US Airways Center.

The RoadRunners (13-14-3) got on the board first at 5:25 of the first period when Kimbi Daniels set up Dane Crowley who scored a one-timer goal from the right point, giving Phoenix an early 1-0 lead. Daniel Sisca had the other assist. Dan DaSilva gave the RoadRunners a 2-0 lead at 8:55 when he netted the puck past Thunder goalie Glenn Fisher on the power play. Gino Guyer and Ashton Rome assisted as Phoenix would take the two-goal lead into the locker room at the first intermission.

"We did a good job getting the lead," RoadRunners' Head Coach Brad Church said. "We put the puck in the net and capitalized on some good opportunities."

Phoenix scored 1:04 into the second period when Daniels set up John McNabb from behind the net for a power play goal. Mitch Carefoot had the other assist as the RoadRunners went up 3-0. Stockton (13-17-5) countered on the power play at 6:58 when James Bates tipped in a shot by Cleve Kinley from the high slot. Kenny MacAulay had the other assist. The Thunder narrowed their deficit to one goal when Ryan Huddy scored in front of RoadRunners' goalie Craig Kowalski at 9:14. Urquhart and Bates assisted. The RoadRunners took a 4-2 lead at 15:12 when Guyer fed a pass to Rome who scored from the left circle.

"We made too many mistakes," Church said of giving up two goals in the second period. "We can't make mistakes like that."

Stockton opened up scoring in the third period when Justin Chwedoruk netted a pass from Daryl Marcoux. Robbie Bina had the other assist as the Thunder narrowed the RoadRunners' lead to one goal. Urquhart tied up the game at 4-4 for Stockton at 18:39 when he netted a one-timer from Bates. Huddy had the other assist. Then with 3.8 seconds left in regulation, Urquhart scored a backhander from Bates and Huddy, giving the Thunder a 5-4 victory over the RoadRunners.

"We need to clean up our game," Church said, adding that the team needs to focus on not making so many mistakes on the ice. "We can't turn the puck over in the neutral zone."

Stockton out-shot Phoenix 39-25. Kowalski stopped 34 shots but took the loss to fall to 10-10-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-6 on the power play while Stockton was 1-6 with the man-advantage.

Thursday, Cory Urquhart scored a hat trick and the Stockton Thunder scored seven unanswered goals as they defeated the Phoenix RoadRunners 8-2 in front of 2,244 fans at US Airways Center Thursday night.

Stockton (14-17-5) opened up the scoring at 7:46 of the first period when Cory Urquhart capitalized on a turnover by the RoadRunners (13-15-3) at the blue line. Jeremy Swanson tied up the game for Phoenix on the power play at 11:01 when he scored from the high slot off a pass from Michael Cohen. Mitch Carefoot also assisted. The RoadRunners took a 2-1 lead at 13:47 when Gino Guyer rifled a shorthanded shot past Thunder goalie Andrew Perugini. Jim Jorgenson assisted as Phoenix took the lead into the locker room at the first intermission.

The Thunder dominated the second period, scoring four goals on RoadRunners' goalie Kyle Jones in just over 10 minutes. The first came 27 seconds in when Judd Blackwater scored off a rebound by Igor Gongalsky, tying the game at 2-2. Blackwater added another at 4:54 off a rebound from a shot by Damian Surma. Gongalsky also assisted. At 8:08, Justin Chwedoruk tipped in a shorthanded shot by Mark Adamek from the right point with Gongalsky getting the other assist. Urquhart capped off scoring in the period when he scored a power play goal at 10:09. Kenny MacAulay and Cleve Kinley assisted as the Thunder would have a 5-2 lead after two periods.

Stockton kept control of the game in the third period when Ryan Huddy scored a shorthanded goal off a turnover by the RoadRunners, giving the Thunder a 6-2 lead. Urquhart netted his third of the game at 12:32 off a rebound from a shot by James Bates. Stockton finished off scoring at 15:59 when Kinley scored on the power play. Bates and Perugini assisted as the final score would be 8-2 Thunder.

Stockton out-shot Phoenix 37-31. Jones made 29 saves and suffered the loss to fall to 1-4-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-4 on the power play while Stockton was 2-6 with the man-advantage.

COHEN STREAKING INTO PHOENIX: Forward Michael Cohen collected an assist in his RoadRunners debut Thursday to extend his current scoring streak to a season-high four games. Cohen has six goals and eight points dating back to Dec. 31, 2008, and is the reigning ECHL Player of the Week after scoring six goals and collecting an assist in his final three games with the Cincinnati Cyclones. Cohen was acquired by the RoadRunners Monday to complete a previous trade that sent defenseman Tom Sawatske to Cincinnati on Oct. 28.

WELCOME TO THE CENTURY CLUB: Forwards Mitch Carefoot and Gino Guyer each skated in their 100th professional games last week. Carefoot has 19 goals and 49 points in 101 career games, while Guyer has 22 goals and 61 points in 100 career games. This season, Carefoot ranks sixth on the RoadRunners in scoring this season with seven goals and 16 points in 31 games, while Guyer is right behind him in seventh with six goals and 14 points in 30 games.

NO SHORTAGE OF SUCCESS: The RoadRunners tallied their sixth shorthanded goal of the season Thursday, eclipsing their entire total of five for the 2007-08 campaign. The most shorthanded goals the RoadRunners have scored in a single year are 10 back in 2006-07. On the flip side, the RoadRunners surrendered two shorthanded goals in that same game Thursday and now have allowed nine on the season, which is the second highest total in the ECHL behind only Dayton's 12.

TOUGHEST GUYS IN THE LEAGUE: The RoadRunners continue to lead the ECHL with an average of 27.19 penalty minutes per game and rank fourth with 41 major penalties. Rookie James McEwan is fifth in the ECHL with 14 major penalties and second among first-year skaters behind only Reading's Kyle Hagel who leads the ECHL with 20 majors.

NEWS & NOTES: Gino Guyer is riding a season-high three-game scoring streak with a goal and four assists since Dec. 31, 2008...The RoadRunners are averaging 3.67 goals per game in their last three games, nearly a full goal above their season average of 2.74...Center Merit Waldrop is eligible to be activated off the 30-day injured reserve. Waldrop has not appeared in a game since Dec. 5 against Las Vegas and has one goal and three assists in six games with a team-high plus-six rating...The RoadRunners begin a stretch Wednesday of nine games in 17 days through Jan. 31.

WATCH THE 'RUNNERS LIVE IN '08-09: The RoadRunners have teamed up with B2 Networks to bring you live action of Phoenix RoadRunners hockey in 2008-09. 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 72 RoadRunners broadcasts will be available on-line. A cable or DSL Internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 are required to view the games.

UP NEXT: The RoadRunners will host the Ontario Reign at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday and the Bakersfield Condors for a two-game home series at 7:05 p.m. Saturday and 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Phoenix will visit Bakersfield at 8:00 p.m. Friday. Catch Friday's action live on Independent 1310 KXAM and all four games live at www.phxroadrunners.com beginning with "RoadRunners Countdown" twenty minutes prior to face-off. Information on season tickets, half-season packages, and flex plans for the 2008-09 season of Phoenix RoadRunners Hockey are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.



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