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RoadRunners Take Four Game Split into All-Star Break

January 19, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


‘RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners split their four-game week heading into the ECHL All-Star Break winning twice and losing twice. With a record of 15-17-3 and 33 points, the RoadRunners sit in fifth place in the West Division and in eighth place in the National Conference.

Wednesday, The Ontario Reign held on to a first period lead and defeated the Phoenix RoadRunners 2-1 in front of 2,253 fans at US Airways Center.

The Reign (20-14-2) opened up scoring at 11:47 of the first period when Mike Howe tipped in a shot from David Walker on the power play. Geoff Walker also assisted as Ontario took a 1-0 lead. The RoadRunners (13-16-3) countered less than a minute later when Merit Waldrop set up Ashton Rome who scored from the right circle at 12:39, tying the game at 1-1.

"We responded well," RoadRunners' Head Coach Brad Church said of Rome's goal. "We worked hard and I thought it was a good game."

The Reign took the lead back, again on the power play, when Dale Reinhardt scored off a pass from Geoff Walker at 16:24 of the first period. Shawn Germain also assisted as Ontario would hold a 2-1 lead through the first intermission.

No scoring would happen in the second or third periods despite the RoadRunners pulling goalie Craig Kowalski with just over a minute left in regulation to try and tie the game.

"We had a lot of chances," Church said, adding that the team played well despite the outcome of the game. "We have some things to clean up but tonight was a step in the right direction."

Phoenix out-shot Ontario 39-33. Kowalski made 31 saves but took the loss to fall to 10-11-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-2 on the power play while Ontario was 2-5 with the man-advantage.

Friday, Mitch Carefoot tallied a pair of goals and the Phoenix RoadRunners snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Bakersfield Condors before 4,999 at Rabobank Arena.

The RoadRunners (14-16-3) jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the game's first 13 minutes. Jim Jorgensen opened the scoring at 4:15 when he beat Bakersfield goalie Dave McKee with a snap shot over the blocker and into the back of the Condors net. Mitch Carefoot extended the RoadRunners lead to two goals when he flipped Brett Peterson's rebound past McKee at 12:20 on the power play. Bakersfield (12-21-4) countered before the end of the period scoring a shorthanded goal off the stick of Ryan Mahrle at 17:00 to cut the RoadRunners edge to 2-1 heading into the first intermission.

Jay Langager netted the equalizer for Bakersfield with a power play goal at 7:13 of the second period. But the RoadRunners grabbed the lead back when Dan DaSilva found P.J. Fenton with a cross-ice pass and Fenton from the left-wing tapped the puck past an out of position McKee at 13:22 giving Phoenix a 3-2 advantage going into the third period.

Carefoot gave the RoadRunners some needed insurance with a shorthanded goal at 4:22 of the third period off a Bakersfield turnover that pushed the Phoenix lead back to two goals at 4-2. The Condors got a late goal from Matt Pope with 16.6 seconds remaining to cut the RoadRunners lead to one, but Bakersfield simply ran out of time at the end.

Bakersfield out-shot Phoenix 41-32. Kowalski stopped 38 shots to pick up the win and improve to 11-11-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-5 on the power play while Bakersfield was 1-8 with the man-advantage.

Saturday, Kimbi Daniels scored two goals including the game-winner in overtime as the Phoenix RoadRunners defeated the Bakersfield Condors 5-4 in front of 4,501 fans at US Airways Center.

The RoadRunners (15-16-3) took an early two-goal lead within the first three minutes of the game. Matt Burke scored first at 1:30 from the slot off a pass from Merit Waldrop. Ashton Rome also assisted. Then at 2:28 Daniels scored an unassisted goal from the high slot.

"We emphasized the start of the game in our pregame meeting," said RoadRunners' Head Coach Brad Church. "We got the energy and it was nice to see a big crowd."

Phoenix took a 3-0 lead at 17:11 when P.J. Fenton scored top-shelf on Condor goalie Dave McKee from T.J. Campbell and Gino Guyer. Bakersfield (12-21-5) was able to get on the board on the power play at 19:07 when Andrew Ianiero scored in front of the net from Dave Bonk and Chad Painchaud. The RoadRunners were able to score one more before the end of the period to take a 4-1 lead into the locker room when Rome set up Jeremy Swanson with eight seconds left in the period.

The Condors started off the second period with a change in net, replacing McKee with Yutaka Fukufuji. Bakersfield then scored the lone goal of the period when Matt Pope set up Martin Frechette who scored from the right circle on the power play. Bonk also assisted as the score would be 4-2 Phoenix after two periods.

Bakersfield continued to control the momentum of the game in the third period when Painchaud scored at 7:16 from Bonk, narrowing the RoadRunners' lead to only one goal. The Condors then tied the game at 4-all when Pope scored off a pass from Jay Langager at 15:22 on the power play. Donny Grover also assisted as the score would remain tied, forcing overtime.

"Bakersfield took advantage of their (power plays)," Church said, adding that a lot of calls went their way. "It's tough to get momentum when we're killing a lot of penalties."

After a back-and-forth overtime the RoadRunners were able to capitalize on the power play with nine seconds left as Rome set up Daniels who scored from the left circle, giving Phoenix a 5-4 victory.

"We called a time out to set up the play," Church said, adding that the RoadRunners were aware they only had 30 seconds left in overtime after the penalty was called. "We needed to make the play happen and we were able to capitalize."

Bakersfield out-shot Phoenix 32-28. Kowalski stopped 28 shots to pick up the win and improve to 12-11-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-4 on the power play while Bakersfield was 3-9 with the man-advantage.

Sunday, Bruce Graham scored two goals as he helped lift the Bakersfield Condors over the Phoenix RoadRunners 4-3 in front of 2,350 fans at US Airways Center.

The RoadRunners (15-17-3) got on the board first at 1:44 of the second period when T.J. Campbell netted a puck that just trickled through the five-hole of Condor goalie Yutaka Fukufuji. Gino Guyer and P.J. Fenton assisted. Bakersfield (13-21-5) tied up the game at 4:33 when Brett Pilkington scored from Tyler Michel and Liam Huculak. The Condors then took a 2-1 lead when Graham scored over RoadRunners' goalie Kyle Jones' blocker at 14:07. Mark Derlago and Scott Balan had the assists.

Phoenix tied up the game at 15:38 when Mitch Carefoot set up John McNabb who scored stick side on Fukufuji. Graham gave Bakersfield a 3-2 lead less than a minute later though when he scored from the slot at 16:10 on the power play. Martin Frechette assisted as the Condors would take the lead into the locker room at the second intermission.

"We gave up a bad bounce that led to their power play goal," said RoadRunners' Head Coach Brad Church, adding that three bad mistakes by the RoadRunners led to Bakersfield's three goals that period. "At the end of the day our mistakes cost us the game."

Bakersfield added an insurance goal at 13:07 of the third period when Matt Pope scored to the right of Jones from Frechette, giving the Condors a 4-2 lead. The RoadRunners came back within one goal at 16:39 when Dane Crowley rifled a shot past Fukufuji, but it wasn't enough as the final score would be Bakersfield 4-3 despite pulling Jones in the final minute of the game.

Phoenix out-shot Bakersfield 34-30. Jones stopped 26 shots but suffered the loss to fall to 1-5-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-4 on the power play while Bakersfield was 1-5 with the man-advantage.

GUYER GIVING BACK: Center Gino Guyer has heated up as the calendar has turned from 2008 to 2009. Guyer is currently riding another three-game scoring streak and has at least a point in six out of his last seven games with one goal, eight assists, and nine points in that stretch. Guyer is tied for sixth on the RoadRunners in scoring with six goals and 18 points in 34 games.

FENTON MAKING HIS MARK: Rookie forward P.J. Fenton has made an immediate impact since coming down from Worcester of the American Hockey League. Fenton has two goals and three points with a plus-four rating in his first four games with the RoadRunners. Fenton collected one goal and seven points in 30 games with the Sharks this season. The Springfield, Mass. native served as an assistant captain last season at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and tallied nine goals and a career-best 28 points in 36 games to finish third on the Minutemen in scoring.

BIRD HUNTING: Despite a sub-.500 record to this point in the season, the RoadRunners have enjoyed great success against the Bakersfield Condors and are performing higher than their season averages in just about every statistical category. Phoenix has outscored the Condors 30-24, averaging better than four goals per game. The RoadRunners are also 6-30 on the power play against Bakersfield, which equates to a 20% efficiency rate. In addition, the RoadRunners have scored three of their seven shorthanded goals on the year against the Condors. Phoenix had won five straight against Bakersfield until the Condors victory Sunday and have assured themselves of winning the season series for the first time in the four-year history of the rivalry.

ROUGH ROAD AHEAD: Heading into the ECHL All-Star Break, the RoadRunners have played 24 of their first 35 games at home. That will obviously change in the second half of the year beginning Friday when the RoadRunners finish the season with 25 out of their final 37 games away from the friendly confines of US Airways Center. The RoadRunners are 3-7-1 on the road this season and have been outscored by the opposition 48-20.

NEWS & NOTES: The RoadRunners snapped a five-game road winless streak Friday dating to Nov. 22, 2008, which ironically was in Bakersfield in the form of a 3-2 victory...Defenseman Jim Jorgensen's goal Friday was his first in a RoadRunners' uniform and his first since Dec. 2, 2008 at South Carolina while playing for the Gwinnett Gladiators...Mitch Carefoot snapped a 13-game goal drought with a pair of tallies Friday at Bakersfield...The RoadRunners are tied for seventh in the ECHL with seven shorthanded goals scored, but rank 22nd in the league with 10 shorthanded goals allowed.

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 open a three-game road trip with a two-game series Friday and Sunday at Stockton Arena against the Stockton Thunder. Friday's face-off is at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday's face-off is at 5:00 p.m. local Arizona time. Catch Friday's action live on Independent 1310 KXAM and both 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.

PHOENIX ROADRUNNERS SCHEDULE WEEK OF JANUARY 19TH

Monday, Jan. 19: ECHL All-Star Break

Tuesday, Jan. 20: ECHL All-Star Break

Wednesday, Jan. 21: ECHL All-Star Break

Thursday, Jan. 22: Travel day to Stockton, Calif.; Practice at Stockton Arena TBD

Friday, Jan. 23: Morning skate 12:15PM-1:15PM; Phoenix @ Stockton 8:30PM

Saturday, Jan 24: Practice at Stockton Arena 2PM-3:30PM

Sunday, Jan 25: Phoenix @ Stockton 5PM; Depart for Las Vegas, Nev.



ECHL Stories from January 19, 2009


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