Sports stats

Roadrunners to Play Four Games in Five Days

February 23, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Edmonton Road Runners News Release


The Toronto Roadrunners (24-24-8-2) play four games in five days this week, including three at the Ricoh Coliseum. Toronto begins the week on the road when they meet the Syracuse Crunch on Wedneday, February 25. The Roadrunners then play three games at home, beginning on Thursday, February 26 when they face the Hamilton Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. Toronto faces the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins back-to-back on Saturday, February 28 (4:00 p.m.) and Sunday, February 29 (5:00 p.m.).

The Roadrunners won all three games they played last week, to equal their longest winning streak of the season (three games). The Roadrunners beat the Cleveland Barons 4-1 on Thursday, February 19, and then defeated the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks twice: on Friday, February 20 (2-0) and Sunday, February 22 (3-1).

Roadrunners Hit .500 Mark

The Roadrunners reached the .500 mark for the first time in franchise history when they defeated the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks 4-1 on Sunday, February 22 at Ricoh Coliseum to improve their record to 24-24-8-2.

Toronto on six game home winning streak

With three straight wins at home last week, Toronto stretched its home unbeaten streak to a franchise record six games. The Roadrunners are 7-1-2 in their last ten home games, and 7-3 in their last ten games overall.

Roadrunners solid between the pipes

The Roadrunners allowed just two goals in three games this past week. Michael Morrison stopped 28 of 29 shots as Toronto defeated Cleveland 4-1 on Thursday, February 19. Stephen Valiquette allowed one goal in two games against the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, stopping a total of 62 shots.

Luoma and Hunter record first career AHL game winning goals

Roadrunners' rookies J.J. Hunter and Mikko Luoma each recorded their first career AHL game winning goals this past week. Hunter's came when Toronto defeated Cleveland 4-1 on Thursday, February 18, while Luoma netted his on Friday, February 19, in a 2-0 victory over Cincinnati.

Roadrunners Season Individual Leaders

Goals: Jamie Wright (17)
Assists: Jamie Wright (23)
Points: Jamie Wright (40)
PIM: Rocky Thompson (149)
+/-: Michael Henrich (+10)
Wins: Morrison/Valiquette (11)
Appearances: Stephen Valiquette (32)
GAA: Michael Morrison (2.61)
Save Percentage: Stephen Valiquette (0.909)

Last Week's Results

Date Opponent Score GWG Roadrunners/Opponent Goaltending ATT.
Feb 19 Cleveland W 4-1 Hunter Morrison (1GA, 28 SV)/Kotyk (3GA, 24 SV) 5,114
Feb 20 Cincinnati W 2-0 Luoma Valiquette (0GA, 32 SV)/Bryzgalov (1GA, 17 SV) 3,691
Feb 22 Cincinnati W 4-1 McAslan Valiquette (1GA, 31 SV)/Bryzgalov (4GA, 28 SV) 3,849

Roadrunners' Schedule This Week

Wed. Feb. 25 Toronto Roadrunners at Syracuse Crunch - War Memorial at Oncenter - 7:00 p.m.
Thurs. Feb. 26 Hamilton Bulldogs at Toronto Roadrunners - Ricoh Coliseum - 7:00 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 28 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Toronto Roadrunners - Ricoh Coliseum - 4:00 p.m.
Sun. Feb. 29 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Toronto Roadrunners - Ricoh Coliseum - 5:00 p.m.

The Week Ahead

Toronto Roadrunners at Syracuse Crunch

Wednesday, February 25 - War Memorial at Oncenter - 7:00 p.m.

The Roadrunners face the Crunch for the fifth time this season ... Toronto leads the season series with a record of 2-1-1 ... the Roadrunners trail the Crunch by six points for third place in the North Division ... forwards Nate DiCasmirro (3g-1a) and J.J. Hunter (2g-2a) have led the Roadrunners offensively against the Crunch this season ... Joe Motzko has two goals and one assist against Toronto this season ... Toronto has outshot Syracuse by a total of 54 shots (163 to 109) in their four meetings this season ...Crunch forward Jeremy Reich has 2g-3a-5pts in his last five games ... Donald MacLean leads the Crunch and is tied for seventh in the league in scoring with 21g-29a-50pts in 55 games this season ... Syracuse has the second ranked power play in the AHL (53 goals on 289 opportunities - 18.3%)

NEXT MEETING: Sunday, March 21 at Toronto

Hamilton Bulldogs at Toronto Roadrunners

Thursday, February 26 - Ricoh Coliseum - 7:00 p.m.

This game marks the tenth meeting between these two clubs, with Toronto leading the season series with a record of 6-1-1-1 ... Toronto has scored eight goals on 43 power play opportunities (18.6%), while allowing four power play goals in 39 shorthanded situations (89.7%) against Hamilton this season ... Roadrunners goaltender Stephen Valiquette is undefeated against the Bulldogs this season (4-0-1), with a 1.58 GAA, .952 save percentage and one shutout ... the Bulldogs have the fifth best penalty killing unit in the league, operating at 87.9% (33 power play goals against in 272 times shorthanded) ... Hamilton has scored an average of 2.93 goals per game, which is fourth most in the league ... Bulldogs forward Jozef Balej is fifth in league scoring with 24g-31a-54pts in 52 games

NEXT MEETING: Saturday, March 27 at Toronto

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Toronto Roadrunners

Saturday, February 28 - Ricoh Coliseum - 4:00 p.m.

Friday, February 29 - Ricoh Coliseum - 5:00 p.m. Toronto faces Wilkes-Barre for the third and fourth time this season ... the clubs split the first two games, with each team winning by a score of 5-2 ... Jani Rita scored Toronto's game winning goal, while Michel Ouellett potted the game winning marker for Wilkes-Barre ... Roadrunners defencemen Doug Lynch is +3 against the Penguins this season ... Penguins forward Michel Oullett leads all rookies with 23 goals and is tied fifth in scoring among rookies with 34 points ... Penguins defencemen Patrick Boileau has at least one assist in each of his last three games, recording four helpers during the streak

NEXT MEETING: Playoffs / Next Season

Roadrunners Tickets

Fans can purchase tickets for Roadrunners home games at the Ricoh Coliseum Box Office, at all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling Ticketmaster at (416) 872-5000 or on the Internet by visiting www.ticketmaster.ca. For group or season tickets, please call the Roadrunners' office at (416) 263-3900.



American Hockey League Stories from February 23, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Edmonton Road Runners Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central