RoadRunners Week In Review

November 14, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


Phoenix, Ariz. - WEEK RECORD 0-1-2 - SEASON RECORD 3-6-2 - 6th WEST DIVISION

‘RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners dropped three consecutive one-goal games last week, yet still earned two points in two shootout losses. The RoadRunners are currently sixth in the West Division with eight points, eight points behind first place leaders Idaho and Utah.

Wednesday, Grew Hewitt stopped all four RoadRunners' shooters in the shootout and Cory Urquhart was credited with the game-winning goal to lift the Long Beach Ice Dogs to a 5-4 victory over Phoenix before 2819 at America West Arena.

Long Beach (4-4-1) opened the scoring with a power play goal 14:03 into the first period. James Sanford's shot deflected off a RoadRunners defenseman to the welcoming stick of Ash Goldie who slapped the puck into the upper-right corner of the net past goaltender Mike Mole to give the Ice Dogs a 1-0 lead. Sean MacAslan made it 2-0 just 20 seconds later at 14:23 when he collected Mac Faulkner's rebound in front of the net and slipped it past Mole to extend Long Beach's lead.

Phoenix (3-5-1) responded with three unanswered goals in the second period. With the RoadRunners on the power play, Joe Dusbabek stripped Steeve Villeneuve of the puck in the corner, fed a streaking Shawn Snider heading to the cage, and watched as Snider lifted a backhand shot past Long Beach goaltender Greg Hewitt at 2:57 to cut the deficit to 2-1. Cory Pecker netted the equalizer at 6:08 of the period when his shot ricocheted off the glass behind Hewitt and bounced back off Hewitt's mask and into the net to tie the score at 2-2. Pecker struck again and gave the RoadRunners their first lead of the game at 15:39 when he received Dean Tiltgen's centering pass at the left-wing circle and beat Hewitt with a shot over the glove to make the score 3-2.

The lead would not last for long as Derick Martin netted the equalizer at 11:03 of the third period to tie the game at 3-3. Adam Kostichka regained the lead for the RoadRunners just 1:36 later when he deflected J.F Soucy's shot past Hewitt at 12:46 to make the score 4-3. However, Chris Kenady tied the score once again at 4-4 when off a turnover, he collected Christian Larrivee's pass at the side of the net and slapped the puck past Mole at 14:34.

Long Beach out-shot Phoenix 42-27. Mole stopped 38 shots in taking the shootout loss. The RoadRunners went 1-4 on the power play.

Friday, Rookie Ash Goldie tallied a goal and an assist and collected the game-winning goal in the shootout to lead the Long Beach Ice Dogs to a 3-2 shootout win over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 5,050 at America West Arena.

Long Beach (5-4-1) opened the scoring at 14:32 of the first period when Mike Woodford on a wrap-around collected his first professional goal shooting the puck of goaltender Mike Mole's pads and into the net for a 1-0 lead.

Phoenix (3-5-2) netted the equalizer at 18:28 of the second period. An Ice Dogs' turnover led to a two-on-one rush and Joe Dusbabek finished off a Jason Deskins pass, beating Long Beach goaltender Greg Hewitt over the glove to tie the game at 1-1.

Goldie regained the lead for the Ice Dogs at 1:55 of the third period on the power play when his one-time shot from the right-wing circle found its way into the back net over Mole's glove to give Long Beach a 2-1 advantage. Yet the RoadRunners would counter when Cory Pecker re-directed Paul Ballantyne's point shot past Hewitt at 16:44 on the power play to knot the score at 2-2 and send the game to overtime and the eventual shootout.

Long Beach out-shot Phoenix 47-25. Mole made a career-high 45 saves in falling to 0-3-2 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-7 on the power play.

Saturday, Jonathan Shockey collected a pair of assists and goaltender Tom Lawson stopped 20 of 21 shots to lead the San Diego Gulls to a 2-1 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 3603 at the ipayOne Center.

All the scoring came in the middle period. San Diego (3-5-2) struck first when Jesse Bennefield took a drop pass from Frantisek Skladany in the slot and beat RoadRunners goaltender Mike Mole along the ice 4:00 into the second for a 1-0 lead. Dean Tiltgen netted the equalizer for the RoadRunners (3-6-2) when his blast from the left-wing boards beat Tom Lawson over the glove at 9:58. Yet the Gulls would regain the lead at 14:45 of the second when Guillaume Fournier finished off a two-on-one rush, pushing the puck past Mole for a 2-1 advantage and what proved to be the game-winning goal.

San Diego out-shot Phoenix 36-21. Mole stopped 34 shots in suffering the loss to fall to 0-4-2. The RoadRunners went 0-4 on the power play.

TOUGH TIMES: The RoadRunners are winless in their last six games with a record of 0-4-2. In that stretch, Phoenix has been outscored 27-14 and out-shot 241-142. The RoadRunners are currently tied for 11th in the ECHL in total offense averaging 3.27 goals per game, and 24th in the league in total defense averaging exactly four goals against per game. Phoenix is a -9.91 in average shot differential with 27.73 shots per game and 37.64 shots against.

GULLS POWER PLAY STYMIED AGAIN: The RoadRunners penalty kill is a perfect 33-33 against the San Diego Gulls this season after Sunday's 13-13 effort. The 13 power play attempts and penalty kills were both season highs, eclipsing the 12-12 performance against the Gulls back on October 28 at America West Arena. Phoenix is 23rd in the ECHL on the penalty kill, surrendering 16 power play goals in 75 chances, a 78.7% efficiency rate.

MAGICAL MOLE: Despite still searching for his first professional victory, rookie goaltender Mike Mole was exceptional last week in stopping 117 of 125 shots. The Orleans, Ontario native finished the week with a 2.52 goals against average and a .936% save percentage. Mole made a career-high 38 saves in Wednesday's shootout loss to Long Beach, only to eclipse that with a 45 save effort in Friday's shootout loss to the Ice Dogs. Mole is 0-4-2 on the season with a 3.64 goals against average and a .896% save percentage.

STILL GOING AND GOING AND GOING... Forward Cory Pecker extended his career-best scoring streak to 11 games after picking up an assist in Sunday's loss at San Diego. Beginning Opening Night at Utah on October 21, Pecker has nine goals and 19 points, including seven multiple-point games. The Montreal, Quebec native opened the season with six consecutive multiple-point games. For a fourth straight Monday, Pecker leads the ECHL scoring race.

ROADRUNNERS UPCOMING PROMOTIONS: Phoenix returns to America West Arena at 7:11PM on Monday, November 21 when they host the Victoria Salmon Kings. The RoadRunners will be hosting a food drive on the concourse throughout the evening to benefit the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Bring a canned good or non-perishable item with you to the game to ensure that those less fortunate have a memorable Thanksgiving, and receive a voucher for a free ticket to a future RoadRunners game.

Phoenix will host "Turn Back the Clock Night" at 7:11PM on Saturday, November 26 against the Long Beach Ice Dogs. The RoadRunners will wear vintage sweaters from the 1977-78 season when they captured the Pacific Hockey League Championship. These jerseys will be auctioned off following the game. It's also the second of six "Past Great Nights" at America West Arena as the RoadRunners honor former International Hockey League star and team broadcaster Darren Veitch. Fans will receive a commemorative Darren Veitch pint glass upon exiting the arena. In addition, Lord Stanley's Cup will be on display. For more information or to order tickets, call a RoadRunners Sales Representative at (602) 462-GOAL or purchase online at www.phxroadrunners.com.

NEWS & NOTES: The RoadRunners are dealing with their share of injuries right now. Defenseman Ed Hill was placed on the seven-day injured reserve and defenseman Paul Ballantyne was placed on the 30-day injured reserve on Sunday. Ballantyne is the third player this season to be placed on the 30-day IR joining forwards Ben Knopp and Miguel Lafleche. In addition, forward Joe Dusbabek will have surgery this week and join Hill on the seven-day IR. Defenseman Brad Woods and forward Blake Robson were each activated from the injured list prior to Sunday's game against San Diego...The RoadRunners drew 5,050 fans to America West Arena on Friday and are averaging 3,642 fans through eight home games...Speaking of America West Arena, the building will receive a new name on Monday. The name change comes as a result of the recent merger between America West Airlines and US Airways that was completed earlier this year.

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 will travel to the E-Center in West Valley City, Utah to battle the Utah Grizzlies in a pair of games at 7:05PM on Friday and Saturday. Catch both games live on News Talk Radio 1100AM KFNX and Pro Sports Radio beginning with "RoadRunners Countdown" twenty minutes before opening face-off.



ECHL Stories from November 14, 2005


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