'Runners Breeze by Wildcats in 5-1 Win
December 10, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Topeka Pilots News Release
The Topeka RoadRunners jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back, sailing to a 5-1 win over Wichita Falls on Friday night in Landon Arena.
Forward Ben Bahe, who has shown a knack for scoring in bunches, got Topeka on the board just :36 seconds into the game. Bahe first cleared his own zone with a chip pass to Linus Johansson who skated it into the Wichita Falls zone and slid it back to Bahe who moved across the slot before backhanding a shot behind goalie Matt Leon for the 1-0 lead. Johansson set Bahe up again at 7:40 for a snapshot up high, doubling the lead to 2-0 and prompting the Wildcats to spend their timeout. Brian Christie notched an assist on the play as well. On Topeka's first power play, a Michal Pastor shot from the midpoint was initially denied but Sean Gaffney batted it home for a 3-0 lead at 9:42, with Ben Bahe registering an assist, his third point of the night in less than half a period. At 11:29, the 'Runners struck again, this time creating some havoc with an aggressive forecheck resulting in a scoring chance for James Ring who buried it, assisted by newcomer Zak Thompson and Kyle Sharkey. A RoadRunner defensive zone miscommunication behind the goal line set up the lone WIldcat goal at 18:06, scored by Ben Kucera and set up by Patrick Yudez. The 'Runners led 4-1 after 1, despite being outshot 12-9.
Topeka added another goal early in the second period when Ryan White worked the puck down the left wing and around the net where he centered a pass to Dan Dupell. Dupell's one timer from the low slot went off the paddle of Leon's goal stick and rolled across the line at 2:36 for a 5-1 Topeka lead. The 'Runners maintained pressure, outshooting the 'Cats in the second period 13-6. At the media timeout at the 9:20 mark, Wichita Falls opted to switch goalies, bringing Ryan Kellenberger on in relief. He would turn aside all 17 shots he faced in the remainder of the game, but got no help offensively and Peter Traber methodically turned aside 24 of 25 shots at the other end of the rink to pick up his 7th win on the year.
Topeka (17-10-2) and Wichita Falls (9-16-2) meet for the final time in Topeka this season on Saturday evening at 7:05. The 'Runners have won all 5 meetings this season. The teams will play twice more in Wichita Falls in March.
North American Hockey League Stories from December 10, 2011
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