'Runners Crush Mustangs to Secure Sweep
December 20, 2010 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Topeka Pilots News Release
After squeaking out a 2-1 victory on a last minute goal on Friday, the Topeka RoadRunners exploded early on Saturday to ensure no such heroics were required as the' Runners cruised to a 9-1 win over New Mexico to close out the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule.
From the opening faceoff it was evident that Topeka was far more focused and much more crisp than they had been the previous evening. On a night where fans had been encouraged to bring a stuffed animal to throw on the ice after the 'Runners scored their first goal of the evening, it took just over 10 minutes for Topeka to light the lamp and launch a barrage of teddy bears. The goal was scored by Cory Ramsey at 10:19 as he deflected in a Jacob Poe pass from a steep angle. After the celebration and subsequent stuffed animal collection, New Mexico scored on their first shot of the game at 10:42 when their leading scorer Jimmy Peplinksi fired a shot over the shoulder of Eric Rohrkemper from the left wing to tie the game at a goal apiece. At 15:03 Topeka retook the lead for good when Ryan White smoked a power play shot home from the left wing side assisted by Justin Hussar andBob Marx. The floodgates opened as less than a minute later a Jordan Davis faceoff win fed Cory Ramsey who blistered a shot upstairs for a 3-1 lead. Just :36 seconds later Ryan White took advantage of a pretty pass from Zach Schrotenboer out of the low right wing corner and the lead grew to 4-1. Still not finished, the 'Runners added yet another tally when defenseman Mason Miller backhanded a rebound off Mustang goalie Marco Wieser into the net for a 5-1 lead that stood after the opening 20 minutes of play.
On a night that was just "one of those nights" for the visiting New Mexico Mustangs, the RoadRunner lead grew to 6-1 when a Chris Bond slapshot went off the goalies stick and into the top corner of the net at 4:58. Another Chris Bond shot exactly 4:00 minutes later was deflected home by Zach Schrotenboer for his first goal of the season, and Topeka led 7-1 after two periods of play, outshooting the Mustangs 24-9.
The third period saw things slow down a bit but Topeka still managed another pair of goals, both on the power play. The first of the two came at 6:45 off the stick of Justin Hussar and then at 12:21 Zach Schrotenboer buried his second goal of the evening for the 9-1 lead that proved to be the final. Eric Rohrkemper turned aside 13 shots, improving to 6-2-2 on the year and 19-4-4 in his career with Topeka.
Topeka (19-7-2) returns to action on Dec. 31 to face the Amarillo Bulls (19-5-2) at Landon Arena. With 40 points each, each team trails Texas by 3 points for the NAHL South Division lead. Topeka has three games in hand on the Texas Tornado but Amarillo has two games in hand on Topeka. The RoadRunners are 1-2-1 vs the Bulls this year. The New Years Eve game will start at 6:05 pm, and the January 1, 2011 game moves back to the normal 7:05 start time.
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North American Hockey League Stories from December 20, 2010
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- NAHL Announces Players of the Week - NAHL
- 'Runners Crush Mustangs to Secure Sweep - Topeka Pilots
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