'Runners Derailed as Bandits Sweep
March 20, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Topeka Pilots News Release
Saturday night in Topeka the RoadRunners found themselves in a hole early and were never able to recover as the St. Louis Bandits cruised to a 5-1 win to complete a rare weekend sweep by the visiting team in Landon Arena.
Only five penalties were called all night in Friday's 3-2 loss, but Saturday saw 9 penalties assessed in the first period alone. The first one came before the puck dropped, as the Bandits were tardy taking the ice to start the game. The next four penalties all came against the 'Runners, and St. Louis took advantage. Stephen Bopp easily put back the rebound of a Grant Gettinger shot at 5:47 on the power play for a 1-0 lead, and Brad Smith tucked in a rebound at 10:15 putting St. Louis up 2-0. Zach Schrotenboer put a shot off the pipe but buried his own rebound to cut the Bandit lead in half at 14:15, also on a power play, but St. Louis answered with Stephen Bopp's second goal of the evening at 18:23, also with a man advantage. St. Louis led 3-1 after one.
For the remaining forty minutes, St. Louis went into lockdown mode and kept Topeka off balance. The first two shots of the period for the Bandits didn't come until the midpoint of the frame but when both found the back of the net, the 'Runners opted to switch goalies for the second time in as many nights, bringing Eric Rohrkemper on in relief of Rasmus Tirronen. At 8:07, Kevin Crowe one-timed a shot through the legs of Tirronen, and at 9:37 Evan Stibbard spun and whistled a shot into the net right off a faceoff that prompted the goalie change. Amazingly, Rohrkemper only had to face 3 shots on goal in the final 30 minutes of play. The Bandits were content to spread the ice out and force the 'Runners to chase the puck. Topeka managed 30 shots on net while allowing only 15, but St. Louis goalie Tom Comunale stopped 29 of them to post the win. The victory clinched the North Division title for the Bandits, who improve to 39-13-4. For the RoadRunners, it was the first time they had lost both games in regulation in a home series since Oct.24 and 25, 2008 when the Bandits pulled off the rare feat.
Topeka (42-11-3) has a short week to prepare as Amarillo comes to town on Wednesday and Thursday to close out the RoadRunners regular season. Faceoff is set for 7:05 pm both nights with the pregame show beginning at 6:45 pm. Audio coverage is available at countrylegends1069.com and also in the arena at 88.9 FM, with video coverage available on pay-per-view at FASTHockey.com. Links for the broadcasts are accessible on the teams official website at topekaroadrunners.com.
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North American Hockey League Stories from March 20, 2011
- Bulls Fall to IceRays in Wild Night - Amarillo Bulls
- Bandits Take Pair from Roadrunners - St. Louis Bandits
- No Bull About It, Corpus Christi Drubs Amarillo, 10-3 - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Former Star Lehtinen Scores Two, But Tornado Win Pros/Prospects, 8-6 - Texas Tornado
- Bruins Chilled in Sunday Loss - Austin Bruins
- Stars Bounce Back, 4-2 - Traverse City North Stars
- 'Runners Derailed as Bandits Sweep - Topeka Pilots
- Bulls Can Clinch 2nd Place And Home Ice With Win Tonight - Amarillo Bulls
- Bulls beat IceRays 3-2 on Saturday night - Amarillo Bulls
- Wild Sweep Monsters in Final Regular-Season Series - Wenatchee Wild
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