'Runners Top Texas in 3-2 Win
February 25, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Topeka Pilots News Release
Entering the final weekend of the years longest road trip, RoadRunners head coach Scott Langer knew his team would need to stay focused against the team directly behind them in the NAHL South. Topeka answered the bell, pulling out a hard fought 3-2 road win to increase their South Division lead to 11 points.
It was a scoreless first period, but only because of a controversial "no goal" call that deflected off the shin of RoadRunner forward Andrew White into the net but was waved off despite the absence of a kicking motion. Texas outshot Topeka in the first period 8-6.
The RoadRunners took a second period lead when Joe Van Antwerp fired home a power play tally from the midpoint at 8:11, assisted by Jacob Poe and Ryan White. Texas caught a break later in the period when a Runner defenseman bumped into Rasmus Tirronen knocking him off his feet after making an initial save, and Tornado forward Nate Sliwinski slid a low shot under him to tie the game at 1-1, which is how the period ended.
In the third, Texas took a 2-1 lead when Jack Prince tucked the puck into a net that had clearly become dislodged but the goal was allowed to stand at the 5:00 mark. Topeka tied it up when Dan Dupell found Zach Schrotenboer at 8:06 in front of the Tornado net for the game tying goal. The game winner came with the 'Runners on the penalty kill, as Brian Christie sent a right feed ahead to a streaking Nate Milam who buried the shot from a steep angle at 15:33 for a 3-2 lead that ended up being the final margin. Rasmus Tirronen stopped 26 shots in picking up the win. The RoadRunners improve to 5-1-1 vs Texas this season.
Topeka (36-9-3) and Texas (29-13-6) meet for the final time in the regular season on Saturday after a day off Friday. Faceoff is 7:30 pm, and will be aired live via countrylegends1069.com and also available on pay-per-view at FASTHockey.com.
ROADRUNNER RAMBLINGS
* Forward Nate Milam tied two franchise records with his shorthanded goal. The first is for shorthanded goals in a season (5) held by Matt Hartmann. The second is for career shorthanded goals (7) also held by Hartmann.
* The RoadRunners have a five point lead over St. Louis in the race for the NAHL Regular Season Championship. Last season Topeka missed out on the title by virtue of a tiebreaker after finishing with the same winning percentage as Wenatchee.
* The RoadRunners are 5-1-0 on their current 7-game road trip. They are 17-1-1 since New Years.
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North American Hockey League Stories from February 25, 2011
- Coulee Region Holds off Bobcat Rally - Bismarck Bobcats
- Amarillo Storms Past Corpus Christi, 7-3 - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Bulls Host Corpus Christi Looking To Extend Winning Ways - Amarillo Bulls
- 'Runners Top Texas in 3-2 Win - Topeka Pilots
- Bulls Blank New Mexico 3-0 - Amarillo Bulls
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