Shutout win caps wild week for RoadRunners

January 29, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


PHOENIX, Ariz. - WEEK RECORD 1-0-0 - SEASON RECORD 21-17-2 - 3RD WEST DIVISION

'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners shutout the Fresno Falcons 3-0 Friday in their lone game of the week. With back-to-back wins and 44 points, the RoadRunners sit in third place in the West Division and seventh overall in the National Conference. Phoenix trails division and conference leader Alaska by 14 points with a game in hand, but is only six points behind Fresno for the #4 seed and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The top eight teams in the National Conference advance to the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs, and currently six out of those eight teams are separated by just nine points.

Friday, three different skaters tallied goals and goaltender Mike Morrison stopped all 23 shots he saw as the Phoenix RoadRunners knocked off the Fresno Falcons 3-0 before 5,171 at the Save Mart Center.

Brock Hooton opened the scoring for the RoadRunners (21-17-2) at 3:29 of the first period with his ninth goal of the season. Hooton re-directed Daniel Winnik's shot from the blue-line past the stick of Fresno (23-13-4) goalie Scott Stirling to give Phoenix an early 1-0 lead.

Olivier Latendresse extended the lead to 2-0 when he slipped the puck off Stirling's right skate and into the back of the net just 1:07 into the second period. Chanse Fitzpatrick would cap the scoring by giving the RoadRunners a 3-0 cushion at 13:07 of the second on a two-man advantage power play as he buried a rebound chance in front over Stirling to the top shelf.

Neither team scored in the third period.

Phoenix out-shot Fresno 32-23. Morrison improved to 8-5-1 by recording his first shutout of the season. The RoadRunners went 1-6 on the power play while Fresno was 0-7 on the man-advantage.

ERASING THOSE SAVE MART BLUES: Not only did the RoadRunners record their second shutout this year, they picked up their first victory in five tries lifetime at Fresno's Save Mart Center. Prior to Friday's game, Phoenix had been outscored 17-10 at the Save Mart Center, including 9-1 in the opening period. The Falcons meanwhile were shutout for the third time this season.

LET'S GO BACK-TO-BACK: The line of Cam Paddock, Olivier Latendresse, and Chanse Fitzpatrick enjoyed their second consecutive solid effort by producing two of the RoadRunners' three goals and five out of the nine total points. Latendresse recorded goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his professional career, while Fitzpatrick lit the lamp for the first time since Dec. 30, snapping an eight-game goal drought. Paddock, Latendresse, and Fitzpatrick have combined for five goals and seven assists in their last two games.

POWER SUPPLY IN FULL: The RoadRunners tallied a power play goal for the fourth consecutive game and are 8-26 (30.7%) on the man-advantage during that stretch. With 59 power play goals to date, Phoenix trails only Gwinnett and Texas in total power play goals and is on a pace to score 106 goals on the man-advantage by the end of the year. Last season Gwinnett was the only team in the league that topped the 100-power play goal plateau with 114, one shy of the ECHL record.

A-PLUS RATING CONTINUES: Following Friday's impressive outing, the RoadRunners are now a plus-17 as a team through their first ten games in January and are looking to finish with a plus-rating for an entire month for the first time this season. Forward Justin Aikins leads the club with a plus-seven rating, and only two players on the active roster have minus-ratings in January.

SECOND PERIODS ARE OUR PERIODS: Phoenix continues to be a dominant second period team. The RoadRunners have outscored their opposition 47-26 in the middle period through the first 40 games. Their plus-21 goal differential is the second largest in the ECHL for any period this season, while the 26 goals allowed are tied for the second fewest allowed by any ECHL team in any period this year.

NEWS & NOTES: The RoadRunners set a new ECHL club record with their 21st win of the season Friday...Morrison recorded his eighth career shutout and his third in the ECHL...Phoenix has killed off 13 consecutive power play chances by their opponents...Forward Todd Jackson was placed on the three-day injured reserve prior to Friday's game. Jackson leads the RoadRunners in January with six goals and nine points so far this month.

"10 MINUTES IN THE BOX" ON 106.7 KWSS-FM: Join your favorite RoadRunners at 9:10 a.m. each and every Wednesday for "10 Minutes in the Box", a new weekly segment devoted entirely to your Phoenix RoadRunners on 106.7 KWSS-FM and online at www.kwss1067.com. "10 Minutes in the Box" will air weekly as part of the "Driving with Gass" radio show hosted by Kevin Gassman, which can be heard Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

"FACE-OFFAGAINST KIDS CANCER" UNDERWAY: The RoadRunners kicked off their first annual "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer" with Phoenix Children's Hospital Sunday by hosting a special Meet and Greet Party. RoadRunners' players and 19 children from across Arizona who suffer from pediatric cancer got together to play board games and tell stories at Phoenix Children's Hospital's Melvin L. Cohen Conference Center. For the next three months, the players and children will participate in a series of social events with the hopes of creating a lasting relationship and increased awareness about childhood cancer in the community. The "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer" will culminate at 7:11 p.m. Saturday, March 17 when the RoadRunners take the ice against the Las Vegas Wranglers wearing special commemorative jerseys dedicated to those Phoenix Children's patients participating in the program. These jerseys will be auctioned off immediately after the game with the proceeds benefiting the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Phoenix Children's Hospital and Caps For Kids, a national non-profit organization which provides hats autographed by athletes and celebrities to children who lose their hair due to the effects of chemotherapy. For more information or to find out how you can be apart of the "Face-Off Against Kids Cancer", contact the RoadRunners at (602) 379-7870.

WATCH THE 'RUNNERS LIVE IN '06-07: The RoadRunners have teamed up with B2 Networks to bring you live action of Phoenix RoadRunners hockey in 2006-07. 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, Las Vegas, Stockton, Utah, and Bakersfield. A cable or DSL Internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 are required to view the games.

UP NEXT: The RoadRunners return to US Airways Center at 7:11 p.m. Tuesday as they welcome the Stockton Thunder before opening a three-game series Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at the "E"-Center in West Valley City against the Utah Grizzlies. The puck drops all three nights in Utah at 7:05 p.m. Catch all the action live at www.phxroadrunners.com beginning with "RoadRunners Countdown" 20 minutes prior to face-off. Individual game tickets for the 2006-07 regular season start as low $7 in the lower section and can be purchased at the US Airways Center Box Office and at all Ticketmaster outlets including Ticketmaster.com. Information on season tickets, half-season packages, and flex plans are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.



ECHL Stories from January 29, 2007


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