Sweet Sweep To Open 2007-08 Season

Published on October 22, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release


'RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners opened the 2007-08 season by sweeping a three-game weekend series from the visiting Utah Grizzlies at US Airways Center. The RoadRunners 3-0-0 start is their best since returning to the Valley prior to the 2005-06 season, and is currently the best record in the entire ECHL.

Friday, eight different players registered a point to lead the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 4-2 win over the Utah Grizzlies before an Opening Night crowd of 4,429 at US Airways Center.

Phoenix (1-0-0) opened the scoring with their first goal of the season at 13:19. Thatcher Bell jumped off the bench, collected the puck, and fired a slap shot past the out-stretched stick of Utah goalie Brett Jaeger to give the RoadRunners a 1-0 lead.

Utah (0-1-0) responded with a Justin Bourne goal at 4:45 of the second period to tie the game at 1-1. The Grizzlies then took their first lead of the night when Christian Gaudet finished off Scott Burt's centering feed at 13:23 giving Utah a 2-1 advantage. But the RoadRunners would storm back to tie the game at 2-2 just 1:35 seconds later on the power play as Justin Maiser re-directed Dave Pszenyczny's shot from the right point past Jaeger at 14:58 of the second.

The RoadRunners would break the tie early in the third period. Sean O'Connor beat Jaeger with a slap shot over the left shoulder at 6:43 giving Phoenix a 3-2 lead. Daniel Sisca sealed the win with a shorthanded goal at 15:40 off a turnover in the Utah zone.

Phoenix out-shot Utah 33-28. RoadRunners goalie Cody Rudkowsky stopped 26 shots to earn his first win of the season. The RoadRunners went 1-9 on the power play while Utah was 0-9 on the man-advantage.

Saturday, six different players scored and goaltender Nathan Lawson stopped all 27 shots he saw in his first career professional start to propel the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 6-0 win over the Utah Grizzlies before 4,273 at US Airways Center.

The RoadRunners (2-0-0) took advantage of an undisciplined Utah (0-2-0) team in the first period capitalizing for three power play goals. Daniel Sisca opened the scoring at 3:02 of the first tapping the puck behind Grizzlies goalie Brett Jaeger to give the RoadRunners an early 1-0 lead. Justin Maiser made it 2-0 at 10:48 on the power play when he jammed Dave Pszenyczny's rebound past Jaeger from the top of the goal mouth. Scott Kelman finished the power play scoring at 12:40 whipping a shot past Jaeger from the right-wing circle and making it 3-0 after one period.

Phoenix continued to pour it on in the second period with goals exactly two minutes apart from Pszenyczny at 14:49 and Sean O'Connor at 16:49 to build a 5-0 lead.

Reagan Rome capped the scoring with his first goal of the season at 8:39 of the third period.

Phoenix out-shot Utah 30-27. Lawson earned the win in his first career start to go to 1-0-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 3-6 on the power play while Utah was 0-8 on the man-advantage.

Sunday, Daniel Sisca tallied a pair of goals and added an assist to lead the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 6-2 victory and a three-game weekend sweep of the Utah Grizzlies before 2,814 at US Airways Center.

For a second consecutive night, the RoadRunners (3-0-0) ambushed Utah with three first period goals. Sisca opened the scoring just 3:05 into the period on the power play when he beat Grizzlies goalie Brett Jaeger over the left shoulder with a wrist shot from the right-wing circle for a 1-0 lead. Jeff Kyrzakos tallied his first goal of the season at 11:40 when his shot from the left boards deflected off Jaeger's glove and went into the net. Ian Turner capped the first period scoring for Phoenix finishing off a pretty three-way play between Sisca and Scott Kelman tapping the puck into the net and giving the RoadRunners a 3-0 advantage.

The Grizzlies (0-3-0) would break a long scoring drought dating back to the second period on Friday when Rob Sirianni shot the puck off RoadRunners' goalie Cody Rudkowsky's right shoulder and into the net at 5:41 to cut the deficit to 3-1. Peder Skinner responded with his first career goal on a two-man advantage power play at 8:31 giving the RoadRunners their three-goal lead back. However, 59 seconds after Skinner's goal, Ryan Kinasewich found the back of the net for his first goal of the season at 9:30 to bring the Grizzlies back to within two at 4-2. But with the Grizzlies on a power play late in the period, Justin Maiser beat Jaeger with a wrist shot from the right-wing boards at 19:45 shorthanded to make it 5-2 after two periods.

Sisca capped off the scoring with his second goal of the night at 1:28 of the third period.

Utah out-shot Phoenix 37-34. Rudkowsky stopped 35 shots to earn the win and improve to 2-0-0 on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-7 on the power play while holding Utah scoreless on seven tries on the man-advantage.

BALANCED ATTACK: 16 of the RoadRunners' 17 skaters recorded at least one point during Opening Weekend, led by center Daniel Sisca who is tied for the ECHL scoring lead with four goals and six points after three games. Sisca and forward Justin Maiser are each riding three-game goal streaks, while forward Chris Stevens along with defensemen Dave Pszenyczny and Chris Murray all currently have three-game assist streaks.

THE COMEBACK KID: Pszenyczny meanwhile appeared in his first regular season game Friday since severing multiple arteries and tendons in his right forearm on Feb. 9, 2007 at Sullivan Arena in Alaska. The Sterling Heights, Mich. native and second-year professional underwent emergency surgery at Alaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage and missed the final 26 games of the regular season and all four post-season games. Showing no rust whatsoever despite the eight-month layoff, Pszenyczny is tied for seventh in the ECHL in scoring along with teammate Chris Murray with one goal and three assists. Pszenyczny's goal Saturday was his first since Jan. 31, 2007 at Utah, and combined with an assist and a fight gave him his first career "Gordie Howe Hat-Trick".

AN IMPENETRABLE WALL: Goalies Cody Rudkowsky and rookie Nathan Lawson combined to stop 88 of 92 Utah shots over the weekend, a stellar .956% save percentage. Lawson became the first rookie goalie in RoadRunners' ECHL history to record a shutout in his first professional start. The Calgary, Alberta native went 10-15-2 in 27 starts last season as a member of the University of Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves.

IT'S OUR SPECIALITY: The RoadRunners currently are tied for the ECHL lead with six power play goals, and rank fifth overall in power play efficiency at 27.3%. Even more impressive is the RoadRunners' penalty kill unit, which stopped all 24 Utah power play attempts over the weekend.

HOME SWEET HOME: With Friday's victory, the RoadRunners snapped a seven-game home losing streak at US Airways Center dating back to Feb. 23, 2007. Phoenix also set a new ECHL team record with their third straight home win Sunday after never winning more than two straight at the "Purple Palace" in the first two seasons. The RoadRunners are currently in the midst of a season-opening 12-game home-stand.

NEWS & NOTES: Rookie centers Thatcher Bell and Peder Skinner tallied their first professional goals...Forward Sean O'Connor scored his first regular season goal Friday since April 4, 2006. O'Connor appeared in just five regular season games in 2006-07 with the Las Vegas Wranglers after suffering an injury in training camp...The RoadRunners Friday announced a two-year affiliation agreement with the San Jose Sharks of the NHL and the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League.

WATCH THE 'RUNNERS LIVE IN '07-08: 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 continue their season-opening 12-game home-stand at 7:11 p.m. Wednesday against the Stockton Thunder, and at 7:11 p.m. Friday against the Bakersfield Condors. Great seats are still available beginning as low as $8 and can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at (480) 784-4444, purchasing online ticketmaster.com or visiting the US Airways Center Box Office. Information on season tickets, half-season packages, and flex plans for the 2007-08 season of Phoenix RoadRunners Hockey are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.

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ECHL Stories from October 22, 2007


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