Wildcatters Halt RoadRunners 7-3
March 6, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. - Daniel Sparre recorded his second career hat-trick and added an assist to propel the Texas Wildcatters to a 7-3 win over the Phoenix RoadRunners in the opening game of a two-game series before 2,884 at US Airways Center in ECHL action Tuesday.
Texas (33-18-9) erupted for three goals in the first six minutes of the game. Olivier Proulx opened the scoring 54 seconds in as he re-directed Keith McWilliams' shot from the point past the blocker of RoadRunners goaltender Cody Rudkowsky to give the Wildcatters a 1-0 lead. Leon Hayward extended the lead to two goals as he deflected Mike Madill's shot from the blue line off the glove of Rudkowsky and into the net at 4:17 on the power play. 47 seconds after Hayward's goal, Sparre capped the scoring as he beat Rudkowsky with a slap shot along the ice at 5:04 to make it 3-0 after one period.
Sparre added his second goal of the game at 5:35 of the second period on the power play as he cleaned up Jonathan Paiement's rebound in front and snapped it into the back of the net to increase the Texas advantage to 4-0.
A wild third period saw a combined six goals scored with each team netting three apiece. The RoadRunners (25-29-5) cut the deficit to 4-2 in the first three minutes of play as Lance Monych and Justin Aikins potted tallies at 30 seconds and 2:15 respectively. Brandin Cote scored his first of two in the period as he tipped Kevin Baker's centering pass by Mike Morrison on in relief of Cody Rudkowsky at 7:56 to make it a 5-2 game. Tommy Maxwell got the RoadRunners back to within two as he beat a sprawling Texas goalie Matt Yeats at 8:36 of the period, but Cote potted his second of the game at 11:10 on the power play and Sparre finished the hat-trick at 16:28 to cap off the scoring.
Texas out-shot Phoenix 38-22. Morrison stopped 22 shots and took the loss to fall to 9-10-3 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-4 on the power play while Texas was 3-6 with the man-advantage.
Notes: Forwards Brock Hooton and Chanse Fitzpatrick each extended their respective point streaks to five games...Phoenix fell behind by two goals or more for the 11th time in 22 games since the ECHL All-Star Break...The seven goals allowed by Phoenix is a season-high...On the eve before the ECHL trade deadline, the RoadRunners were involved in a minor transaction. Phoenix acquired defenseman Niko Tuomi from Pensacola to complete the trade for goaltender Mike Mole, and promptly traded Tuomi to Charlotte to complete the previous trades for defensemen Ren Fauci and Mathew Deschamps.
Phoenix returns to US Airways Center at 7:11 p.m. Thursday as they close out their two-game series with the Texas Wildcatters. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
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.
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ECHL Stories from March 6, 2007
- Wildcatters Halt RoadRunners 7-3 - Phoenix RoadRunners
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