The RoadRunners were described by Ben as “affordable family fun” and I couldn’t have agreed more. With its crowd pleasing mascot “Rocky”, Blue Crew members working the fans, and inexpensive lower level seating, the RoadRunners seemed like a recipe for success. So what happened?

“The team was just not viable in this market” There just didn’t seem to be enough fan dollars to go around. Could it have been the the competition of having an NHL team in the same city? Although it has worked in markets such as Chicago, Phoenix appeared to be not enough of a “hockey” town to be able to support 2 teams. The big push according to Ben was to “sell the fun and the event” not hockey. Bring out the families, the social and school groups and get people excited about the event itself.

And as I learned, minor league hockey is a fickle sport. The players are only signed to a year contract and each game could be their last. Having been in hockey for 11 years Ben was very matter-of-fact about the fate of the players. Those healthy went home and the others stayed behind to finish their rehab. The ones that want to keep playing go back on the hunt for a new “home” team..although the real goal of course is that big NHL deal.

Faced with leaving the sport in a professional sense, Ben cited his most memorable moment as the last home game this season. They opened the top level (something they don’t ever do) and had record numbers of attendance. He said the energy was the best he had seen and that it was the “hardest” night to leave the arena.

And when asked what he would miss the most? With a grin…he said “the free beer!”

Farewell RoadRunners and good luck to its players and staff!

“On behalf of the RoadRunners, I would like to thank all of the loyal season ticket holders, marketing partners, and fans that have supported our team over the past four seasons,” said Ben Weber, Vice President of Business Operations.

Owned and operated by the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association, the RoadRunners returned to the ice as a member of the ECHL in 2005-06 and advanced to the Kelly Cup Playoffs in 2007.

The RoadRunners were eliminated from playoff contention Tuesday following a 3-2 loss at Idaho.

‘RUNNERS REWIND: The Phoenix RoadRunners grabbed two of a possible six points last week after splitting a two-game set with Stockton and falling to Utah. With a record of 26-28-3 and 55 points, the RoadRunners sit in fifth place in the West Division six points behind fourth place Utah, and in eighth place in the National Conference, percentage points ahead of Bakersfield.

Tuesday, Mark O’Leary had two goals and an assist as he led the Phoenix RoadRunners over the Stockton Thunder 5-3 in front of 2,010 fans at US Airways Center.

Stockton (27-27-5) opened up scoring at 2:39 of the first period when Ryan MacMurchy caught RoadRunners’ goalie Kyle Jones out of his net and scored from the right circle. Sebastien Bisaillon and Daryl Marcoux assisted. The RoadRunners (26-26-3) tied up the game at 5:07 when O’Leary passed the puck across the slot to James McEwan who scored to the left of Thunder goalie Andrew Perugini. Gord Burnett had the other assist. Phoenix took a 2-1 lead at 9:46 when O’Leary shot the puck off the glass and it bounced back to the net and in off of Perugini.

“We had a good start; the guys stepped up,” RoadRunners’ Head Coach Brad Church said. “The line of Guyer, O’Leary and McEwan was real good for us tonight.”

The RoadRunners went up 3-1 at 3:52 of the second period when John McNabb scored off a rebound by Mitch Carefoot on the power play. Daniel Sisca also assisted. Stockton came within one goal of Phoenix at 7:15 when Mike Lalonde scored off a rebound on the power play with a two-man advantage. Ryan Huddy and Cory Urquhart had the assists. The RoadRunners took a 4-2 lead at 9:35 when O’Leary capitalized on a Thunder turnover and scored a wrap-around goal shorthanded.

“I’m a big believer in hockey being an honest game,” Church said. “When you work hard and play hard, honest breaks go your way.”

Matt Burke gave Phoenix a three-goal lead at 16:13 when he rifled a shot from the left point past Perugini. Carefoot and Merit Waldrop assisted as the RoadRunners took the lead into the locker room at intermission.

Stockton started the third period with a goaltender change, replacing Perugini with Bryan Pitton. The Thunder was able to score at 14:32 when MacMurchy capitalized on a RoadRunners’ turnover and scored from the slot, but it wouldn’t be enough as Phoenix held off Stockton for the win.

“We need to bring the same game (tomorrow night),” Church said of the rematch between the two teams Wednesday night. “This is a team we’re in a playoff race with and we need to play smart and disciplined.”

Stockton out-shot Phoenix 38-25. Jones stopped 25 shots to earn the victory and improve to 6-10-1 overall on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-5 on the power play while Stockton was 1-7 with the man-advantage.

Wednesday, Ryan Huddy tallied a pair of goals including the go-ahead and eventual game-winner with 5:19 remaining in regulation to lift the Stockton Thunder to a 5-3 win over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 2,186 at US Airways Center.

Stockton jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead only to watch the RoadRunners come back and tie it with a pair of power play goals before the period’s end. The Thunder (28-27-5) struck twice in a span of 50 seconds to kick off the scoring receiving goals from Huddy and Sebastien Bisaillon at 5:58 and 6:48 respectively. The RoadRunners (26-27-5) responded with their first of two power play goals at 9:37 when Kimbi Daniels beat Stockton goalie Andrew Perugini with a shot from the left-wing circle to cut the deficit to 2-1. Jim Jorgensen later netted the equalizer at 15:32 on a two-man advantage as his shot from the left point got through traffic and past Perugini to tie the score at 2-2.

Following a scoreless second period, the RoadRunners jumped ahead eight minutes into the third when Daniels banged home Ashton Rome’s rebound at 7:05 giving Phoenix a 3-2 lead. But it would be a short-lived lead as Mike Lalonde wrapped the puck around the RoadRunners’ net and through goalie Kyle Jones at 9:30 on the power play to tie the game at 3-3. Huddy’s goal would come just over five minutes later at 14:41 of the third as he beat Jones to the short side to give Stockton the lead back at 4-3. Cory Urquhart sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 18:53.

Stockton out-shot Phoenix 31-24. Jones stopped 26 shots but suffered the loss to fall to 6-11-1 overall on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-8 on the power play while Stockton was 1-4 with the man-advantage.

Sunday, Tyler Wooddisse’s hat trick led the Utah Grizzles past the Phoenix RoadRunners 6-4 in front of 3,104 fans at US Airways Center.

The Grizzlies (23-22-15) opened up scoring first at 1:29 of the first period when Rob Hennigar scored backhanded on a rebound. Tim Verbeek and Tom May assisted. Utah took a 2-0 lead at 10:57 when Evan Kotsopoulos set up Wooddisse who scored from the left point. Goalie Mike Mole had the other assist. The RoadRunners (26-28-3) cut Utah’s lead in half when Michael Wilson scored off a rebound at 16:02 on the power play. Gino Guyer and Merit Waldrop had the assists.

“I thought that it took us a while to get the rust off,” RoadRunners’ Assistant Coach Brian O’Leary said of the first period, adding that the team hadn’t played since Wednesday and didn’t have a practice skate yesterday. “Once we got into it though I thought we were pretty good.”

Phoenix tied up the game at 2-2 at 8:41 of the second period when Wilson set up Mitch Carefoot for a two-on-one break with Gino Guyer and Carefoot netted the puck from the bottom left circle. The Grizzlies took the lead back 24 seconds later when Wooddisse took a shot from the point and the puck was deflected past RoadRunners’ goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu at 9:05. Hennigar and May assisted. Phoenix was able to tie up the game again at 15:45 when John McNabb scored from the slot from Kimbi Daniels and Daniel Sisca.

“I have to give Mole credit. He stood on his head, especially in the second period,” O’Leary said of the former RoadRunners’ goalie. “We out-chanced them but we couldn’t beat Mole.”

The Grizzlies took a 4-3 lead at 1:18 of the third period when Beckford-Tseu was unable to find the puck on a rebound to cover it and Verbeek was able to find it and score. Hennigar and Tim Maxwell assisted. The RoadRunners tied the game at 3:47 when Waldrop passed the puck across the crease and Mark O’Leary scored to the left of Mole. Guyer also assisted.

“We never stopped working,” O’Leary said. “Everyone understood the urgency of the situation we were in.”

The RoadRunners had a chance to take the lead when Grizzly Jim Jenson took a five-minute major penalty with 5:36 left in regulation, but Utah was able to get a shorthanded goal at 18:28 when Wooddisse scored on a two-on-one break from Mike Walsh and Kotsopoulos. May sealed the victory for Utah when he scored an empty net goal at 19:32 from Hennigar and Verbeek.

“It’s a tough thing to take,” O’Leary said of the shorthanded goal by Wooddisse. “It’s one mistake and it ends up in the back of the net.”

Phoenix out-shot Utah 34-33. Beckford-Tseu stopped 27 shots but suffered the loss to fall to 1-3-1 overall on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-7 on the power play while Utah was 1-2 with the man-advantage.

HIGH FIVES: Forwards John McNabb and Daniel Sisca each extended their respective scoring streaks last week and both will be riding five-game streaks heading into play Wednesday at Alaska. McNabb has two goals and four assists dating back to Feb. 27, and has collected points in 22 out of his last 25 games to jump to sixth overall on the RoadRunners in scoring despite playing in just 33 games. Meanwhile, Sisca has two goals and six assists during his season-high scoring streak and has recorded 13 points in his last 17 games.

POWER PLAY IS BACK: Mired in a 2-31 slump on the power play, the RoadRunners have gone 7-26 (26.9%) on the man-advantage in their last four games to increase their overall power play efficiency to 14.1%. Phoenix has multiple power play goals in three out of their last four games after doing so in just eight out of their first 53 contests.

RECORDS WERE MEANT TO FALL: With their next win, the RoadRunners can match their ECHL club record for single season victories. Phoenix last had 27 wins back in the 2006-07 campaign, which was the only other season that the RoadRunners advanced to the playoffs. Phoenix is also on pace to easily break the mark for best overall single season winning percentage of .410% also set back in 2006-07.

KIMBI WATCH CONTINUES: Veteran center Kimbi Daniels needs just eight points in the final 15 games to pass teammate Daniel Sisca and set the RoadRunners’ ECHL single season scoring record. Daniels tallied two goals and added an assist last week to improve his totals to 18 goals, 35 assists, and 53 points. The 18-year pro leads the RoadRunners with 16 multiple point efforts and is on pace to surpass his point production from last season. Daniels will play in his 900th professional regular season game Saturday at Alaska where he played his last eight seasons prior to this year.

PACK YOUR BAGS: Beginning Wednesday in Anchorage, the RoadRunners will play 12 of their final 15 games away from the friendly confines of US Airways Center. Phoenix will play four games in five nights at Alaska through Sunday, followed by a St. Patrick’s Day affair Tuesday at Las Vegas. After a two-game home series against Alaska, the RoadRunners will then venture on a three-game trip March 21-24 to Ontario and Utah before coming home to host the Aces March 28 in the regular season home finale. Phoenix concludes the season with a four-game series at Idaho March 31-April 4.

NEWS & NOTES: Defenseman Michael Wilson returned to the RoadRunners’ line-up from AHL Worcester Sunday for the first time since Dec. 3 and recorded a goal and an assist. Wilson was re-assigned back to Worcester immediately following the game…Defenseman Jeremy Swanson was loaned to AHL Toronto Sunday, increasing the total number of RoadRunners on either loan or recall to AHL clubs to 11…Phoenix set an ECHL club record Tuesday by recording their 16th home win of the season at US Airways Center…The RoadRunners also set another club record Tuesday by registering their 11th shorthanded goal of the season, surpassing the mark of 10 set back in 2006-07…Goalie Josh Tordjman became the third former RoadRunners’ player and the 399th ECHL player to advance to the National Hockey League when he made his debut Sunday for the Phoenix Coyotes at the New York Islanders. Tordjman stopped 23 of 26 shots in a 3-2 loss.

Monday, the Phoenix RoadRunners outshot the Las Vegas Wranglers 46-23 and tied an ECHL club record with their 15th home win of the season as they defeated the Wranglers 2-1 in front of 1,949 fans at US Airways Center.

The RoadRunners (24-24-3) got on the board first but not until the second period when Kimbi Daniels netted the puck past Wranglers’ goalie Matt Keetley at 1:47. Dan DaSilva and Merit Waldrop assisted. Ashton Rome gave Phoenix a 2-0 lead when he scored from the left circle off a rebound by Dane Crowley at 13:04 on the power play. Jeremy Swanson also assisted as the RoadRunners outshot the Wranglers 38-13 and took the two-goal lead into the locker room at second intermission.

“It’s been in our game plan to get pucks and bodies on the net,” RoadRunners’ Head Coach Brad Church said of outshooting the Wranglers. “We just need to work on finishing more.”

Las Vegas (26-23-6) came within a goal of Phoenix at 6:46 of the third period when Tyler Mosienko scored glove side on RoadRunners’ goalie Kyle Jones on the power play. Mike Madill and Peter Ferraro had the assists as the Wranglers were unable to tie up the game despite pulling Keetley in the final minute.

“We had a good save by Jones,” Church said of the pressure Las Vegas put on the RoadRunners in the last minute of play. “Then Carefoot made sure the puck got out past the blue line.”

Jones made 22 saves to earn the win and improve to 5-10-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-2 on the power play while Las Vegas was 1-1 on the man-advantage.

Thursday, Bud Holloway scored three goals as he led the Ontario Reign past the Phoenix RoadRunners 4-2 in front of 2,603 fans at US Airways Center.

The Reign (31-20-4) scored first when Andrew Martens bounced the puck in the net off the crossbar at 13:29 of the first period. Dan Knapp and Jon Rheault assisted. Ontario took a two-goal lead at 17:47 when Denny Johnston centered a pass to Holloway from behind the net. Rheault also assisted as the Reign would take the lead into the locker room at intermission.

“It was the first bad period we’ve had in a long time,” RoadRunners’ Head Coach Brad Church said, adding that the team seemed sluggish. “I’m not sure we were 100 percent here to play.”

The RoadRunners (24-25-5) narrowed Ontario’s lead to one goal 41 second into the second period when Mitch Carefoot set up Mark O’Leary who scored from the left circle. Holloway gave the Reign a 3-1 lead at 5:20 when he scored to the right of RoadRunners’ goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu. Johnston and Rheault assisted as the score would stay the same through second intermission.

“(Beckford-Tseu) hasn’t played a whole lot the last few weeks but he was fine tonight,” Church said. “We’ve got to be better in front of him.”

Dan DaSilva narrowed Ontario’s lead again to one goal at 9:15 of the third period when he scored top-shelf on Reign goalie Jeff Zatkoff from the slot. T.J. Campbell assisted. The Reign were able to seal the victory with 11 seconds left, however, when Holloway scored an empty net goal, giving the team a 4-2 win.

“We’ve got to be ready to play,” Church said of the RoadRunners’ next game Friday night at Ontario. “We can’t afford to be lingering on losses; we have to be ready to play the next game.”

Phoenix out-shot Ontario 29-27. Beckford-Tseu stopped 23 shots but fell to 0-1-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-3 on the power play while Ontario was 0-5 with the man-advantage.

Friday, Gino Guyer broke a 4-4 tie with 9:32 left in regulation and the Phoenix RoadRunners snapped a six-game losing streak to Ontario as they toppled the Reign 6-4 before 4,492 at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

The RoadRunners (25-25-3) dominated the first period out-shooting Ontario (3-21-4) 20-6 and took a 2-1 lead to the locker room after 20 minutes. Daniel Sisca opened the scoring for Phoenix at 8:53 when he caught Reign goalie Jeff Zatkoff leaning off to his left and he wrapped the puck around the right post and into the back of the cage for a 1-0 lead. Ashton Rome extended the lead to two just minutes later at 11:57 when he beat Zatkoff through the pads and in with a shot from the left-wing circle. Ontario cut the RoadRunners’ lead in half at 15:46 of the first as Dan Knapp centered a pass from the left corner to Mike Howe at the top of the crease and Howe pushed the puck past RoadRunners goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu to make it 2-1.

The RoadRunners wasted little time re-gaining their two-goal lead early in the second as Kimbi Daniels netted his 16th goal of the season just 1:40 into the middle period. But Ontario’s Bud Holloway scored the next two goals to tie the game at 3-3 midway through the second. Holloway used a terrific individual effort to get around the defense and score his first goal shorthanded at 6:59. He later punched home Denny Johnston’s rebound past Beckford-Tseu at 10:52 to even the score at 3-3. Dan DaSilva gave Phoenix a brief 4-3 lead when he collected Jim Jorgensen’s carom off the end-boards and snuck a backhand shot top shelf over Zatkoff’s right shoulder and in at 12:42. But the Reign would have the periods’ final say as Johnston put Jon Rheault’s rebound off the right side of the net though Beckford-Tseu’s stacked pads at 17:34 to once again tie the game at 4-4 heading into the final period.

Guyer gave the RoadRunners the lead for good when his shot off the left-wing boards found a seam through Zatkoff and trickled into the net at 10:28 of the third. Rome scored his second goal of the evening just moments later at 13:47 when his shot deflected off Darren McMillan’s stick and ricocheted past Zatkoff to cap off the scoring.

Phoenix out-shot Ontario 45-30. Beckford-Tseu stopped 26 shots to earn his first victory with the RoadRunners and improve to 1-1-1 overall on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-7 on the power play while Ontario was 0-4 with the man-advantage.

Saturday, Mike Wirll had three goals and two assists as he led the Bakersfield Condors over the Phoenix RoadRunners 6-3 in front of 3,292 fans at US Airways Center.

The RoadRunners (25-26-3) opened up scoring at 3:08 of the second period when Dan DaSilva scored off a rebound by Jim Jorgenson on the power play. Daniel Sisca had the other assist. The Condors (23-28-7) tied up the game at 1-1 when Mark Derlago scored five-hole on RoadRunners’ goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu at 4:52 on the power play. Wirll and Jay Langager assisted.

Bakersfield took a 2-1 lead at 18:14 when Derlago fed the puck across the slot to Wirll who scored to the right of Beckford-Tseu with a two-man advantage. Dave Bonk had the other assist. Then just over a minute later Donny Grover gave the Condors a 3-1 lead, again with a two-man advantage, when he scored from the right circle at 19:17. Derlago and Wirll assisted as the score would hold through the second intermission.

“We got emotionally involved in the second period and it cost us penalties,” RoadRunners’ Head Coach Brad Church said. “The three power play goals in the second ended up being the difference in the game.”

The Condors took a commanding three-goal lead at 1:26 of the third period when Chris Kaufman capitalized on a RoadRunners’ turnover and rifled a shot past Beckford-Tseu from the left circle. Wirll then gave Bakersfield a 5-1 lead at 5:36 when Derlago fed him a pass from the top left circle. Bonk also assisted.

“We played three games in three nights with travel and only played with five defensemen,” Church said. “Fatigue was definitely a factor.”

Jorgenson cut the Condors’ lead at 7:40 when he scored a shorthanded goal from Sisca from the high slot. Sisca then narrowed Bakersfield’s lead to two goals at 17:16 when he tipped in a shot from T.J. Campbell on the power play. John McNabb had the other assist. The RoadRunners pulled Beckford-Tseu with over a minute to play but Wirll finished off his hat trick with 10 seconds left in the game to give the Condors a final 6-3 victory.

“We didn’t quit,” Church said of the RoadRunners play in the third period. “The guys worked pretty hard, but we still need a little more.”

Phoenix out-shot Bakersfield 32-29. Beckford-Tseu stopped 23 shots but suffered the loss to fall to 1-2-1 overall on the season. The RoadRunners went 2-6 on the power play while Bakersfield was 3-7 with the man-advantage.

BREAKING THE ONTARIO CURSE: The RoadRunners earned their first win last week over Ontario since a 2-0 victory back on Nov. 1 at Citizens Business Bank Arena. With six goals in the game, the RoadRunners equaled half of their entire goal total for the previous eight match-ups against the Reign. Eight of the RoadRunners’ 18 goals against Ontario this year have come in the first period alone. Despite the lopsided results in the series, Phoenix has out-shot Ontario in eight of the nine meetings between the teams and has averaged 37.3 shots on goal against the Reign this season.

WELCOME ABOARD: With Craig Kowalski still on loan to Norfolk of the American Hockey League, the RoadRunners added an impact goalie Monday with the addition of former Alaska Aces net-minder Chris Beckford-Tseu. Beckford-Tseu compiled a record of 46-17-5 with six shutouts, a goals against average of 2.24, and a save percentage of .921% in 72 regular season ECHL games prior to this season. He has been named the RBK Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week five times during his career and was selected as starter for the 2006 ECHL All-Star Game played in Fresno. Beckford-Tseu was selected by the St. Louis Blues in Round Five (#159 overall) at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and became the 350th ECHL player to advance to the NHL when he debuted for the Blues on Feb. 21, 2008 at Los Angeles.

30 OR LESS: The RoadRunners extended their current streak of holding an opponent to 30 shots or less to 10 games last week. Phoenix has not allowed more than 30 shots on goal in a game since Feb. 7. Friday, Ontario did not record a shot on goal until the 12:26 mark of the first period. By that point, the RoadRunners already had recorded 18 shots. Phoenix has lowered their shots allowed per game average from a season-high of 37.65 back on Dec. 5 to 33.89.

PRODUCTION FROM THE BLUE LINE: Rookie defensemen Jim Jorgensen and T.J. Campbell have stepped up their offense in the absence of blue-line leading scorer Brett Peterson. Jorgensen collected two goals and six assists with three multiple-point efforts during the month of February, and now has five goals and 17 points in 48 games to lead all RoadRunners’ defensemen in scoring. Meanwhile, Campbell is riding a season-high three-game scoring streak heading into play this week and registered his first career multiple-point game Friday with a pair of assists at Ontario.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE: Center Daniel Sisca notched consecutive multiple-point games over the weekend after posting a goal and an assist Friday and returning Saturday with his first three-point effort of the season with a goal and two assists. Sisca matched his best offensive month in February after tallying three goals and 10 points in 14 games. The veteran center ranks third on the RoadRunners in scoring with 23 assists and 32 points in 51 games.

NEWS & NOTES: Forward Dan DaSilva is riding a season-high six-game scoring streak with three goals and four assists since Feb. 10…The RoadRunners finished the month of February with a 7-7-0 record…Phoenix snapped a 2-31 stretch on the power play over their last six games Saturday with a pair of goals on the man-advantage…Monday’s win against Las Vegas ensured the RoadRunners their first non-losing season in four years against the Wranglers…Phoenix surpassed their entire win total from the 2007-08 season with Friday’s win. The RoadRunners need just one more home victory to set an ECHL club record for single season wins at US Airways Center…Kimbi Daniels needs just 11 points in the final 18 games to break Daniel Sisca’s ECHL club record for points in a single season.

WATCH THE ‘RUNNERS LIVE IN ’08-09: The RoadRunners have teamed up with B2 Networks to bring you live action of Phoenix RoadRunners hockey in 2008-09. 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 72 RoadRunners broadcasts will be available on-line. A cable or DSL Internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 are required to view the games.

UP NEXT: The RoadRunners continue their current four-game home-stand at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday against the Stockton Thunder and at 5:05 p.m. Sunday against the Utah Grizzlies. Catch all three games live at www.phxroadrunners.com beginning with “RoadRunners Countdown” twenty minutes prior to face-off. Information on season tickets, half-season packages, and flex plans for the 2008-09 season of Phoenix RoadRunners Hockey are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.

PHOENIX ROADRUNNERS SCHEDULE WEEK OF MARCH 2ND

Monday, March 2: Practice 10AM-11:30AM @ Alltel Ice Den

Tuesday, March 3: Morning skate 10AM-11AM; Phoenix vs. Stockton 7:05PM

Wednesday, March 4: Morning skate 10AM-11AM; Phoenix vs. Stockton 7:05PM

Thursday, March 5: Off Day

Friday, March 6: Practice TBA

Saturday, March 7: Practice TBA

Sunday, March 8: Phoenix vs. Utah 5:05PM

The Reign (31-20-4) scored first when Andrew Martens bounced the puck in the net off the crossbar at 13:29 of the first period. Dan Knapp and Jon Rheault assisted. Ontario took a two-goal lead at 17:47 when Denny Johnston centered a pass to Holloway from behind the net. Rheault also assisted as the Reign would take the lead into the locker room at intermission.

“It was the first bad period we’ve had in a long time,” RoadRunners’ Head Coach Brad Church said, adding that the team seemed sluggish. “I’m not sure we were 100 percent here to play.”

The RoadRunners (24-25-5) narrowed Ontario’s lead to one goal 41 second into the second period when Mitch Carefoot set up Mark O’Leary who scored from the left circle. Holloway gave the Reign a 3-1 lead at 5:20 when he scored to the right of RoadRunners’ goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu. Johnston and Rheault assisted as the score would stay the same through second intermission.

“(Beckford-Tseu) hasn’t played a whole lot the last few weeks but he was fine tonight,” Church said. “We’ve got to be better in front of him.”

Dan DaSilva narrowed Ontario’s lead again to one goal at 9:15 of the third period when he scored top-shelf on Reign goalie Jeff Zatkoff from the slot. T.J. Campbell assisted. The Reign were able to seal the victory with 11 seconds left, however, when Holloway scored an empty net goal, giving the team a 4-2 win.

“We’ve got to be ready to play,” Church said of the RoadRunners’ next game Friday night at Ontario. “We can’t afford to be lingering on losses; we have to be ready to play the next game.”

Phoenix out-shot Ontario 29-27. Beckford-Tseu stopped 23 shots but fell to 0-1-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-3 on the power play while Ontario was 0-5 with the man-advantage.

Notes: Goalie Kyle Jones was recalled to Worcester of the American Hockey League following the game. Jones is 4-2 in his last six starts with a 1.64 goals against average and a .934% save percentage.

The RoadRunners and Ontario Reign play the back-end of their home-and-home series at 8:00 p.m. Friday from Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. Catch all the action live on Independent 1310 KXAM beginning with “RoadRunners Countdown” at 7:45 p.m.

Phoenix returns to US Airways Center at 7:05 p.m. Saturday when they kick-off a four-game home-stand against the Bakersfield Condors.

Beckford-Tseu, 24, went 3-14-1 with a 3.94 goals against average and a .857% save percentage in 22 games this season with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, Florida’s primary affiliate. The Toronto, Ontario native and fifth-year professional also appeared in one game with the Florida Everblades last Thursday against Charlotte where he stopped 30 shots but suffered a shootout loss.

Beckford-Tseu has compiled a record of 46-17-6 with six shutouts, a goals against average of 2.27 and a save percentage of .919 in 73 regular season ECHL games, and more recently is 35-5-2 in 42 appearances over the last three seasons with the Alaska Aces. He went 8-4-0 with three shutouts, a goals against average of 2.04, and a save percentage of .930% in 12 games during the 2006 Kelly Cup Playoffs as he guided the Aces to their first ever Kelly Cup Championship.

Beckford-Tseu has been named the RBK Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week five times during his career and was selected as starter for the 2006 ECHL All-Star Game played in Fresno. He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in Round Five (#159 overall) at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and became the 350th ECHL player to advance to the NHL when he debuted for the Blues on Feb. 21, 2008 at Los Angeles.

Beckford-Tseu has a career record of 82-61-14 with eight shutouts to go along with a 2.89 goals against average and a .903% save percentage. He was 6-1-0 with one shutout in seven appearances against the RoadRunners as a member of the Aces with a 1.35 goals against average and a .951% save percentage.

The RoadRunners continue a three-game home-stand at US Airways Center at 7:05 p.m. Monday when they welcome the Las Vegas Wranglers.

This is a revision from the original playing schedule. Season ticket holders and advance ticket buyers are advised that tickets purchased for the January 28 game against Utah will now be valid for Monday’s game.

Monday, Merit Waldrop snapped a 1-1 tie with a power play goal with 9:50 remaining in regulation and the Phoenix RoadRunners won in Las Vegas for the first time in eight tries as they defeated the Wranglers 2-1 before 3,693 at the Orleans Arena in ECHL action on President’s Day.

Following a scoreless first period, the teams traded goals in the second. Las Vegas (26-20-5) got on the board at 6:09 on the power play when Tyler Mosienko punched home Sean Owens’ rebound past RoadRunners’ goalie Kyle Jones for a 1-0 lead. The RoadRunners (22-23-3) netted the equalizer less than four minutes later as Jim Jorgensen checking out of the penalty box took a lead pass from Gino Guyer and beat Wranglers’ goalie Glenn Fisher over the glove with a shot at 9:38 to tie the score at 1-1.

It would stay that way until midway through the third when the RoadRunners scored the game-winner on the power play. Waldrop picked up Kimbi Daniels’ rebound at the top of the crease and slid it through Fisher’s pads and into the net at 10:10. Jones did the rest turning aside the final five Wranglers’ shots to preserve the win.

The RoadRunners out-shot Las Vegas 39-23. Jones stopped 22 shots and picked up the win to improve to 3-9-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-8 on the power play while Las Vegas was 1-6 with the man-advantage.

Friday, Kellen Briggs turned aside all 33 shots he saw and Bud Holloway scored the game’s only goal in the third period to lift the Ontario Reign to a 1-0 shutout victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 6,374 at Citizens Business Bank Arena.

The RoadRunners (22-24-3) and Reign (29-19-4) played a scoreless first two periods. Phoenix out-shot Ontario 14-9 in the opening frame, but the Reign came back to out-shoot the RoadRunners 9-6 in the middle period. Ontario also wasted a four-minute power play at the midway point of the second period.

Holloway gave the Reign all the scoring on the night they would need just 1:16 into the third period as he took Jon Francisco’s face-off win, moved into the slot, and snapped the puck over Kyle Jones’ blocker and into the net for a 1-0 advantage. Briggs did the rest stopping 12 RoadRunners shots in the final period.

The RoadRunners out-shot Ontario 33-22. Jones stopped 21 shots but suffered the loss to fall to 3-10-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-4 on the power play while Ontario was 0-5 with the man-advantage.

Saturday, John McNabb had two goals and an assist as the Phoenix RoadRunners defeated the Alaska Aces 5-2 Saturday night in front of a season-high 5,096 fans at US Airways Center.

The Aces (30-20-3) opened up scoring at 9:33 of the first period when Nick Tuzzolino fed a pass to Luke Erickson who scored on a breakaway over RoadRunners’ goalie Kyle Jones’ glove. Phoenix (23-24-3) tied the game at 1-1 at 12:17 when McNabb slid the puck under the pads of Alaska goalie Kevin Nastiuk. Daniel Sisca and Ashton Rome assisted as the tie would hold through the first intermission.

“I thought we played a little sluggish in the first period,” said RoadRunners’ Head Coach Brad Church. “(But) we’ve been playing well the last 10 games and were able to capitalize on scoring chances.”

The RoadRunners took a 2-1 lead at 5:08 of the second period when Rome scored from the bottom left circle with Dane Crowley and McNabb assisting. Gino Guyer scored just over three minutes later when he netted the puck through Nastiuk’s five-hole at 8:26. Mark O’Leary and Dan DaSilva assisted. Then at 12:46 McNabb gave Phoenix a 4-1 lead with Sisca and Rome getting the assists.

“Jones has been playing well for us,” Church said. “He’s battled all year long and it’s finally nice to see him get some wins under his belt.”

The Aces were able to narrow the RoadRunners’ lead to two goals at 16:34 when Brett Hemingway scored to the left of Jones in an open net with two-man advantage. Matt Stefanishion and Matt Shasby assisted. O’Leary gave Phoenix a 5-2 lead at 12:59 of the third period off a pass from DaSilva. Guyer also assisted as that would remain the final score.

“It’s always nice to see a big crowd; it gets the guys jacked up to play,” Church said. “It’s great when you have a vibrant atmosphere to play in.”

The RoadRunners out-shot Alaska 38-30. Jones stopped 28 shots to improve to 4-10-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-7 on the power play while Alaska was 1-5 with the man-advantage.

WELCOME BACK HOME: The RoadRunners returned to the Valley of the Sun Saturday after going 4-4-0 on their 16-day, 4,751 mile road trip that took them from Utah to Las Vegas to Idaho back to Las Vegas and finally to Ontario (with a couple of brief stops in Phoenix along the way). Phoenix and their opponents each scored 20 goals during the trip, but the RoadRunners out-shot the opposition significantly 269-228 firing an average of 33.6 shots per game while giving up only 28.5 shots on average per contest. The RoadRunners finished the trip allowing less than 30 in each of their last four games, and setting season-lows for shots allowed in consecutive games Monday (23) and Friday (22).

CLOSING IN ON A RECORD: The RoadRunners next victory at home will match their club record for home wins in a single season of 15 set back in 2006-07. The RoadRunners have truly enjoyed a home-ice advantage this season having outscored their opponents 90-86, executing at 15.1% on the power play (2% better than their overall power play numbers), and maintaining an 87.1% efficiency rate on the penalty kill all at home.

HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN 67 ALL ALONG: Wearing #67 Saturday, veteran forward John McNabb bagged a pair of goals and an assist for his second three-point game in a RoadRunners’ uniform this year. McNabb has a point in five out of his last six games and overall has scored five goals and added two assists during that stretch.

JONES STANDS TALL: Rookie goalie Kyle Jones has filled in admirably for departed goalie Craig Kowalski. Jones is 3-2-0 in his last five starts and has allowed just nine goals on 130 shots, which translates to an impressive 1.80 goals against average and a .930% save percentage.

NEWS & NOTES: The RoadRunners have allowed 30 shots or less in each of their last six games…Center Kimbi Daniels met his former club Alaska Saturday for the first time since signing with the RoadRunners as a free agent during the off-season. Daniels played eight seasons with both the Alaska Aces of the ECHL and the Anchorage Aces of the former West Coast Hockey League where he averaged nearly a point per game during his tenure with 172 goals, 301 assists, and 473 points in 486 regular season games…Center Gino Guyer has four goals and eight points during the month of February…Defenseman Jim Jorgensen and Center Merit Waldrop are tied for team lead in plus-minus rating with a plus-eight on the year.

WATCH THE ‘RUNNERS LIVE IN ’08-09: The RoadRunners have teamed up with B2 Networks to bring you live action of Phoenix RoadRunners hockey in 2008-09. 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 72 RoadRunners broadcasts will be available on-line. A cable or DSL Internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 are required to view the games.

UP NEXT: The RoadRunners host the Las Vegas Wranglers at 7:05 p.m. Monday and welcome the Ontario Reign at 7:05 p.m. Thursday and the Bakersfield Condors at 7:05 p.m. Saturday to US Airways Center, while visiting the Reign at 8:00 p.m. Friday at Citizens Business Bank Arena. Catch Friday’s and Saturday’s action live on Independent 1310 KXAM and all four games live at www.phxroadrunners.com beginning with “RoadRunners Countdown” twenty minutes prior to face-off. Information on season tickets, half-season packages, and flex plans for the 2008-09 season of Phoenix RoadRunners Hockey are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.

PHOENIX ROADRUNNERS SCHEDULE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 23RD

Monday, Feb. 23: Morning skate 10AM-11AM; Phoenix vs. Las Vegas 7:05PM

Tuesday, Feb. 24: Off Day

Wednesday, Feb. 25: Practice 10AM-11:30AM @ Alltel Ice Den

Thursday, Feb. 26: Morning skate 10AM-11AM; Phoenix vs. Ontario 7:05PM; Depart for Ontario, Calif.

Friday, Feb. 27: Phoenix @ Ontario 8:00PM; Depart for Phoenix

Saturday, Feb. 28: Phoenix vs. Bakersfield 7:05PM

Sunday, March 1: Off Day

Following a scoreless first period, the teams traded goals in the second. Las Vegas (26-20-5) got on the board at 6:09 on the power play when Tyler Mosienko punched home Sean Owens’ rebound past RoadRunners’ goalie Kyle Jones for a 1-0 lead. The RoadRunners (22-23-3) netted the equalizer less than four minutes later as Jim Jorgensen checking out of the penalty box took a lead pass from Gino Guyer and beat Wranglers’ goalie Glenn Fisher over the glove with a shot at 9:38 to tie the score at 1-1.

It would stay that way until midway through the third when the RoadRunners scored the game-winner on the power play. Waldrop picked up Kimbi Daniels’ rebound at the top of the crease and slid it through Fisher’s pads and into the net at 10:10. Jones did the rest turning aside the final five Wranglers’ shots to preserve the win.

The RoadRunners out-shot Las Vegas 39-23. Jones stopped 22 shots and picked up the win to improve to 3-9-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-8 on the power play while Las Vegas was 1-6 with the man-advantage.

Notes: The last RoadRunners win in Las Vegas was a 5-4 shootout win on Dec. 18, 2007. The last RoadRunners win in regulation in Las Vegas was a 4-1 victory back on March 3, 2007 nearly two years ago…John McNabb extended his points’ streak to four-games with an assist on Jorgensen’s second period goal. McNabb’s three-game goal streak was snapped however…Daniels extended his assist streak to four games and has six helpers during that time…Fisher lost his first career start against Phoenix. He had been a perfect 6-0-0 entering play tonight…The 23 shots allowed by the RoadRunners marked a season’s best.

The RoadRunners conclude a season-long eight-game road trip at 8:00 p.m. Friday when they visit the Ontario Reign. Catch all the action live on Independent 1310 KXAM beginning with “RoadRunners Countdown” at 7:45 p.m.

Phoenix returns to US Airways Center at 7:05 p.m. Saturday when they welcome the Alaska Aces.

According to sources inside the US Airways Center, it is most likely that the RoadRunners will be asked to vacate the arena at the conclusion of the season.

While there has been no confirmation from the team or the ECHL it is assumed that the matter was discussed at the ECHL board of governors meeting which took place on January 21st.

No word on whether the team will look to relocate or cease operations if they are officially evicted from the US Airways Center.

Tuesday, Jon Rheault scored the game-winning goal with three seconds remaining in regulation and Kellen Briggs had 45 saves to lift the Ontario Reign over the Phoenix RoadRunners 2-1 in front of 1,861 fans at US Airways Center.

The RoadRunners (18-20-3) got on the board first at 13:33 of the first period when Kimbi Daniels scored in front of the net off a rebound on the power play. Brett Peterson and Dane Crowley assisted. The Reign (24-16-4) countered at 16:53 when David Walker scored from the point, tying the game at 1-1. Andrew Martens and Tim Kraus assisted as the tie would hold through the first intermission.

“We did some good things all night long and battled hard 5-on-5,” said RoadRunners Head Coach Brad Church. “We only had two penalties which is good, but our power play was not effective.”

The second period would remain scoreless as Phoenix outshot Ontario 12-6. Then, as it looked like the game was heading to overtime, Rheault scored a breakaway goal on RoadRunners’ goalie Kyle Jones from the slot with three seconds left in the game to give Ontario a 2-1 victory. Walker assisted.

“We made a huge mistake at the end and it cost us,” Church said, adding that the team’s goal scorers were unable to score. “Jones has been unbelievable the last two games and I feel bad because he deserves better.”

Phoenix out-shot Ontario 46-33. Jones stopped 31 shots but suffered the loss to fall to 1-7-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-8 on the power play while Ontario was 0-2 with the man-advantage.

Wednesday, Ashton Rome netted the equalizer with 2:04 remaining in regulation and Captain Mitch Carefoot scored in the sixth round of the shootout lifting the Phoenix RoadRunners to a 4-3 shootout victory over the Utah Grizzlies before 2,479 at the “E”-Center.

The RoadRunners (19-20-3) dominated the first period as they out-shot the Grizzlies 19-7, yet could only muster a 1-1 tie after twenty minutes. Phoenix scored on the opening shift of the game when P.J. Fenton wrapped the puck around the net of Utah goalie Dan Turple and out to Daniel Sisca who tapped it into the back of the cage on the short side 23 seconds in for a 1-0 lead. The Grizzlies (15-14-13) responded with the equalizer at 8:04 when James Sixsmith found Evan Kotsopoulos in the slot and Kotsopoulos slid the puck past RoadRunners’ goalie Craig Kowalski to tie the score at 1-1.

The RoadRunners reclaimed the lead at 2-1 6:01 into the second period when Kimbi Daniels banged home a five-on-three power play goal in front of the net. But the Grizzlies responded with two goals in the final seven minutes of the period to take a 3-2 lead into the second intermission. Rob Hennigar pounced on a rebound left out by Kowalski at the left-wing circle and snapped it by the RoadRunners’ net-minder at 13:40 to knot the game at 2-2. Ryan Kinasewich gave Utah their first lead of the night in the final minute of the period when he received a nifty feed in the slot from Tim Verbeek behind the RoadRunners net and shot it past Kowalski at 19:09.

The game would remain tied throughout the third period until the RoadRunners were awarded their third power play of the period. Rome cruised out from his own zone and made a terrific individual effort to get around the defense of Tim Maxwell and tipped the puck through Turple at 17:56 to tie the contest at 3-3.

After a scoreless five-minute overtime, Kowalski stopped five of six shooters in the shootout and Sisca and Carefoot scored in the fourth and sixth rounds respectively to give Phoenix the win.

Phoenix out-shot Utah 46-31. Kowalski stopped 28 shots to earn the win and improve to 16-12-1 the season. The RoadRunners went 2-8 on the power play while Utah was 0-5 with the man-advantage.

Friday, the Phoenix RoadRunners scored three times in a stretch of 1:48 seconds in the second period and tallied six unanswered goals to rout the Utah Grizzlies 6-1 before 3,395 at the “E”-Center.

Utah (15-15-13) opened the scoring at 3:12 of the first period when Tom May turned a RoadRunners’ turnover into a two-on-one transition rush, and May beat goalie Craig Kowalski with a shot along the ice to give the Grizzlies a 1-0 lead.

The RoadRunners (20-20-3) responded 4:31 into the second period as Gino Guyer fired a shot from the right-wing circle past Utah goalie Peter Mannino to tie the score at 1-1. P.J. Fenton gave the RoadRunners their first lead of the game 28 seconds later moving a backhander from the slot past Mannino along the ice at 4:59. Guyer netted his second tally of the game 1:20 seconds later when Mark O’Leary fed him the puck at the left-wing circle and Guyer ripped a shot over the left shoulder of Mannino and in at 6:19 for a 3-1 advantage. Ashton Rome later scored on a penalty shot at 17:23 to give the RoadRunners a 4-1 lead going into the second intermission.

Guyer and Dan DaSilva added tallies at 2:47 and 3:04 respectively of the third period to close out the scoring.

Phoenix out-shot Utah 35-34. Kowalski stopped 33 shots to earn the win and improve to 17-12-1 the season. The RoadRunners went 0-2 on the power play while Utah was 0-5 with the man-advantage.

Saturday, James Brannigan recorded his first hat-trick of the season to propel the Utah Grizzlies to a 6-1 win over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 5,362 at the “E”-Center.

Utah (16-15-3) jumped out to a 2-1 first period lead. The RoadRunners (20-21-3) actually opened the scoring at 4:19 on the power play when Mitch Carefoot deflected Dane Crowley’s shot from the right point past Grizzlies goalie Peter Mannino for a 1-0 lead. Utah responded less than six minutes later as Brannigan finished off a two-on-one rush with Evan Kotsopoulos and worked the puck over the shoulder of RoadRunners goalie Kyle Jones and into the net at 10:32 for his first goal of the night to tie the game at 1-1. Tom May gave the Grizzlies their first lead of the evening less than three minutes later when he scooped up a bouncing puck in the slot and fired a shot past Jones and in at 12:42 of the period.

Brannigan and Kotsopoulos teamed up again early in the second period to build the Utah lead to two goals. With Daniel Sisca checking out of the penalty box, Kotsopoulos found Brannigan with a cross-ice pass at the left-wing circle and Brannigan snapped the puck over Jones’ shoulder and into the back of the net at 8:45 making it 3-1. Brannigan completed the hat-trick at 15:55 of the second when he squeaked the puck through Jones’ pads from the left-wing boards to increase the Grizzlies lead to 4-1.

Mark Pavli and Tim Verbeek added power play goals at 2:07 and 6:31 of the third period respectively to cap the scoring.

Utah out-shot Phoenix 33-25. Jones stopped 27 shots but suffered the loss and fell to 1-8-1 season. The RoadRunners went 1-5 on the power play while Utah was 2-6 with the man-advantage.

KOWALSKI SETS THE MARK: Goalie Craig Kowalski set a new RoadRunners’ ECHL single season record for wins when he earned his 16th victory of the year Wednesday. Kowalski is 17-12-1 in 30 appearances with a 2.90 goals against average and a .919% save percentage. He is on a pace to break all the current RoadRunners’ goalie records by the end of the season.

HATS OFF! Center Gino Guyer registered his first career professional hat-trick and first professional four-point effort with three goals and an assist Friday. Guyer has 10 goals and 23 points in 43 games this season and has 23 goals and 62 points in 92 career games with the RoadRunners since being acquired from Alaska back on Dec. 14, 2007.

POWER BREAKTHROUGH: The RoadRunners snapped a 2-33 stretch on the power play by going 3-15 (20%) on the man-advantage in their three-game series at Utah. Phoenix is currently 20th in the ECHL on the power play at 13.8%.

WHO MAKES THIS SCHEDULE? The RoadRunners are currently in the middle of a season-high eight-game road trip that will take them a total of 4,751 miles through Utah, Las Vegas, Idaho, and Las Vegas again and Ontario over the next 12 days. The RoadRunners don’t return home until Feb. 21 when they will welcome in the Alaska Aces.

NEWS & NOTES: Phoenix had won three consecutive shootouts over Utah before Saturday’s loss…The RoadRunners put a season-high tying 46 shots on goal Wednesday for the second straight game after their 46-shot effort Tuesday against Ontario…Kowalski is now 15-16 in shootouts this season and overall is 7-1 in his last eight starts…The RoadRunners enjoyed their seventh game of the year Wednesday with multiple power play goals…Sisca’s first period goal Wednesday was his first in 18 games dating back to Dec. 18… Defenseman Jeremy Swanson was placed on the three-day injured reserve prior to Saturday’s game.

The RoadRunners (19-20-3) dominated the first period as they out-shot the Grizzlies 19-7, yet could only muster a 1-1 tie after twenty minutes. Phoenix scored on the opening shift of the game when P.J. Fenton wrapped the puck around the net of Utah goalie Dan Turple and out to Daniel Sisca who tapped it into the back of the cage on the short side 23 seconds in for a 1-0 lead. The Grizzlies (15-14-13) responded with the equalizer at 8:04 when James Sixsmith found Evan Kotsopoulos in the slot and Kotsopoulos slid the puck past RoadRunners’ goalie Craig Kowalski to tie the score at 1-1.

The RoadRunners reclaimed the lead at 2-1 6:01 into the second period when Kimbi Daniels banged home a five-on-three power play goal in front of the net. But the Grizzlies responded with two goals in the final seven minutes of the period to take a 3-2 lead into the second intermission. Rob Hennigar pounced on a rebound left out by Kowalski at the left-wing circle and snapped it by the RoadRunners’ net-minder at 13:40 to knot the game at 2-2. Ryan Kinasewich gave Utah their first lead of the night in the final minute of the period when he received a nifty feed in the slot from Tim Verbeek behind the RoadRunners net and shot it past Kowalski at 19:09.

The game would remain tied throughout the third period until the RoadRunners were awarded their third power play of the period. Rome cruised out from his own zone and made a terrific individual effort to get around the defense of Tim Maxwell and tipped the puck through Turple at 17:56 to tie the contest at 3-3.

After a scoreless five-minute overtime, Kowalski stopped five of six shooters in the shootout and Sisca and Carefoot scored in the fourth and sixth rounds respectively to give Phoenix the win.

Phoenix out-shot Utah 46-31. Kowalski stopped 28 shots to earn the win and improve to 16-12-1 the season. The RoadRunners went 2-8 on the power play while Utah was 0-5 with the man-advantage.

Notes: Phoenix has won three consecutive shootouts over Utah…The RoadRunners put a season-high tying 46 shots on goal for the second straight game after their 46-shot effort Tuesday against Ontario…Kowalski is now 15-16 in shootouts this season…The RoadRunners enjoyed their seventh game of the year with multiple power play goals…Sisca’s first period goal was his first in 18 games dating back to Dec. 18…The RoadRunners activated center Merit Waldrop from the three-day injured reserve prior to the game…Veteran forward John McNabb was a healthy scratch.

The RoadRunners continue a season-long eight-game road trip at 7:05 p.m. Friday with the second of a three-game series against the Utah Grizzlies at the “E”-Center in West Valley City, Utah. Catch all the action live on Independent 1310 KXAM beginning with “RoadRunners Countdown” at 6:45 p.m.

Phoenix returns to US Airways Center at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 when they welcome the Alaska Aces.

When I attended your game against the Ontario Reign last night, I had every best intention. I rooted you on, banged on the glass, yelled the occasional insult at the goalie and offered the utmost support during the Burnett beatdown. Great job on that one Burnett you kept going after him. Helluva fight, even the ref had to tap you on the butt for that one!

But I digress. The 3rd period saw you tied at 1-1 and perhaps it was my changing seats at the beginning of that period that threw me off. Noticing the 30 seconds left on the clock I made the ill fated comment “oh looks like we are going into overtime” I had broken one of my own rules. NEVER, EVER, EVER make a prediction and certainly not on a tie!

And you boys know what happened…..Ontario scored on a breakaway with 3 seconds left. So I offer up my sincerest apology for mucking up what could have been another victory for you. I am especially humbled before you Jones, for messing up what was shaping up to be a good game. I know how you’ve struggled.

If it helps any I’ve been banned from the building and my picture has been distributed to all ushers with strict “do not allow entrance” instructions.

Sincerely,

Hockeygal

The RoadRunners (18-20-3) got on the board first at 13:33 of the first period when Kimbi Daniels scored in front of the net off a rebound on the power play. Brett Peterson and Dane Crowley assisted. The Reign (24-16-4) countered at 16:53 when David Walker scored from the point, tying the game at 1-1. Andrew Martens and Tim Kraus assisted as the tie would hold through the first intermission.

“We did some good things all night long and battled hard 5-on-5,” said RoadRunners Head Coach Brad Church. “We only had two penalties which is good, but our power play was not effective.”

The second period would remain scoreless as Phoenix outshot Ontario 12-6. Then, as it looked like the game was heading to overtime, Rheault scored a breakaway goal on RoadRunners’ goalie Kyle Jones from the slot with three seconds left in the game to give Ontario a 2-1 victory. Walker assisted.

“We made a huge mistake at the end and it cost us,” Church said, adding that the team’s goal scorers were unable to score. “Jones has been unbelievable the last two games and I feel bad because he deserves better.”

Phoenix out-shot Ontario 46-33. Jones stopped 31 shots but suffered the loss to fall to 1-7-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-8 on the power play while Ontario was 0-2 with the man-advantage.

The RoadRunners open a season-long eight-game road trip at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday with the first of a three-game series against the Utah Grizzlies at the “E”-Center in West Valley City, Utah.

Phoenix returns to US Airways Center at 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 when they welcome the Alaska Aces.

Tuesday, Chris and Peter Ferraro each tallied goals and Kevin Lalande made 37 saves to lift the Las Vegas Wranglers to a 2-1 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 3,488 at the Orleans Arena.

Following a scoreless first period, Las Vegas (18-17-3) struck first with a power play goal at 15:00 of the second. RoadRunners’ goalie Craig Kowalski tried to clear the puck from behind his net, but his clearing attempt hit the skate of Chris Ferraro and rolled into the empty net for the score.

The RoadRunners (17-18-3) would net the equalizer earlier in the third as P.J. Fenton streaking down the left wing boards beat Lalande with a shot through the goalie’s pads at 7:09 to tie the contest at 1-1. But a second RoadRunners’ miscue 1:01 second after Fenton’s goal proved costly as Tyler Mosienko deflected the puck to Peter Ferraro charging down the slot, and Ferraro fired the puck past the outstretched glove of Kowalski and into the net at 8:10 for the go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal.

Phoenix out-shot Las Vegas 38-26. Kowalski stopped 24 shots but suffered the loss to fall to 14-12-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-5 on the power play while Las Vegas was 1-4 with the man-advantage.

Friday, P.J. Fenton scored two goals and Daniel Sisca had the only goal in a shootout as the Phoenix RoadRunners beat the Utah Grizzlies 6-5 in front of 3,851 fans at US Airways Center.

The Grizzlies (15-14-12) got on the board first at 5:54 of the first period when Rob Hennigar scored off a rebound by Andy Sertich. Ryan Kinasewich also assisted on the goal that came 25 seconds after a failed penalty shot attempt by Tim Verbeek on RoadRunners’ goalie Craig Kowalski.

“We had a breakdown on the fore-check and took the penalty,” RoadRunners’ Head Coach Brad Church said of what led to the penalty shot. “Kowalski came up with a big save.”

The RoadRunners (18-18-3) tied up the game at 1-1 when Dan DaSilva set up Gino Guyer who scored from the bottom right circle at 6:45 of the second period. Phoenix took a 2-1 lead when Gord Burnett set up Fenton for a breakaway goal scored at 10:07. Fenton gave the RoadRunners a 3-1 lead at 11:56 when he tipped in a shot from Mitch Carefoot, taking a two-goal lead into the locker room at the second intermission.

“We came out hard and capitalized on our chances,” Church said of the second period. “We had the opportunity to make a bigger gap but their goalie (Dan Turple) made big saves for them.”

Utah narrowed Phoenix’s lead to one goal at 3:05 of the third period when Sertich scored five-hole on Kowalski from the bottom left circle. Hennigar and Kinasewich assisted. Mark O’Leary gave the RoadRunners a 4-2 lead on his first goal of the season at 4:31 when he scored from the top right circle with Grizzly goalie Turple caught out of his crease. Ashton Rome had the assist.

Kinasewich countered just over a minute later when he was centered a pass by Tyler Wooddisse and scored at 5:53. The Grizzlies tied the game at 4-4 on the power play when Verbeek rifled a shot past Kowalski from the top left circle at 9:37. Sertich then gave Utah a 5-4 lead at 12:26 off a pass from Verbeek. Hennigar also assisted. Then with one minute left in the game Jim Jorgenson scored a goal from the left circle with Kowalski pulled for the extra attacker, tying the game and forcing overtime. Rome and Carefoot assisted.

“(The Grizzlies) are a hard working team,” Church said. “There’s a reason they’ve battled back and tied so many games but we were able to keep in it and earned a break in the end.”

After a scoreless overtime Sisca scored the only goal of the shootout while Kowalski went 5-for-5, giving the RoadRunners a final 6-5 win.

Phoenix out-shot Utah 44-37. Kowalski stopped 32 shots to earn the victory and improve to 15-12-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-1 on the power play while Utah was 1-3 with the man-advantage.

Saturday, rookie goalie Andrew Perugini turned aside 32 shots and Damian Surma collected a goal and an assist to propel the Stockton Thunder to a 3-1 victory over the Phoenix RoadRunners before 6,610 at Stockton Arena.

Stockton (20-20-5) opened the scoring at 12:03 of the first period when Darryl Marcoux beat Kyle Jones with a long shot through traffic from the right point giving the Thunder an early 1-0 lead.

Cory Urquhart extended the Stockton lead to two early in the third period when he picked up the loose puck in the slot and fired a shot off the right post and past Jones at 2:20. The RoadRunners (18-19-3) fought back three minutes later to score when Mark O’Leary picked up John McNabb’s rebound to the left of the cage and threw it past Perugini and into the back of the net at 5:20 to cut the deficit to 2-1. But failing to score on a five-on-three power play for 1:22 and a four-minute power play in total came back to hurt the RoadRunners in the end as Stockton converted for a power play goal into the empty net when Surma snapped the puck in from the blue line at 19:21.

Phoenix out-shot Stockton 33-32. Jones stopped 29 shots but suffered the loss to fall to 1-6-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-6 on the power play while Stockton was 1-4 with the man-advantage.
HOME SWEET HOME: The RoadRunners grabbed their 13th home win of the season Friday and are now just two victories away from matching their ECHL-club record of 15 home wins set back in 2006-07. Phoenix has outscored their opposition 84-82 at US Airways Center while averaging 3.36 goals per game. The RoadRunners have also scored 20 of their 28 power play goals this season on home ice, and they maintain the ECHL’s second best penalty kill at home having allowed just 19 goals on 148 chances.
SHOOTOUT STOPPER: With his perfect five-for-five effort in the shootout last Friday, goalie Craig Kowalski is now 10-for-10 this season in shootouts and leads all ECHL goalies with the best shootout save percentage.

BOMBS AWAY: The RoadRunners have averaged 38.25 shots per game in their last four outings and came two shots on goal short Friday of matching their season-high after firing 44 shots on Utah goalie Dan Turple. Phoenix currently ranks eighth in the ECHL averaging 32.23 shots per game.

POWER OUTAGE: The RoadRunners’ power play is currently in one of its biggest droughts of the season. Phoenix has gone just 1-25 (4%) on the man advantage in its last six games and 4-39 (10.2%) in the last 10 outings. The RoadRunners have had just one multiple power play goal game in their last 22 contests and only six total for the season.

NEWS & NOTES: The RoadRunners finished the month of January with a 5-6-0 record, but were 3-2-0 away from US Airways Center…Forward Mark O’Leary tallied his first two goals of the season Friday and Saturday in his first game action since Dec. 27, 2008 after going on the 30-day injured reserve…The RoadRunners have nine shorthanded goals on the season, one shy of their ECHL-club record of 10 set back in 2006-07…Rookie forward P.J. Fenton’s career-best four-game goal streak and seven-game points’ streak came to a conclusion Saturday in Stockton. Fenton has eight goals and nine points since Jan. 16… Center Kimbi Daniels missed his first game of the season Saturday due to an unspecified upper body injury suffered in Friday’s game against Utah.

WATCH THE ‘RUNNERS LIVE IN ’08-09: The RoadRunners have teamed up with B2 Networks to bring you live action of Phoenix RoadRunners hockey in 2008-09. 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 72 RoadRunners broadcasts will be available on-line. A cable or DSL Internet connection and Windows Media Player 9 are required to view the games.

UP NEXT: The RoadRunners play four games in five nights beginning with a visit from the Ontario Reign to US Airways Center at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday. Phoenix will then travel to Salt Lake City, Utah for a three-game series with the Utah Grizzlies at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from the “E”-Center. Catch Friday’s and Saturday’s action live on Independent 1310 KXAM and all four games live at www.phxroadrunners.com beginning with “RoadRunners Countdown” twenty minutes prior to face-off. Information on season tickets, half-season packages, and flex plans for the 2008-09 season of Phoenix RoadRunners Hockey are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.

Call the discovery channel I made a hibernation joke!

Also brilliant was the hail-mary, last ditch effort, tie-up-the-game goal scored by Jorgensen when Kowalski got pulled (note to my boyfriend, THIS is the textbook reason you pull the goalie) OT came and went with no scoring and on to the shootout. Sisca was our only scorerer bringing in the win at 6-5. Side note that kid is a firecracker, no holds barred with devil-and-penalty-may-care stick handling (A little slashy during faceoffs but shhhh I’m not telling)

The not-so-sweet? The seats. My boyfriend was able to score some suite tickets which sounded pretty great. But I have to say being confined in a suite surrounded by nearly no one was BORING. I yearned secretly (after all I didn’t want to look like an ingrate) to be down in the stands, hooting and hollering with the rest of my yahoo brethern. Chanting “he shoots..he scores..hey goalie you suck!” is just not as much fun when there are only 3 others close to you doing it.

So Zsa Zsa..keep your Park Avenue..I’m gonna hang with the commoners and give ‘em hell like a real hockey fan should!

Kowalski, 27, went 2-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and a .969% save percentage as the RoadRunners swept the Stockton Thunder last weekend at Stockton Arena. The Clinton Township, Mich. native and fifth-year professional stopped 33 of 34 shots and recorded the primary assist on Dan DaSilva’s game-winning shorthanded goal in the second period Friday to propel Phoenix to a 4-1 victory, and then came back Sunday to turn aside 29 of 30 shots in a 5-1 RoadRunners win.

Kowalski is 14-11-1 on the season with a 2.94 goals against average and a .920% save percentage, and also has two assists to his credit.

It’s the second time this season and the fourth time in his career that Kowalski has been named the ECHL Goaltender of the Week. He last received the honor for the week of Dec. 1-7, 2008 after going 2-0-0 with a 0.60 goals against average and a .980% save percentage in two starts against the Las Vegas Wranglers.

Kowalski becomes the first RoadRunners’ goalie in the club’s ECHL history to be honored by the league twice in the same season.

It’s also the third time in the four-year ECHL history of the club that a RoadRunners’ goalie has received the league’s weekly award. Cody Rudkwosky was named the ECHL Goaltender of the Week for Dec. 11-17, 2006 after going 2-0-1 in three starts with a 1.94 goals against average and a .945% save percentage, which included a 51-save shutout of the Texas Wildcatters on Dec. 15, 2006.

Phoenix concludes a three-game road trip at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday when they visit the Las Vegas Wranglers at the Orleans Arena. Catch all the action live at www.phxroadrunners.com beginning with “RoadRunners Countdown” at 8:15 p.m.

Saturday, February 28 will be Paladin Sports Outreach Community Night with the Phoenix RoadRunners as they take on the Bakersfield Condors at US Airways Center. This special event will also serve as the main awards ceremony for the dodgeball tournament as members from the winning team will be presented with their trophy, on-ice, during one of the game’s intermissions. Each member of the winning team will receive a free ticket to the game and everyone is encouraged to purchase discounted tickets to the game to support the winners, as well as PSO.

PSO will also have an informational table in the lobby of the US Airways Center to promote the positive initiatives being undertaken by the organization. PSO collects new and gently used sports equipment (of all varieties) to redistribute to less fortunate children and sports leagues.

“We are proud to partner with Paladin Sports Outreach and support their cause,” said RoadRunners VP of Business Operations, Ben Weber. “PSO does an outstanding job of bringing the community and sports together and we are excited about being a part of their vision.”

Registration to the dodgeball tournament is now open to the first 16 teams of 6-8 adults, 18 years of age or older. The registration cost is $150 per team and includes a t-shirt and lunch for each member. The tournament will be run in a cross-pool format with each team being guaranteed at least 3 matches (6 games). Prizes will be awarded to each pool winner, as well as a Grand Prize to the tournament champion. There will also be a prize to the “Best Themed” team.

This is a family-friendly event and is open to the public. Spectators are encouraged to attend free of charge. The event will feature a special guest speaker, food, children’s activities, and informational booths for local area groups and organizations. All proceeds from the annual tournament go to funding the organization’s free youth sports academies and clinics.

If you are interested in becoming an event sponsor or partner, please call 480-285-9459.

Friday, the Phoenix RoadRunners got a goal and an assist from Kimbi Daniels and Ashton Rome and snapped the Stockton Thunder’s seven-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory before 5,745 at Stockton Arena.

The RoadRunners (16-17-3) jumped out to a 1-0 first period lead when Rome beat Stockton goalie Bryan Pitton through the pads with a slap shot from the top of the right-wing circle for his team-leading 18th goal of the season at 8:16.

Stockton (17-18-5) netted the equalizer less than two minutes into the second period when Cory Urquhart picked up the loose puck in the slot and slapped it past an out-stretched RoadRunners’ goalie Craig Kowalski at 1:43 to tie the game at 1-1. The RoadRunners reclaimed the lead in the eighth minute of the second period with the Thunder on the power play. Kowalski cleared the puck to an open Dan DaSilva at the Stockton blue-line, and DaSilva moved in one-on-one against Pitton and flipped the puck over the Thunder net-minder and into the cage at 7:01 for a shorthanded tally and a 2-1 Phoenix lead.

Daniels gave the RoadRunners some much needed insurance when he fired a one-time slap shot from the slot past Pitton at 6:40 of the third period to extend the RoadRunners advantage to two goals. P.J. Fenton sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 18:41.

Stockton out-shot Phoenix 34-18. Kowalski stopped 33 shots to pick up his third straight win and improve to 13-11-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 0-2 on the power play while Stockton was 0-6 with the man-advantage.

Sunday, P.J. Fenton recorded his first career multi-goal game with a pair of tallies and the Phoenix RoadRunners throttled the Stockton Thunder 5-1 to sweep a two-game weekend series before 4,849 at Stockton Arena.

Following a scoreless first period, the RoadRunners (17-17-3) struck three times in the middle frame to build a 3-1 lead. Matt Burke opened the scoring just 1:38 into the period when he received a pass across the slot from Kimbi Daniels and tapped it past an out-stretched Stockton goalie Bryan Pitton and into the net for a 1-0 lead. Stockton (18-19-5) responded just 1:08 seconds later when Adam Huxley jammed a loose puck through RoadRunners goalie Craig Kowalski at 2:46 to tie the score at 1-1. Phoenix re-claimed the lead at 7:01 as Ashton Rome tallied his team-leading 19th goal of the season deflecting Brett Peterson’s point shot past Pitton and in. Fenton then gave the RoadRunners some late period insurance when he beat Pitton with a wrist shot and a shorthanded goal over the blocker at 17:25 to give Phoenix a 3-1 advantage going into the second intermission.

Fenton extended the RoadRunners lead to three goals at 9:19 of the third period when he picked up Daniel Sisca’s rebound and tapped the puck into the open cage. Mitch Carefoot capped the scoring with his 10th goal of the year at 12:05.

Phoenix out-shot Stockton 38-30. Kowalski stopped 29 shots to pick up his season-high fourth straight win and improve to 14-11-1 on the season. The RoadRunners went 1-7 on the power play while Stockton was 0-6 with the man-advantage.

THE WEEKEND THE SEASON TURNED: Although it’s too soon to tell, the RoadRunners may look back on their two-game weekend sweep at Stockton that pulled them back to the .500 mark as the weekend that turned their season around. Phoenix outscored the Thunder 9-2 in the two-game set getting multiple-point efforts from five different players including rookie center Merit Waldrop who enjoyed back-to-back multiple-point games. The 4.50 goals per game average was nearly two full goals better than what the RoadRunners were averaging heading into the weekend, while the 1.00 goals against per game average was better than two-and-a-half goals less than the 3.54 goals against average that Phoenix possessed coming into Friday’s game. The RoadRunners scored two shorthanded goals in the series and responded to giving up 10 power play goals in their previous six games by shutting out Stockton on all 12 tries on the power play over the weekend.

WE’RE GOING STREAKING: Forwards Kimbi Daniels and P.J. Fenton each are riding season-high five-game scoring streaks heading into play this week. Daniels has three goals and five assists dating back to Jan. 16. The five-game points’ streak matches a season-high for the 18-year veteran that he has achieved already twice this year. Daniels leads the RoadRunners with 26 assists and 38 points and is currently tied for 17th in the ECHL scoring race. Meanwhile, Fenton has five goals and an assist dating back to Jan. 16 and the five-game scoring streak is a career-best for the first-year winger. Since his assignment to Phoenix from Worcester of the American Hockey League, Fenton has reverted back to the form that made him one of the most prolific scorers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst over the past four seasons where he recorded 37 goals, 58 assists, and 95 points in 148 career games with the Minutemen.

“K-WALL” DELIVERS: Goalie Craig Kowalski captured back-to-back wins over the weekend giving him a season-high four-game winning streak. Over his recent four-game run, Kowalski has surrendered just nine goals on 137 shots and possesses a 2.21 goals against average and a .934% save percentage. For the season, Kowalski has pulled back below the three goals per game average at 2.94 and maintains a .920% save percentage.

POSITIVE SIGNS: Rookie center Merit Waldrop leads the RoadRunners with a plus-10 rating this season while skating in just 12 games with the club. Waldrop has recorded an even or better rating in 10 out his 12 games this year and has also contributed offensively with nine assists and 10 points. Meanwhile, defenseman Brett Peterson leads the RoadRunners’ blue-liners with a plus-eight rating through 32 games, and newcomers Jim Jorgensen and Gord Burnett are each plus-three in their tenures so far with the RoadRunners.

NEWS & NOTES: The RoadRunners have won a season-high three straight road games and four out of their last five games overall…Phoenix has scored three shorthanded goals against Stockton in the four-game series to date and has four shorthanded goals in their last seven games. The RoadRunners are tied for fifth in the ECHL with nine shorthanded goals, one shy of their ECHL club record of 10 set back in the 2006-07 campaign…Forward Mark O’Leary is eligible to be activated off the 30-day injured reserve Wednesday. O’Leary has not played since Dec. 27 against Ontario.

McEwan, 21, had two fighting majors and 10 penalty minutes and finished with a minus-two rating in four games with the Sharks after earning his first career call-up to the AHL. He leads the RoadRunners with 13 fighting majors and 116 penalty minutes in 22 games this season.

McEwan served as captain of the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League last season while collecting two goals, six points, and 93 penalty minutes in 37 games. The Kelowna, British Columbia native became just the fourth Kelowna-born captain in the Rockets’ 13-year history at the start of the season, but missed 25 games due to a wrist injury. McEwan led the Rockets and finished fourth in the WHL with a career-high 202 penalty minutes in 2006-07. He finished a four-year major junior career with seven goals, 10 assists, 17 points, and 540 penalty minutes in 208 games.

In a separate transaction, the RoadRunners have activated center Daniel Sisca from the seven-day injured reserve and transferred forward Michael Cohen from the three-day injured reserve to the seven-day injured reserve.

Phoenix opens a three-game road trip following the ECHL All-Star Break at 8:30 p.m. Friday when they visit the Stockton Thunder at Stockton Arena. Catch all the action live on Independent 1310 KXAM beginning with “RoadRunners Countdown” at 8:15 p.m.

The RoadRunners return to US Airways Center at 7:05 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30 when they welcome the Utah Grizzlies.

The RoadRunners were coming off a 2 game win against the Condors so it would stand to reason that this would be a win also. And things started off strong with some fast skating and good goal for goal action. The game was also peppered with some heated player exchanges and a couple of scraps, most notably the one Captain Carefoot participated in. Undoubtedly this came from these two fine feathered teams meeting again for the third time in three days. I’d be sick of their faces too!

Our guys battled what appeared to be a loss of focus and energy, some very bad missed calls by the ref and the Condors eeked by us 3-4. Disappointing loss..although any game where you are at the glass and behind the ”strike twice” net is a good one. And my daughter got to “bump” the boys as they entered and exited the tunnel. Great stuff!

The RoadRunners get a much needed break until January 23rd when they meet the Stockton Thunder and we will see them again at US Airways Center on January 30th to match up with the Utah Grizzlies.

Go Runners!