It was a night of highs and lows for the RoadRunners on Saturday as they celebrated their annual Teddy Bear Toss against the Amarillo Bulls. The home crowd who braved the wintery weather were treated to an early score, but a third period collapse lifted the Bulls to victory 5-2.
With the anticipation hanging thicker than the snow in the Topeka sky, RoadRunner fans were eagerly anticipating the first goal of the game so that they could fire their teddy bears onto the ice. They didn’t have to wait long as DeVon Fields (assisted by Nick Granowicz and Peyton Frantti took a rebound off of Nikita Babintsev between the face off circles and planted into the back of the net at 11:48 of the first period. Bears rained onto the ice before being scooped up by a Sharp Honda truck. The bears will be donated to the Topeka Rescue Mission and Helping Hands Humane Society.
The Fields goal would hold until the second period when Eric Cooley evened the game at 1-1 with breakaway score at 12:26. The game stayed knotted until Jeff Makowski untied it at 3:06 of the third and final period, giving the RoadRunners their second lead of the night. It would not last long as the Bulls would strike four times over the next 15 minutes to complete the sweep with a 5-2 win.
The RoadRunners will take a short holiday break before returning to Landon Arena on New Year’s Weekend for a three-game set against the Wichita Falls Wildcats. The Friday and Saturday night games will start at 7pm, with the New Year’s Day game beginning at 2pm. For more information on tickets call 785-286-7825 or visit the Expocentre Box Office.