NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Tex. – Topeka captain Marshall Bowery broke a 2-2 tie with a third-period power-play goal Friday night and goaltender Ryan Snowden turned aside 30 shots as the RoadRunners posted a 3-2 victory over Lone Star in North American Hockey League action at NYTEX Center.
The win raised Topeka’s record to 7-10-1, while Lone Star slipped to 13-3-1.
The RoadRunners jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals 57 seconds apart. Alex Frye beat Lone Star goalie Alec Calvaruso (25 saves) with a high shot to the glove side, and rookie defenseman Devon Fields scored his first career goal when he crept in from the blue line and beat Calvaruso over his glove. Marcus Russell and Will Schlagenhauf tallied assists on the goals, respectively.
Snowden was busy in the first periods, shutting down two Lone Star power plays. He came up big on a goal-mouth attempt by Justin Addamo, and then again on Pete Kessel from the slot.
The rookie goalie from Lincoln University, Pa., would face 15 shots in the second period as the Brahmas tied the game on two quick goals less than 5 minutes into the period. Kessel finished off a 3-on-2 rush with a shot just under the crossbar, and less than a minute later Addamo tipped in Vincent Dekumbis’ shot from the top of the circle.
With the scored tied heading into the third, the RoadRunners took control, outshooting the hosts 10-5. Topeka killed off a Lone Star power play when Fields went off for roughing nine minutes into the period, and then followed up with a power play of it’s own just seconds after the penalty kill. Bowery then got the game winner when he ripped home Jake Rosenbaum’s wide blue line shot that bounced hard off the end boards. Jack DeMatteo also assisted.
The two teams finish the weekend series Saturday night with a 7:30 contest.
NOTES …. The RoadRunners added defenseman Trevor Zins to the roster prior to game-time Friday, picking him up from the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. The RoadRunners made room for Zins by dropping defenseman Artem Nekrasov. …… With goaltender Mike Rockwell serving a three-game league suspension, the RoadRunners called up goalie Esa Maki from the Maine Moose U18 program. …… After the weekend series with Lone Star, the RoadRunners are off until Nov. 16-17-18 when they travel to Wichita Falls for a three-game series.