After losing a game in Corpus Christi for the first time in 10 visits on Friday, the Topeka RoadRunners made their mark early and left no doubt as they powered their way to a 5-2 win on Saturday over the Ice Rays at the American Bank Center.
It was a big night for defenseman Daniel Brickley. He assisted the RoadRunners first goal of the game at 8:04 when he finessed a shot from the left point through traffic on net, the rebound pounded home by Sam Rennaker. Just over three minutes later, he picked up the secondary assist as Daniel Rzavsky polished off a Yu Hikosaka doorstep attempt, and Topeka held a 2-0 edge at the end of one period.
In the second period, Corpus Christi cut the lead in half on a Logan Gestro goal after a scramble at 10:33. Less than a minute later, Brickley's smart use of body positioning and strong skating helped draw a RoadRunner power play, which Brickley himself converted just :13 seconds into the man advantage with a blast from the midpoint that sailed into the top of the twine for a 3-1 Topeka lead. It was his first goal of the season. At 13:29, Sly Sutter buried the remnants of a WIllie Brown shot for a 4-1 Topeka lead. Ice Ray Jack Jenson fired a low blocker side shot past Drew Vogler at 16:30 to pull Corpus Christi to within a pair of goals, and the RoadRunner lead was 4-2 at the end of two periods. The second period saw the Ice Rays outshoot Topeka 12-11, the only time all weekend the Ice Rays would have that edge.
In the third, Topeka poured it on, outshooting the Ice Rays 23-9. The only goal of the period came off the stick of Luka Maver, the youngest RoadRunner on the roster as he ripped a low blocker shot home off a nice feed from the right wing wall by Daniel Rzavsky, who had a big weekend as well. Maver's goal made it 5-2, and that ended up being the final score. Topeka maintains a streak of 22 games against Corpus Christi with at least a point. (20-0-2). The teams will not see each other again this regular season.
Topeka (11-2-1) currently holds 1st place in the NAHL South, as well the top record in the NAHL. Up next, they will head to Hidalgo, TX to face the 5th place Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (5-4-1). Fans can catch all the action atr the RoadRunners Official Away Game Viewing Parties locally and can hear it live on Sports Radio 1490 KTOP.