In a rare 12:00 pm game, the RoadRunners were the early bird that got the worm, in the form of a 3-2 win over Amarillo to complete the weekend series sweep.
Topeka got on the board first when Shawn Brennan slipped a seam pass to Dominic Lutz, and Lutz ripped a low hard shot to the back of the net on the glove side at 12:23 for the 1-0 lead. Topeka took an uncharacteristic number of penalties in the frame (4), and had successfully killed off more than a minute of 5-on-3 Bulls power play time, but on the fourth Bulls power play, Amarillo tied the game on Elijah Barriga's goal at 18:13 and the first period concluded even at 1-1.
The second period was a complete shift. Three Topeka power plays in the first 6 minutes yielded nothing, but on the fourth power play of the period, Carlos Fornaris scored his first goal and first point in his fourth game at 13:11, assisted by Willie Brown and Ryan Polin, giving Topeka a 2-1 lead. Later in the period, Sam Rennaker won a puck battle on the right wing wall, feeding it to an advancing Brown who danced through the Bulls defenseman before rocketing a wrister high on the short side for a 3-1 lead at 17:32. Topeka led 3-1 after 2 periods, outshooting Amarillo in the second frame 11-1.
In the final stanza, the Bulls drew within a goal on a power play goal from Charlie Combs at 7:45, making it 3-2. The Bulls pulled their goalie for the extra attacker late in the period, but an icing call brought him back in, and the RoadRunners forecheck and defensive zone effectiveness secured the win, and the weekend sweep.
Make sure to be at Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant Tuesday night at 6pm for the RoadRunners Coach's Show with Arch Ecker. Arch and coach Langer will talk about the sweep and set up next weekend's games and a special RoadRunner player will be on hand as well.
Topeka (8-2-0) will wrap up their 4 game homestand next weekend against the Odessa Jackalopes (4-5-0) on Saturday at 7:05 and Sunday at 6:05. Saturday's game will feature a special Lynette Hudson State Farm Insurance Ice Scraper giveaway. Sunday's game will mark the conclusion of the Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Jersey Silent Auction for the pink jerseys the Runners will be wearing next weekend. The games will be broadcast locally on Sports Radio 1490 KTOP with Arch Ecker providing the play-by-play, and streamed online at FASTHockey.com.