Runners Take Eagles to the Brink, Win 2-1
The only thing more intense than a tie game late in the third or in overtime is the sudden death shoot out. And so it was that for the second day in a row the Runners were forced to win one with penalty shots (or shot, as it turned out) and they did just that, besting Soo 2-1.
The scoring had to wait until the second period when Peter Halash (assisted by Mike Gornall and Kevin Fitzgerald) gave the RoadRunners the lead at 5:31 while playing with a two-man advantage. A short lived lead, however, as the Eagle’s Ryan Urso countered at 6:41 (assisted by Brad Pung). The teams skated back to the locker room for the second intermission still tied, this time at one-a-piece.
The third period found both teams trading opportunities that neither could capitalize on as solid defense, goaltending, and sheer luck kept the puck from being netted. In regulation, Drew Vogler defended 26 of 27 shots to his counterpart Paige Skoog’s 23 of 24. Of their six powerplay chances, the RoadRunners took advantage of one while killing all four of the Eagle’s.
So for the second straight day the RoadRunners went into an extra period to find victory and, like yesterday, were forced into a shoot out. Tyler Poulsen scored on the Runners second attempt and Drew Vogler stopped all five by the Eagles, including a skate save that stopped the puck dead just inches from the goal line, and the Runners grabbed their second win in Blaine 2-1.
On Saturday the RoadRunners will wrap up the Showcase with the Aberdeen Wings (at 3:30pm). All of the games, and every game this season, will be broadcast live on Sports Radio 1490 AM and on iHeartRadio on your mobile device.
Topeka returns home on September 27th to take on the Springfield Jr Blues on Friday and Saturday night. On Saturday night there will be a youth jersey giveaway brought to you by Pella Windows, Lynette Hudson State Farm Insurance, Vision Bank, and the Kansas Expocentre. It will also be the night we celebrate the 1,000th broadcast of Arch Ecker’s RoadRunner career. And every time the RoadRunners get 5,000 people in the arena this season, one lucky fan will walk away $5,000 richer courtesy of Sharp Honda. For more information on tickets, call 785-286-PUCK or visit the Expocentre Box Office.