The Texas RoadRunners return home this weekend to face off against the Mid Cities Stars in a two game homestand. The RoadRunners are coming of a tough road weekend against last seasons league champion Texas Brahmas. The RoadRunners battled a slew of injuries and a recent call up to the NAHL and in the three game series VS the Brahmas the RoadRunners struggled to find any offense managing only one point out of a possible six on the weekend.
Friday Game Results:
TX Roadrunners 0 @ TX Brahmas 8 – 10 saves were all it took for Kayden Hargraves to notch the shutout, as seven different Brahmas found twine in an 8-0 win over the Roadrunners. Reigning South Division Star of the Week Jack Cooper potted a pair, with Richard Indermill, Matej Palfy, Blake Rothstein, Leevi Selanne, Danny Barry and Ian Erdman each hit the scoresheet as well. Cole Garver and Blake Forystek posted a shared 33 saves for the RoadRunners
Saturday Game Results:
TX Roadrunners 4 @ TX Brahmas 5 (OT) – The Roadrunners roared back into the contest with two third-period goals to force extra time, but Dylan Smith potted his second of the game just under a minute into the fourth frame to hand the Brahmas a 5-4 win at home. Andrue Trelstad, Matej Palfy and Findlay Wood also scored for the Brahmas, while Seth Payson, Riley Vertosnik, Trevor Borlace and Tadeas Vicha netted for the Roadrunners in a back-and-forth contest. Bryce Runyan made 22 saves for the victory, while Jaeger Reed’s herculean 51 saves fell just short of the win for the Roadrunners. “The guy’s battled hard in this one for sure and executed our game plan and grabbed a much needed point. We fell a bit short in OT but all in all I am happy with the effort. We were short three guys tonight and other players stepped up big to help us show that we can never be counted out.” States coach Mike Beavis
Sunday Game Results:
TX Roadrunners 0 @ TX Brahmas 8 – A banner outing for the Brahmas started off with a pair of Tyler Blanchard goals in the opening frame and only got better from there, as Leevi Selanne bagged his first hat-trick of the season en route to an 8-0 win over the visiting Roadrunners. Jack Cooper, Gehrig Lindberg and Dylan Smith added goals as well, as Kayden Hargraves made eight saves for the shutout. Meanwhile, Jaeger Reed and Cole Garver had their hands full with 48 total saves in the Roadrunners’ net. “Not a good way to end the weekend by all means. The guys emptied their tanks both emotionally and physically last night but need to find a way to recover and put together some consistency going forward. We can’t afford to stay on the roller coaster too long as we need to establish the urgency to remain consistent and win some games.” added Beavis
The RoadRunners added forward Seth Payson to the line-Up this past weekend. ” Seth was sent to us from Thief River in the SIJHL last week and we were happy to have him join the club. I spent time with Seth this summer and wanted him to attend Odessa’s main camp but he was already attending New Mexico. When he was released from New Mexico he had an offer with Thief River which he decided to pursue. A couple weeks ago I had heard that he could be available so I reached out to Thief River and they helped us out with acquiring his rights for future considerations.” states RoadRunners coach Mike Beavis. Beavis went onto say that Payson will add some needed help to the teams offence once he adjusts to the team and systems and should be a good two way player for the program with a bright future within the system. Payson the 6’0 165lb 18 year old from Albuquerque, NM will see special teams action for the squad as well as the possibility of catching the eyes of some NAHL teams for next season.
The RoadRunners also made another roster move this past week and released Ontario forward Gabe Davis. The team and Davis decided that a change of scenery would be good for the 17 year old forward as they parted ways. When the staff was asked for comment on Davis, Beavis stated that it was just not the right fit for Gabe as well as the team at this time and sometimes it’s better to part ways and move on for everyone. Beavis did say that he wishes all the best to Davis as he was a player that he helped bring in to Odessa Main camp as well as into the RoadRunners program.
The team will face off this evening against the Stars at 6:15 pm and again on Sunday with a rare matinee game with puck drop scheduled for 12:00 noon. Stop by and catch the RoadRunners live this Friday and Sunday or tune into hockeytv.com all season long to catch all the action.