The Texas RoadRunners traveled to El Paso this past weekend with one thing in mind. “Unfinished Business.” The Runners were eliminated last season in the division finals by the Rhinos and the fourteen returning players wanted to set things straight this season. The Runners accomplished one of their season goals and in fine fashion.
Friday Final:
TX RoadRunners 4 @ El Paso 1 – The Texas RoadRunners topped the El Paso Rhinos in a 4-1 final score. In the opening frame Matvey Ivanov (5:41) scored to get Texas ahead 1-0 with the help of Eitan Geralnik and Tyler Love on the assists. In the second period, Tyler Love (7:29) added to the RoadRunners lead with Jack Herron and Kyle Portlock on the assists. Matvey Ivanov (10:20) netted his second of the night getting the RoadRunners ahead 3-0. The Rhinos answered back a minute later with Carson Doyle (11:20) to end the period, 3-1. In the third period, Tyler Love (13:38) scored his second of the night with Jack Herron and Logan Motz getting called on the assists for a 4-1 final score. Hunter Hein was near perfect in the net for the RoadRunners stopping 35 of the 36 shots he faced.
Saturday Final:
TX RoadRunners 4 @ El Paso 1: The Texas RoadRunners picked up their second win of the weekend over the El Paso Rhinos in a 4-1 final. The Rhinos took a 1-0 lead in the first period when Miles Berg (12:12) scored. Texas answered back in the second with back-to-back goals as Tyler Love (11:38) and Jack Herron (14:35) scored to get a 2-1 lead. In the third the RoadRunners kept on the offensive side of the puck adding a goal from Derek Boutin (3:34) and Tyler Love (18:37) netting his second of the game. Hunter Hein stopped 32 of the 33 shots in the game.
Sunday Final:
TX RoadRunners 5 @ El Paso 3 – The RoadRunners moved their record to 8-1 on the season and sit atop the South Division thanks to a 5-3 win on Sunday in El Paso, which capped a three-game weekend road sweep of the Rhinos. TJ Lipsky scored twice for Texas in the win. El Paso had leads of 2-0 and 3-1 thanks to goals from Carson Doyle, Jackson Price, and Miles Berg, while Logan Motz scored for the RoadRunners. Texas then rattled off four straight goals to win, which included two from Lipsky and others from Kristoffer Svensson and Derek Boutin. Nash Wilson made 25 saves in the win, while Phillip O’Neill made 21 saves in the loss.
Weekend Wrap Up:
“The guys had a mission this past weekend and they followed through in a big way. I am generally happy with the guys at this point but we still have a ton to do if we want to stick around late in the season. Mentally we have to find a balance and physically we need to be at the top of our game all year long. States Coach Mike Beavis
Beavis went onto say that he likes what he sees early on in the season but knows that opponents will adjust and make changes during the year and his team will have to learn to play to those changes. The RoadRunners have taken the reins on the South division and are currently in 5th place in the entire NA3HL with games in hand, To secure that spot and continue to climb the ladder of the leagues elite the Runners must now prepare to travel to North Richmond Hills to take on the ever dangerous Texas Brahmas. The teams will play a three game set this coming weekend at NYTEX Sports complex. Friday and Saturday game time is 7:30 PM CST and Sunday puck drop is 2:30 PM CST.
Be sure to catch all the action live or at hockeytv.com for all your RoadRunners games as they continue this seasons “Quest for the Fraser Cup”