The Texas RoadRunners opened up their 2022-2023 season grabbing two out of three from the visiting Austin Ice Bats this past weekend.
Friday Final
Austin 2 @ TX RoadRunners 7 – In a battle of Texas, the RoadRunners defeated the Austin Ice Bats in a 7-2 final. Both teams were notched 1-1 going into the second period until Sebastian Hale (10:37) scored an unassisted goal for Austin to take a 2-1 lead. The RoadRunners went on a run scoring six unanswered goals starting in the second period with Kyle Portlock (16:40), Matev Ivanov (18:09) and TJ Brugaletta (18:27) to end the second up 4-2. In the third frame, Jack Klunk (8:01), Derek Boutin (12:23) and Matvev Ivanov (16:29) all scored for a RoadRunners win, 7-2. RoadRunners netminder Nash Willson had a stellar night backstopping 37 shots.
Saturday Final
Austin 5 @ TX RoadRunners 1 – The Austin Ice Bats picked up their first win of the season as Bryson Frazee stopped 67 shots as they took down the Texas RoadRunners 5-1. Sebastian Hall and Maddox Hoff each had a goal and an assist to lead the Austin offense. Caden Peterson, Luke Bradley and Al Evanyk also tickled the twine for the Ice Bats. Eitan Geralnik registered the only goal for Texas in the loss. Alex Opalacz and Jimmy Packee combined to make 21 stops.
Sunday Final
Austin 2 @ TX RoadRunners 6 – The RoadRunners took the rubber match of a three-game set with the Ice Bats thanks to a 6-2 win on Sunday. Kristoffer Svensson and Kyle Portlock had two goals apiece in the win. The RoadRunners led 3-2 after one period as they got goals from Svensson, JT Brugaletta, and Tyler Love, while the Ice Bats netted goals from Maddox Hoff and Sebastian Hale. The RoadRunners pulled away later in the game with a pair of goals from Portlock and another from Svensson. Jimmy Packee made 8 saves in the win, while Gary Wiles made 75 saves in the loss.
The RoadRunners are currently in second place in the NA3HL South Division and will head to Atlanta this week to take on the Capitals in a three game set. The Capitals swept the Mid Cities Stars last weekend in Euless and look to be a strong team in the early going of this season. “We had a bit of a slow start in two of the three games this past weekend. We have some things to work on this week and some adjustments to make but overall I am good with the way the guys played for the most part. Basically we ran into a very hot goaltender Saturday night and we took far too many penalties… it cost us a game. It’s a work in progress that’s for certain. ” Stated Head Coach Mike Beavis
Beavis went onto say that he was impressed with the strides the Ice Bats program has taken early in season two for the new franchise and feels they will be highly competitive this year with a great group of skilled and hard working players.
The Runners will hit the road for Atlanta this Thursday morning and will play Friday Night 6:40 PM EST, Saturday 6:30 PM and Sunday at 12:00 Noon all at the Duluth Ice Forum in Duluth, GA. All three games will be live on HockeyTV