RoadRunners Back On Top, Defeat Tornado 5-2

Undaunted by a series-opening shootout loss, the RoadRunners (9-1-2) skated onto the ice Saturday night looking to put a little tarnish on the Tornado’s (9-1-0) gleaming undefeated record. Mission Accomplished. With the South Division lead on the line (to say nothing of pride) Topeka scored early and often, winning 5-2 in Frisco.
Sean Gaffney, making the spectacular look routine, put a crooked number on the scoreboard with goals at 7:14 in the first period and 5:20 in the second, handing the RoadRunners a 2-0 lead. Not getting lost in the shuffle, Spencer Viele turned in quite possibly his best night in net as a RoadRunner, saving 38 of 40 shots and literally standing on his head for much of the game’s first two frames.
The Tornado would make it interesting in the third as Justin Greenberg scored on a powerplay at 1:03, cutting the lead in half 2-1. Dan Dupell’s goal at 7:55 gave the RoadRunners a 3-1 edge and some much needed breathing room. And need it they would as Brandon Hawkins, also on a powerplay, cut into the lead again making it 3-2.
This series matched the league’s best powerplay (Texas) with the league’s best penalty kill (Topeka) and it didn’t disappoint. Though Texas had scored three powerplay goals in the series, Topeka was able to match them on the back of James Ring. Ring scored two powerplay goals in the third period (14:04 and 17:53 respectively) giving the RoadRunners three of their own for the series and putting the game out of reach 5-2.
“The focus really wasn’t on handing Texas their first loss,” explained Head Coach Scott Langer. “It was to improve our game and execute with energy. Anytime you can go into Texas and take 3 out of 4 points, it’s a big weekend. This team was a determined team tonight and it paid off.”
Now it’s back on the bus for home and the coming series against the Springfield Junior Blues (3-7-2) of the North Division. The two game series begins Friday night at 7pm and concludes Saturday at the same time.