Topeka RoadRunners Win Seventh Straight, Down Texas 4-2

It was a tale of two teams heading in opposite directions. The RoadRunners capped off a perfect six-game road trip, including four wins over the now third place Texas Tornado, with a 4-2 win at Dr. Pepper Arena. The victory marks the RoadRunners seventh straight and puts them five points ahead of Texas who suffered their eighth loss in a row.
Jackson Leef gave the Tornado an early boost with his power play goal at 12:30. The score would remain 1-0 Texas until the second when Kevin Patterson notched his first goal of the season at 2:15.
Tied at one, the RoadRunners benefited from a sketchy goal of their own. Brandon Brossoit fielded a pass from Tyler Groat. Brossoit lost his footing, fell on the puck and straddled goalie Hunter Leisner into the goal for a score at 7:20. The replay wasn’t clear as to whether the puck crossed the line before the net popped loose but the RoadRunners took a 2-1 lead nonetheless. Texas struck back though, taking advantage of Michal Pastor’s holding penalty at 12:11 with another power play goal, this time from Scott Conway.
Following the closing horn of the second period, goalie Mackenzie Sawyer was ejected for fighting. In came Spencer Viele to close out the game. In the third, Viele and the RoadRunners D killed the major penalty and paved the way for Tyler Poulsen’s spectacular breakway/fall down/unassisted/backhander that gave the Runners a 3-2. At 10:17, Anthony Mousseau’s slash gave Poulsen a penalty shot opportunity which he capitalized on to give the Runners a 4-2 lead. The RoadRunners managed to grind it out the rest of the game through a couple of late penalties to seal the victory.
In stark contrast to Friday night’s 28 total penalty minutes, Saturday’s contest featured 99. In short, the RoadRunners were a man down for an entire period which only underscores the work of Runner goalies. In particular, Viele, who played only 20 minutes but was impressive as he sealed off the crease in the final frame stopping all 16 shots on goal.
The RoadRunners finally return to Landon Arena next Friday night against the Wichita Falls Wildcats. One dollar from each ticket sold on that night will be used to help send Officers Gogian and Atherly’s families to Washington DC for the National Police Week Memorial. The Expocentre will match each dollar collected in this effort.