A
long exciting season has ended, a hard fought playoff concluded. Now
begins the next chapter: The Offseason. Over the next few weeks, we’re
going to preview every step your RoadRunners take when building towards
another exciting season. Before we can look ahead, however, let’s take a
look back at 2012-2013. So take out your notebooks and grab a pen,
we’re going to school. It’s Offseason 101.
As
is the case with every new season, the fresh sheet of ice mirrors the
hopes and dreams of every team in the league with everyone’s eyes on the
NAHL’s ultimate prize, the Robertson Cup. The RoadRunners came into the
new season brimming with confidence. In addition to returning a number
of key players from the previous year, Topeka loaded up with several
NAHL veterans who had become free agents due to the dormancy of New
Mexico and St. Louis. Rounding out the roster was a batch of promising
first-year players and it appeared the stables were stocked for a
productive season.
A
solid back end of veteran defensemen with experienced goaltenders
Spencer Viele and Mackenzie Sawyer helped the RoadRunners to a strong
start, going 6-0-1 to begin the season. Topeka’s only loss over that
span came in a shootout against the Michigan Warriors. The first loss in
regulation didn’t come until Oct. 5, a last-second heartbreaker at home
to the Odessa Jackalopes (It was the only time Topeka would fall to
Odessa, going 11-1-0 vs. the Jackalopes the rest of the way). The
‘Runners rebounded and would not lose back-to-back games in regulation
until just before the Christmas break. That may have been precipitated
in part by the game ending brawl against Springfield on Dec. 8 that left
Topeka short-handed by the resulting suspensions. The RoadRunners went
0-2-1 the next three games. Still, things looked pretty good at the
holiday break with a 19-7-5 record.
The
second half of the season saw the ‘Runners fashion a 20-7-2 record, all
the more impressive considering the number of man-games lost to injury
and suspension. February was one of the most challenging segments of the
year. Events at the Expo took away practice ice and almost all of the
games were played on the road. The team rose above these challenges and
put together their longest winning streak of the season, a seven-game
run that included six straight wins on hostile ice. The streak snapped
suddenly at the hands of Wichita Falls who managed a sweep in the
Expocentre, something the Wildcats had never been able to do before.
Undaunted, the ‘Runners responded by going 7-1-1 the rest of the season
(a 14-3-1 stretch over the last two months that propelled them ahead of
the Texas Tornado to finish second in the NAHL South). This final
stretch surge earned home ice for Topeka for the sixth straight season.
In
the season prior, Topeka faced Texas in the first round of the
playoffs, winning a pair of tough 2-1 battles at home before finishing
the sweep in Frisco. Texas would be the RoadRunners first round opponent
again but the results were not the same. This season, it was Texas who
squeezed out a pair of 2-1 wins at the Expo before completing their
sweep in Game 3. For the RoadRunners, it was the first time they had
lost an opening round playoff series since moving to Topeka.
Despite
the early exit, there were many things to celebrate along the way. Kyle
Sharkey broke the all-time franchise career points record of 122 (Ryan
White) and set the new mark at 129. Goalie Spencer Viele recorded his 50th
career win. Also, several RoadRunners have committed to NCAA programs,
including Sean Gaffney (Connecticut), Tyler Andrew (Ferris State), Ross
Luedtke (St. Thomas), Kevin Patterson (Niagara), and the trio of Kyle
Sharkey, Trace Strahle and Spencer Viele (Wisconsin – Stevens Point).
Tune in next week as Offseason 101 continues. Up next, the Pre-Draft Camp.
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