RoadRunners begin roadtrip, defeat Bandits

Richard Kelly

 

The St. Louis Bandits are a team that rarely loses at home. The Topeka RoadRunners paid no attention Friday night.

Outshooting the Bandits by an astounding 40-19, the RoadRunners defeated rival St. Louis 5-2 at the Hardees Iceplex. 

St. Louis (19-8-3) was able to get on the board at the 14:20 mark of the first period on a powerplay goal by Evan Stibbard, but Nate Milam responded for Topeka (15-6-2) at the 19:06 mark to knot the game up at one. While the shot margin was 10-9 RoadRunners after the first period, the game changed dramatically the following period. Outshooting the Bandits a whopping 21-6, Topeka put three goals on the board, including a second goal from Milam.

Patrick Sheehan cut into the Topeka lead early in the third, but Brian Christie scored his second goal of the night on an empty net to seal the game late in the third period. Rasmus Tirronen got his 11th win on the season for Topeka.

The two teams tangle again Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Topeka has not swept a series in St. Louis since early winning 4-3 and 3-2 on January 9-10, 2009.