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| (Photo Credits go to Samie Nichols) |
The team witnessed first year teammate Devin Mitchell having to be rushed to the hospital during the game, and then they proceeded to be defeated by a score of 7 to 2 in the first game of the two-game weekend series inside the Nellie to the Topeka Roadrunners in a North American Hockey League regular season contest.
At the 13:33 mark of the second period, Mitchell took a puck to the face off a stick of a Topeka player, and was immediately rushed to the hospital. There was a delay in the game as ice had to be cleaned up before the game could resume as a puddle of blood leaked onto the ice following the incident. Reports were surfaced that he lost some teeth, as well as the result of the possibility of a broken jaw.
It was an extra-especially scary moment for everybody that was in the attendance to see the incident live, and is one of the scariest things to happen in the sport of hockey -- and in any sports for that matter.
Topeka certainly took advantage of the heavy hearts of his teammates on this very night though. The Roadrunners got the scoring clinic started just three minutes into the contest, and they never trailed from that moment on. Tyler Poulsen scored the first goal at the 3:22 mark, and then just under five minutes later, Jerad Tafoya netted one of his own to make it 2-0. Parker Johnson scored an unassisted powerplay goal for Springfield with just under four minutes remaining, but Luke Veich scored with just 25 seconds left in the period, giving Topeka a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes.
The Jr. Blues scored the only goal of the second period, as Ryan Atkinson netted one between the pipes on a nice assist from Simon Koscielski against the Roadrunners' goalie Spencer Viele and put Springfield as close as they would get in the contest.
Topeka scored four goals in the third and final period in the route, as Viele shut the Jr. Blues out for the final 37 minutes of the game. Kyle Sharkley scored the Roadrunners only powerplay goal to start it up. Jake Kamarass and Codey Hansen both scored as well, and Jerad Tafoya finished it off as he finished the game with two goals at the finish.
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| (Photo Credits go to Samie Nichols) |
The Jr. Blues were outshot 37-36 for the game, as this was one of the rare games that starting goalie Matt Leon has struggled in this season. He allowed seven goals on 37 Topeka shots and seen his overall record fall to 7-7-2 for the season. Viele finished the night off proving once again why many consider him the best goalie in the entire league. He saved 34 of 36 Springfield shots and improved his record to 13-2-1 on the season and has his best goals against average (.939) and saves percentage (.939) in his NAHL career.
The Jr. Blues dropped their fifth straight game in a row with this loss, and fell to 10-15-2 overall for the season. Topeka stayed in first place as well as both Texas and Amarillo won tonight too. The Roadrunners are 19-5-4 for the season and currently own the best record in the entire North American Hockey League.
The Roadrunners took the season series lead 3-2 with the win tonight, but if the other two weekend series' have shown us anything when these two teams meet up on the ice, the team that wins the first game of the series proceeds to lose the finale. The two teams will be back at it again on Saturday night as the puck will drop at 7:05 inside the Nelson Center.
Official Scoring Summary
First-(TOP) Tyler Poulsen (Mick Bruce, Drew Karioflies) 3:22; (TOP) Jerad Tafoya (Peter Halash, Kyle Sharkley) 8:20; (SPR) Parker Johnson (PP) (unassisted) 16:16; (TOP) Luke Veitch (Sean Gaffney) 19:35
Second-(SPR) Ryan Atkinson (Simon Koscielski) 3:04
Third-(TOP) Kyle Sharkley (PP) (unassisted) 7:47; (TOP) Jake Kamrass (Codey Hansen) 8:53; (TOP) Jerad Tafoya (Dan Dupell, Peter Halash) 12:24; (TOP) Codey Hansen (Drew Karioflies) 13:38
Three Stars of the Game (Official from the Stadium)
1. Jerad Tafoya --- Topeka Roadrunners
2. Codey Hansen --- Topeka Roadrunners
3. Luke Veitch --- Topeka Roadrunners
To view all of the photos taken during this game, please click on the link. All of the photo credits go to my photographer, Samie Nichols.
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