RoadRunners power past Avalanche

WASILLA — The Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena remained fairly quiet for the first 57 minutes of action on Wednesday.

But then Tim Niedzielak gave the local fans something to cheer about.

Niedzielak flipped a wrist shot from the point into the back of the Topeka net to give the Avs’ their first score of the game. Unfortunately for Alaska, 11 RoadRunner goals preceded Niedzielak’s score.

Powered by ridiculously effective play on special teams, Topeka skated to an 11-1 over the Avs.

Topeka (28-10-7) scored six times while on special teams, as the RoadRunners handed the Avs their 14th-straight loss. The Kansas-based hockey club posted four goals with the man-advantage, and scored twice more with a man down in the win.

Forward Eriah Hayes scored four goals in the win. He had a natural hat trick in the first period, and added an assist in the second.

Forward Bryon Paulazzo assisted on all four Topeka goals in the first period and had five helpers in the game.

Matt Hartmann and the UAF-bound Aaron Gens added three assists each.

Both Alaska goaltenders, Nathan Corey and Dusan Sidor, saw action in the loss. Corey, the starter, stopped 17 of the 23 shots he faced, before being removed in the second. Sidor topped 15-of-20 shots in just more than 34 minutes of action.

Alaska finally got on the scoreboard with 2:56 left in regulation.

With the puck in the Topeka zone, former Houston High School standout Sean Ranum won a battle in the corner for the Avs and knocked the puck back to fellow forward Grant Highley.

Highley, a Powell, Ohio., native, sent the puck across the zone to Niedzielak, who put a shot into the upper shelf of the Topeka net.

The goal was Niedzielak’s first since he was traded to Alaska by the Fargo-Moorhead Jets earlier this month.

After a day off Thursday, Alaska hosts Topeka again tonight at 7 p.m. at the Menard Memorial Arena. The teams will also play Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Menard.

Topeka 11, Alaska 1

Wednesday, Menard Memorial Arena

Topeka 4-5-2—11

Alaska 0-0-1—1

First period — 1. Topeka- Swank (Jendras, Paulazzo) 5:42, 2. Topeka- Hayes (Paulazzo, Shafer) 13:08, 3. Topeka- Hayes (Paulazzo, Gens) pp 17:01, 4. Topeka- Hayes (Paulazzo, Shafer) pp 19:57.

Second period — 5. Topeka- Seckel (Martmann) sh 1:38, 6. Topeka- Hayes (Smith, Gens) sh 5:27, 7. Topeka- Shafer (Hayes, Paulazzo) 6:24, 8. Topeka- Jendras (George, Brown) pp 16:19, 9. Topeka- Trousdale (Hartmann, Gens) pp 19:36.

Third period — 10. Topeka- Hutt (Jendras, Brown) 1:14, 11. Topeka- Stevens (Trousdale, Hartmann) 6:51, 12. Alaska- Niedzielak (Highley) 17:04.

Shots on goal: Topeka 19-12-12—43, Alaska 9-4-4—17; Saves: Topeka- Merriam 9-4-3—16, Alaska- Corey 15-2-x—17, Sidor x-5-10—15; Power plays: Topeka 4-for-9, Alaska 0-for-5; Penalties: Topeka 7-for-14, Alaska 11-for-22.

Alaska remains

in playoff hunt

Alaska is still in the battle for the fourth and final playoff berth in the North American Hockey League South Division.

The Avs (15-29-2) currently stand in fifth place in the South with 32 points, six points shy of fourth-place Texas (17-28-4). The Tornado have still skated in three more games than Alaska.

Texas is also on a losing streak, dropping their last four games.

Tonight, the Tornado begin a six-game swing through the 49th state, with the first of two-games against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in the Interior.

Next weekend, Texas heads to the Peninsula to face Kenai River twice.

On March 1, the Tornado cap their Alaska tour with a two-game series against the Avalanche. That series could ultimately decide who participates in the 2008 postseason, and who prepares for next year.

Kenai River (10-29-7) is still mathematically alive, and despite residing in the NAHL cellar, the Brown Bears received a glimmer of hope after posting two wins in a three-game set against Topeka last week.

The Brown Bears host Wichita Falls, the top team in the South, in a two-game series this weekend.

Avs still showing improvement

Despite a franchise-worst 14-game losing streak, the Alaska Avalanche are still showing improvement over prior seasons.

The Avs are scoring 2.82 goals per game, the highest during the organization’s three-year stay in the Mat-Su Valley. The then Wasilla Spirit scored a franchise-low 2.29 goals per game in 2005-06.

Alaska also has four players with 30 or more points for the first time in franchise history. Defenseman Kent Detlefsen scored 34 points (17 goals, 17 assists) before being traded earlier this month. Forward Jeremiah Dargis currently leads the team with 32 points (15-17-32). Forwards Alex Young (11-20-31) and Tyler Currier (13-17-30) have also hit the 30-point mark.

The franchise record for points in a season is 43 by Victor Nordenson last year. Nordenson (20-23-43) and Richard Leitner (14-28-42) both topped 40 points last year, but were the only scorers with 30 or more points.

In the franchise’s first season in the Valley, David Gault (17-19-36) was the only player to hit 30 points.

The team’s power-play percentage has also improved over the last two years. The Avs are converting at a 14.46 percent this season.

During the 2005-06 campaign, the Spirit finished the season at the bottom of the NAHL with a 10.14 power-play percentage, and improved slightly to finish second-to-last with a 10.78 power-play percentage the following season.

South finishes

1-2 in tourney

The South Division all-stars finished the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament with a 3-1 win over the Central all-stars at the Ice Cube in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Tuesday.

The South was 1-2 in the three-day tourney.

Two Alaska players, Alex Young and Jeremiah Dargis, participated in the event.

Young, Alaska’s captain, recorded four shots and an assist in the tournament. Dargis, a former Wasilla High School standout, had five shots in three games.

Around the NAHL

Of the three divisions in the 18-team NAHL, the North and Central Division titles are basically sewn up. Only the South remains up for grabs.

Defending league champion St. Louis has a stranglehold on the North with 76 points a 37-8-2 mark, 18 points ahead of second-place Mahoning Valley.

North Iowa (31-10-4) has 66 points, 18 better than second-place Springfield in the Central.

With 66 points, Wichita Falls (32-12-2) is just three points ahead of Topeka (28-10-7). Only nine points separate Wichita Falls and third-place Fairbanks (27-12-3).

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.