Cleveland Crusaders @ Indianapolis Racers
Indianapolis Racers fans still have ot wait to see their Racers win a game on home ice inside Market Square Arena as the Cleveland Crusaders double up the Racers 2-1.
The lone goal in the first period would get the home fans up out of their seats, as Luke Matyjanka would score his first of the season on a slapshot from the blue line 4:40 into the period. Woody White would pick up the lone assist on the goal, his 4th of the season.
It would take almost the whole 2nd period for the Crusaders to tie it at 1, as Ryan Eller would get in behind the defense and deke the Racers goaltender Jan-Anders Mattila, to tie at 1 and score his 3rd goal of the season. Jarno Uusitalo picked up his 7th assist of the season on the goal, while Bill Simpson picked up his 3rd.
The game-winner would go to Sean Dillon of the Crusaders, as he’d pick up his first goal of the season 17:05 into the third period. Edmond MacAdam & Michael Fremlin were credited with the assists. It’d be the 2nd assist of the season for both of them.
Chris Olson picks up his 2nd win of the season in his 5th start for the Crusaders. He stopped 30 of 31 for a .968 save percentage. Jan-Anders Mattila was in net for the Racers and stopped 27 of 29 for a .931 save percentage. Mattila moves to 1-2-2 on the season.
Phoenix Roadrunners @ Indianapolis Racers
It was all Phoenix tonight inside Market Square Arena as they shut out the hometown Indianapolis Racers, 4-0. The Roadrunners would score 2 goals in the first period and a goal in each of the second and third periods.
It would take just 53 seconds for Emil Stolte to put Phoenix up 1-0. It’d his 7th goal of the season. Tomás Prokes picked up the first assist, his first of the season. And Michael Shults picked up the 2nd assist, 3rd of the season.
Emil Stolte would then pick up his 2nd of the game and league-leading 8th of the season at the 13:49 mark of the first period. Marcus Lively picked up his 3rd assist of the season on the goal, while Jasper Lampinen picked up his league-leading 9th of the season.
The Roadrunners would score one goal in each of the 2nd and 3rd periods. Brenden Venuto would make it 3-0 at 4:29 of the 2nd period with his 2nd goal of the season. Riley McCorkle was credited with the lone assist, his 2nd of the season.
At 11:39 of the 3rd period, Vasily Zubov would close out the scoring for Phoenix with his 4th goal of the season. Kestutis Kalvaitis picked up his 2nd assist of the season, while Emil Stolte and his night to remember continued with him picking up his 8th assist of the year. Which is tied for 2nd in the WHA.
Kelly Gordon got his 5th start of the season and moved to 3-1-1 while stopping all 39 shots he faced to pick up his 2nd shutout of the season. Jan-Anders Mattila slow start continues for the Racers. He stopped 22 of 26 shots for a .846 save percentage. His record moves to 1-3-2 on the season.
Phoenix Roadrunners @ Indianapolis Racers
IT’S A MIRACLE!!! The Indianapolis Racers have finally picked up a win in front of the hometown fans at Market Square Arena as the Racers shut out the Nationals 2-0 tonight in front of 16,371 fans.
The Racers started their scoring 2:44 into the opening period as Gustav Gustafsson picked up his first goal when he put a one-timer past Ottawa goaltender Dane Morden. Simon Strandberg picked up his 2nd assist on the goal, while Billy Kimball picked up his team-leading 6th assist of the season.
It’d stay 1-0 until the closing minutes of the 3rd period when Eric Gustafsson would put the finishing touches on the game with a empty net goal for his 2nd goal of the season.
Robin Rohrkemper was in net for Indianapolis, and stopped all 33 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season and moved to 2-1-1 on the season. Dane Morden was in net for Ottawa and stopped 25 of the 26 shots he faced for a .962 save percentage. This is the first loss of the season for Morden who falls to 3-1-0.
It was just the 3rd loss for the Nationals who move to 7-3-0 and still lead the Eastern Conference North Division by 2 points. With the win, the Racers are now tied for 3rd in the Eastern Conference South Division with New Jersey & Baltimore with 8 points.
Indianapolis Racers @ Winnipeg Jets
The home team made easy work of the visiting Indianapolis Racers tonight. They opened the scoring 16:22 into the first period with Eino Mäkelä picking up a loose puck and firing a long shot on net that beat Robin Rohrkemper to put the Jets up 1-0 with his 2nd goal of the season. Jack Graham picked up the lone assist, his 3rd of the season.
The Racers would go shorthanded with a 2-minute Woody White boarding penalty at 18:26 of the period. It would take only 7 seconds for the Jets to capitalize with the man advantage. Ken Puddifoot would tip a Jan Pospisil shot from the point to make it 2-0 for his 3rd goal of the season. Pospisil got his 1st assist of the season on the goal and Jan Marecek picked up his 4th of the season.
The Jets would continue the offense in the second period. At 8:35 of the second period, Steve Sommer would redirect a pass from Erik Björck on net that Rohrkemper could not get a pad on. It’d be the 2nd goal of the season for Sommer. It’d be the 2nd assist of the season for Erik Björck and 5th of the season for Jan Marecek.
Just under three minutes later, the Jets would score their 4th goal of the game. This one would come at the 11:34 mark when Andrew Carlson would let one loss form just outside the slot that Rohrkemper wasn’t able to get a glove on. It was goal number one on the season for Carlson with Bill Newton (1) and Steve Sommer (2) picking up the assists.
The Indianapolis Racers would finally break the shutout at 17:34 of the second period. Brennan Weeks would let loose a one-timer that got past Aleksandr Dubovitsky for his 2nd goal of the season. Ron Simmons picked up his 2nd assist of the season, and Bob Dale picked up his 3rd.
But that’s as close as the Racers would get. As neither team would score in the final 20 minutes. Aleksandr Dubovitsky was awarded 2nd star and got the start for the Jets. He’d stop 45 of 46 shots he faced to pick up his 2nd win of the season. Robin Rohrkemper was in net for Indianapolis and only faced 14 shots. But he’d allow 4 goals on those 14 shots for a .714 save percentage. With the loss, he moves to 2-2 on the season.
The Jets pick up their 3rd win of the season and sit last in the Western Conference North Division. The Racers fall to 3-5-2 and sit 5th in the Eastern Conference South Division.
Ottawa Reportedly Trades Yunyshev to Michigan
The players apparently knew they were on the trading block, so it did not surprise one of them when he learned that he had been traded to Ottawa. “Had gear packed already,” he said, when reached for comment. The Nationals will receive Andy Madden, LW, 26 & Bryan Dominey, G, 30 while: Nikolay Yunyshev, LD, 31 & Mike Harren, RW, 33 will go to the Michigan Stags.
There’s at least a bright spot on the horizon for the Racers as 22-year-old left-wing Garland Davenport has been cleared to return to action. He was injured on October 9th with a shoulder injury.
The Racers now go on a 3 game road trip next week. They play Monday night in Vancouver vs the 4-5-2 Blazers. Before playing back-to-back games Thursday and Friday. They will take on the 7-3-0 New York Raiders Thursday and the 4-4-2 Cleveland Crusaders Friday. The Crusaders beat the Racers 2-1 on October 16th.
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