The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Roadrunners shouldn’t have much trouble scoring goals this season.
That much is for certain after the Roadrunners lost 7-6 to the San Diego Gulls on opening night at the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Arena.
Whether ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ can keep opponents from ransacking its own net looks to be the bigger question as the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Coyotes’ American Hockey League affiliate embarks on its second year in the desert.
The Roadrunners jumped out to a promising 2-0 lead thanks to goals by Emerson Etem and Conor Garland. Etem, a right wing with NHL experience, should headline the Roadrunners aggressive offense this season.
The Long Beach, California, native played last year with San Diego but suffered a season-ending knee injury in his first game with the team.
Etem’s former team would bounce back nicely, as the Gulls turned an early deficit into a manageable lead.
People are also reading…
With the Roadrunners leading 3-1 midway through the first period, San Diego responded with a pair of goals to tie the score after one period.
The Gulls took the lead 36 seconds into the second period on a score by Andy Welinski.
San Diego didn’t stop there.
The Gulls would score two more goals — for six in a row — to increase their advantage to 6-3 by the 13:42 mark of the second period.
“It’s a brand new system for us,†Roadrunners head coach Mike Van Ryn said. “I liked our pushback. We tried to come back.â€
Goalie Hunter Miska allowed all of San Diego’s goals. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ stopped the San Diego momentum briefly with a late second period goal by Scott Allen.
However, the Gulls responded mere seconds later when San Diego’s Mitch Hults answered. Down 7-4 and on its heels, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ regained its offensive mojo the rest of the night.
It would come up just short.
Veteran skater Mario Kempe knocked in a score in the final moments of the second period to make the score 7-5.
ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ made it a one-goal game when Jens Looke scored with 13:21 remaining.
The Roadrunners had plenty of opportunities to tie the game in the final moments, but San Diego goalie Kevin Boyle kept ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ at bay.
“I think we were playing not to get scored on,†Van Ryn said. “We’ve got to learn to keep going, keep being relentless.â€
A near-sellout crowd welcomed the Roadrunners on opening night. Before the game, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ players were introduced as part of a red-carpet walk.
