Richmond’s eight-game road trip didn’t get off to the kind of start that coach Brian Goudie had in mind Tuesday night in Fayetteville, N.C., and the special teams were mostly to blame. The Renegades gave up three power-play goals (in six chances) to the FireAntz and failed to convert any of the six opportunities they had in a 7-3 loss that snapped a five-game winning streak.

Ryan Scott hadn’t been between the pipes for almost two weeks, but the Richmond goaltender didn’t look the least bit rusty last night. Scott made 36 saves, and his teammates put together one of their best overall games of the season to beat Huntsville 4-2 and snap a three-game losing streak before 3,422 at the Coliseum. “I came out [yesterday] morning and got in some extra work,“ said Scott, who had missed the past four games with a leg injury. “I went really hard, pushed myself working on some stuff.

With the release of forward Josh Coyle on Monday, Richmond coach Brian Goudie hopes he has the team that will finish the 2008-09 season. Coyle was waived to make room for forward Dennis Sicard, who was signed to a regular contract after playing under a three-game tryout on the weekend. Coyle, who had five goals and five assists in 22 games, is going to play in Brooklyn (Eastern Pro Hockey League), according to Goudie.

The Richmond Renegades did all of their scoring in the second period last night, and it was just enough to hold off Twin City 4-3 in a Southern Professional Hockey League game in Winston-Salem, N.C. Richmond turned on the red light four times, which was all the margin goaltender Ryan Scott needed to improve his record to 8-4-1. Scott finished with 32 saves and was named first star of the game. With the victory, the Renegades (18-14-1, 37 points) moved within two points of second-place Huntsville (18-11-3, 39).

Ryan Scott is working on earning degrees in wellness management and childhood education at the State University of New York-Oswego. The 25-year-old goaltender also is using some of that intelligence to stop pucks for the Richmond Renegades.

You could say the Richmond Renegades were dressed to kill. Wearing garish green-and-red jerseys and green socks — a sartorial salute to Christmas — the Renegades stung the league-leading Huntsville Havoc 5-2 last night at the Coliseum. The Renegades’ jerseys featured a whimsical touch. The leering pirate on the front of each uniform wore a jaunty Santa Claus hat.

Richmond Renegades coach Brian Goudie described his team’s defensive effort as, well, offensive. Goudie said yesterday’s 4-2 home-ice loss to the Columbus Cottonmouths was a function not of tired legs but rather of tepid defense.