GADES NOTES

Not-so-special Gades

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.

"It's kind of tough to win when you're giving up 3 of 6, 50 percent, on the penalty kill," Goudie said.

Richmond has fallen to the bottom of the Southern Professional Hockey League rankings in penalty killing, allowing foes to convert a little more than 20 percent of the time.

But the statistic that really rankles Goudie is the Renegades' success rate at home (23.5 percent) with the man advantage compared to the road (10.3).

"On the road, you've just got to simplify it a little more," Goudie said. "Get pucks on net and get traffic [in front of the goaltender]. At home, we do that kind of stuff. On the road, you've got to play your game and get a little more dirty in front of the net. Get the shots through, then just whack and bang at the rebounds.

"What I've told the guys for this trip is when you're on the road, the two main things are defense and penalty kill. We've got to be able to kill penalties and play good defense."

Richmond is in Huntsville tonight and visits first-place Knoxville tomorrow.

Joy on a goal roll

Justin Joy is making up for lost time at the beginning of the season. The second-year pro has scored eight goals in the past six games, giving him 19 for the season (second on the team behind Beau McLaughlin's 26).

"There's no mystery to his game," Goudie said. "He drives to the net and shoots the puck. Doesn't matter what angle. It's nice to see because it adds another guy up front who can put the puck in the net when he gets the chance."

Joy didn't turn on the red light until the seventh game of the season, and that was his only goal in the first 14 outings.

On three occasions in his recent run, Joy has a pair of goals. In his rookie season for the Renegades, Joy had 14 goals in 51 games.

SPHL shootout kings

Shootouts have been kind to Richmond this season. The Renegades are 5-0 in the extra session and have allowed just one goal in 22 one-on-one attempts.

Goalie Ryan Scott, who is 2-0 in shootouts, gave up the only goal when Tim Vitek of Knoxville beat him last Friday. But he stopped the other four snipers as the Renegades took the shootout 2-1 to win 4-3.

"I knew where he was going [between the pads], but I didn't get down in time," Scott said. "You have to have an idea of where they're going with it. You have to gap up and get your speed right. Guys that want to shoot as long as you're out [of the crease], they might try to deke [fake] you. I kind of want to bait them into deking because that makes it a little easier to pick a side.

"I'm a better goalie when they deke than when they shoot. If I'm still up high, then I have a pretty good chance on the shot." -- John Packett