Game #48: Tucson Roadrunners (2) vs Bakersfield Condors (3)
Game #48: Tucson Roadrunners vs Bakersfield Condors
SOG: TUC (30) – BAK (21)
PP: TUC (1/5) – BAK (1/3)
BAKERSFIELD SCORING: Dino Kambeitz (6), Ty Tullio (6), Raphael Lavoie (17)
TUCSON SCORING: Vladislav Kolyachonok (3,4)
They don’t call him Curtis “Heavy Right Hand” Douglas for nothing. Okay, no one calls him that, but Curtis Douglas dropped the gloves with a Bakersfield player and threw several great right hands in the third period of Friday nights contest. Douglas, who fought for a team leading seventh time this season, would ignite the Roadrunners as they would draw a power-play on the shift following Douglas’ tilt.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
VLAD TO HAVE YA- Boy oh boy are we Vlad to have glad. Or, glad to have Vlad we should say. With two goals in Friday night’s contest, defenseman Vlad Kolyachonok became the ninth Roadrunners player this season to tally two goals in a game. Kolyachonok also became the first Roadrunners defensemen to score a multiple goal game in the 2023-2024 season for the Roadrunners.
LOOK AT THIS
Tucson Roadrunners celebrate in the third period of Friday nights game as defenseman Vlad Kolyachonok scores his second goal of the evening and fourth on the season. Kolyachonok was assisted by Jan Jenik (far right) and Victor Soderstrom (not pictured) on the play.
THEY SAID IT
“I thought we had some good points in that game and our boys stayed resilient. Give credit to our guys who fought until the end. We could have shot the puck more and then we let them off of the hook a little bit. We have to be better with our puck decisions around the hash and get a deeper entry.”
Head Coach Steve Potvin following Tucson’s 3-2 loss on Friday night.
THE RUNDOWN
If was Swiftie Night and Dusty’s Birthday at the Tucson Arena on Friday night, but the birthday wishes and high-pitched pop tune lyrics ringing through the Tucson Arena would not be enough to jolt the Roadrunners into victory. The first period was a back-and-forth affair between the two Pacific Division teams, with Bakersfield outshooting Tucson 11-10 in the frame. Matthew Villalta, recently recalled from the Arizona Coyotes, was perfect in the period making 11 saves and ending the night with 18.
In the second, it was Bakersfield that would come out singing, like a Taylor Swift concert, and score two goals in the first 12:18 of the period. An interference minor on Tucson in the final minute of the second period would put the Roadrunners in jeopardy of going down three. Instead, it would be defenseman Vlad Kolyachonok scoring a shorthanded goal and igniting the crowd into cheers and Taylor Swift friendship bracelets flying around the Tucson Arena. Kolyachonok was assisted by John Leonard and Austin Poganski on the play.
The one-goal deficit for Tucson was short lived as Bakersfield would come out in the final period and score a power-play goal to take a 3-1 lead. Later in the frame, Bakersfield would rip a shot that hit the crossbar and rimmed out. Play would continue, but following the first whistle Bakersfield would challenge the call of no goal. The call would stand after review, and by rule, Bakersfield would take a delay of game penalty. This power-play opportunity for the Roadrunners would lead to Vlad Kolyachonok scoring his second goal of the evening and fourth goal of the season. Kolyachonok was assisted by Jan Jenik and Victor Soderstrom on the play. A Bakersfield penalty in the final minute, and Tucson pulling Matthew Villalta would give the Roadrunners a 6-on-4 advantage and a few good looks to tie the game late. Unfortunately, they couldn’t bury the puck and Bakersfield would hold on to the 3-2 victory.
