Tucson Roadrunners Road Ahead: Hectic Home Stand Continues
Upcoming Games (All time MST)
Friday, January 26: Tucson vs. Ontario, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 27: Tucson vs. Ontario, 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, January 31: Tucson @ Bakersfield, 7:30 p.m.
This Year’s Record:
24-12-1-1 (1st Place In Pacific Division and Western Conference)
BEST IN THE WEST:
The Roadrunners enter the week in first place in both the Pacific Division and Western Conference at 24-12-1-1 at 50 points and a .658 winning percentage. In the Pacific, Tucson has a two-point advantage over Coachella Valley (48 points) and a three-point advantage over Calgary (47 points). The Ontario Reign, who Tucson plays on Friday and Saturday at the TCC, have lost three in a row; same as the Wranglers which has given the Roadrunners and Firebirds a run for the top two spots in the Division. The Milwaukee Admirals are the only Central Division team in the top five in the Western Conference; just one point behind Tucson at 49. Overall, eight of the top 10 teams in the Western Conference are from the Pacific Division, with eight points separating the top six teams in the Division itself. The Roadrunners are 17-11-1-1 against the Pacific division and 7-1-0-0 against the Central Division this season.
EIGHT IS GREAT
Defenseman Peter DiLiberatore applied eight shots on goal against the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday January 19 that ties a franchise high with single game shots from a Roadrunners defenseman. DiLiberatore becomes the fourth Roadrunner defenseman to do it, joining Robbie Russo had eight shots twice in 2018-2019 against the Bakersfield Condors and Colorado Eagles, Trevor Murphy also had eight shots against the San Diego Gulls in 2018 and Cam Dineen had eight shots last season against the San Jose Barracuda.
FULL LIST OF ROADRUNNERS DEFENSEMAN WITH EIGHT SHOTS ON GOAL
Robbie Russo 2/23/19 vs Bakersfield Condors and 3/2/19 @ Colorado Eagles
Trevor Murphy 10/6/2018 vs San Diego Gulls
Cam Dineen 12/4/2022 @ San Jose Barracuda
Peter DiLiberatore 1/19/2023 vs. Henderson Silver Knights
SHOTS SHOTS AND MORE SHOTS:
The Roadrunners have been putting outbursts of shots which has led to huge success of the team’s great run since December. In Tucson’s last 12 games dating back to December 23 against the San Diego Gulls, the Roadrunners have outshot their opponents by over 10 in seven of those games including eight of those games in which the Roadrunners allowed 30 shots or less. Tucson’s second period continues to be the most dominant; outshooting other teams 424-352 and outscoring them 43-32. Overall, the Roadrunners have outshot their opponents in 22 of their 38 games played this season and are 17-4-1-0 when outshooting the opposition.
Milos Mania:
Roadrunners forward Milos Kelemen has been consistent all season and he has continued that since being sent back to the Roadrunners from the Arizona Coyotes in December. In his last 17 games with Tucson, dating back to his three-point night against the Coachella Valley Firebirds on November 12, Kelemen has 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists). This includes a current season high four-game point streak in which he has two goals and two assists for four points. Kelemen will look for a an AHL career high five-game score streak on Friday against the Reign. Overall Keleman has eight goals and nine assists for 17 points this season.
Pogo Poganski:
As they call him “Pogo,” Austin Poganski has been on a run himself in Tucson’s recent homestand. In his last six games, Poganski has five goals and two assists for seven points with five of those points coming in Tucson’s first four games of the six-game home stand. Before returning home to the TCC last week, Poganski had only two assists at home compared to his five goals and five assists for 10 points on the road. Now after his recent home tear, Poganski has eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) at the TCC. In addition, Poganski added his third and fourth power-play goals last week and is now tied for second on the team in power-play goals and total power-play points with seven. In total on the first four games of the home stand, both Milos Keleman and Austin Poganski have contributed to eight of the last 12 Roadrunners goals.
On The Mic:
Tucson Roadrunners Happy Hour airs every Tuesday at 5 p.m. on FOX Sports 1450AM and the iHeartRadio app, with a podcast version also available after each episode on the iHeartRadio app. This week “Voice of the Roadrunners” Adrian Denny, with Kim Cota Robles Brett Fera will be joined by a special guest. In addition, this week’s Insider Podcast released on Sunday as Adrian Denny and Jonathon Schaffer recapped this four-game week Tucson had with Josh Doan, as well as their first-place spot in the west with Ontario coming to town this week.
