Tucson Roadrunners Road Ahead: Hockey Is For You
Upcoming Games (All Times MST)
Friday, March 29, Tucson vs. San Diego, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 30, Tucson vs. San Diego, 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 3, Tucson @ Bakersfield, 6:30 p.m.
Roadrunners Record Through 62 Games: 36-21-3-2 (77 points), second place in the Pacific Division, third place in the Western Conference.
Hockey Is For Everyone Weekend:
The Roadrunners are celebrating Hockey Is For Everyone Weekend presented by Intermountain Centers on Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30 for their two-game tilt against the San Diego Gulls. On Friday, the Roadrunners are offering $5 (16 OZ) Draft Beers, Discounted Hot Dogs, and $10 College Night Tickets. CLICK HERE to reserve your $10 College Night Tickets in our online offer. On Saturday, March 30, Hockey Is For Everyone continues with Rudy’s Texas B-B-Q packs that includes four tickets and a $25 gift card to Rudy’s HERE. Both games during Hockey Is For Everyone Weekend include sensory free family games and a sensory room during the game.
A Historic Season For Tucson:
In the month of March, as the Roadrunners continue to make their playoff push, Tucson has seen history be made this spring. In the last two weeks alone, four more players were recalled to the Arizona Coyotes; including John Leonard on March 12, Nathan Smith on March 20, Cam Crotty on March 24 and Josh Doan on March 25. Those four callups now accumulate to 17 total on the season for the Roadrunners: marking the most in franchise history. In the 2021-22 season, Tucson saw 16 of their players called up to the NHL, as Cam Crotty became this year’s 16th and Doan became the 17th. Patrik Koch, Matthew Villalta, Cam Crotty have all made their NHL debuts; with Doan set to make his debut on Tuesday, March 26. Doan was the latest callup, who is having one of the greatest rookie seasons in Roadrunners History. With 10 Roadrunners games left this year, Doan has played every match for Tucson up to game 62: scoring 26 goals and 20 assists for 46 points. His 26 goals this season are the most ever in a first full pro season for a Roadrunners rookie; surpassing Dylan Strome’s 22 goals that he set in 2017-18. In addition, Doan’s 26 goals are first amongst rookies in the AHL, and his 46 total points are third in the league out of the first-year players. Goaltender Matthew Villalta has also had a historic season for Tucson. With his next start coming at game appearance number 45, he will tie Ivan Prosvetov’s 45 single-season game appearances from the 2021-22 season. Villalta has already passed the most wins in a single season for the Roadrunners that previously belonged to Hunter Miska, who won 22 games for Tucson in the 2017-18 season. Overall, Villalta enters the week with a 2.61 goals against average, a .910 save percentage and a 26-15-3 record. His 44 starts and 26 wins are both top two in the AHL; with his 44 starts tied for first and 26 wins at second.
Marching To The Finish:
With two games left to go in March, Aku Raty (14 points), Jan Jenik (12 points), Steven Kampfer (11 points) and Josh Doan (10 points) are all the top scorers for the team in the month. With his 2 goals and 12 assists, Aku Raty has passed his 13-point December which was the team high for that month. In addition, Raty’s 14 points in March are the highest out of any players in a month this season. Jan Jenik’s second place 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in March have also already matched Dylan Guenther’s month high of 12 (4 goals, 8 assists) in December. With his two-assist game in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on March 23, Jenik now leads the team with 10 multiple-point games of the season with Aku Raty and Josh Doan both tied second with nine. Defenseman Steven Kampfer has led the way for the blue line not only for Tucson but the AHL. In the Month of March, Kampfer’s 11 points (1 goal, 10 assists) are ranked first in the AHL amongst defensemen.
March Madness:
With 10 games remaining on Tucson’s schedule the team remains in second place in the Pacific Division and third in the Western Conference overall. Tucson’s record of 7-3-1-1 in March has helped the team stay within second of the division because the top teams in the Pacific have had great months of March. Coachella Valley leads the way with an 8-0-0-2 record: remaining unbeaten in March. The Ontario Reign are second with an 8-2-0-1 record and Roadrunners are third with their 7-3-1-1 record. Overall, Pacific Division playoff teams have combined for a 44-24-2-6 record in the Month of March. Entering the week, Tucson, Colorado and Ontario are all separated by two points for second, third and fourth place in the division.
We’ll Do It Live:
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 Adrian Denny with Co-Hosts Kim Cota-Robles and Brett Fera are joined by Roadrunners Director of Hockey Operations Jake Wagman. In addition, the latest episode of the Tucson Roadrunners Insider Podcast dropped on Sunday as a San Jose Special with Adrian Denny, Kim Cota-Robles and Jonathon Schaffer as they recap the series in San Jose.
