Tucson Roadrunners Road Ahead: Soaring Into San Diego

Upcoming Games (All times MST)

Wednesday, March 29: Tucson at San Diego, 7:00 p.m.

Friday, March 31: Tucson at Bakersfield, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 1: Tucson at Bakersfield, 7:00 p.m.

Who’s On The Schedule

The Tucson Roadrunners enter the week off of back-to-back road victories in Colorado with wins in four of their last five contests overall, and will continue their six-game trip Wednesday night with the eighth and final meeting of the season against the San Diego Gulls. Tucson has earned at least a standings point in five of the previous seven matchups with their I-8 Border Rivals and the AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, including two of the first three on the road at Pechanga Arena. Following the standalone contest from San Diego, the Roadrunners will continue on to Bakersfield to go up against the Condors for a two-game series Friday and Saturday at Mechanics Bank Arena. Tucson enters the week two points behind the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers in the AHL Pacific Division standings with a 4-2 record against the Condors on the year.

Anticipation For April

The Roadrunners will return home for their final four home games of the regular season beginning on Friday, April 7 against the Texas Stars. The series opener against the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars marks Texas’ first trip to Tucson since October 2021, and features $3 Hot Dogs and $3 Soft Drinks to kick off the home stand. The series finale on Saturday, April 8 is Autism Acceptance Night Presented by Intermountain Academy, with a Sensory Room available at the Tucson Arena for fans to take a break from the hockey action. The fourth meeting of the season with the Stars is also the sixth and final Roadrunners game to be broadcast live in Southern Arizona on The CW Tucson, with Tucson.com’s Brett Fera joining “Voice of the Roadrunners” Adrian Denny on the call. The following weekend sees the Roadrunners wrap up the regular season with a two-game set against the San Jose Barracuda. The series opener on Friday, April 14 is the third El Lazo de Tucson Night of the season Presented by the City of Tucson, with the Roadrunners donning their alternate El Lazo de Tucson jerseys for the contest. As part of El Lazo de Tucson, the Roadrunners are hosting a Pregame Tacos and Tequila Event at the Tucson Arena starting at 6 p.m. MST, with a special package that includes a game ticket, a t-shirt, four tacos, a churro, and discounted tequila tastings available at TucsonRoadrunners.com/Tacos. The final El Lazo de Tucson game of the year also features Dusty’s Cheering Section for the first time hockey fan that includes one game ticket, a Roadrunners Rally Towel and a pregame edition of ROADRUNNERS HOCKEY RULES. Finally, game number 72 to close out the regular season on Saturday, April 15 is Fan Appreciation Night Presented by the Arizona Daily Star, with a Player Poster Giveaway courtesy of AMR. For full information on the Roadrunners remaining home games and to purchase tickets, visit TucsonRoadrunners.com/Fun.

Flying High Against The Eagles

Tucson is coming off of a two-game series sweep against the Colorado Eagles Saturday and Sunday at the Budweiser Events Center to start their current six-game road trip, marking their first ever sweep of the Eagles on the road in Loveland, Colorado. The Roadrunners fell behind 1-0 in the first period of Saturday’s series opener before Tucson scored the next seven goals for an eventual 7-1 victory, as 14 different skaters recorded a point in the win and goaltender Tyler Parks kept the Eagles from scoring for the final 53:01 of regulation. The Eagles took their second-straight 1-0 lead the following afternoon, before Mike Carcone lit the lamp while skating six-on-five with 1:20 remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime even at 1-1. Carcone found the back of the net once again with 1:58 gone by in the three-on-three overtime period for his fifth multi-goal performance of the season and a 2-1 Tucson win.

Mike Makes It Happen

Forward Mike Carcone recorded back-to-back multiple-point performances over the weekend series against the Colorado Eagles with two assists in Tucson’s 7-1 win on Saturday and both goals in their 2-1 overtime victory Sunday afternoon. The outings represented Carcone’s 21st and 22nd multi-point games of the year, as the 26-year-old retook sole possession of the American Hockey League scoring lead with 29 goals, 45 assists and 74 total points in 57 games played with the Roadrunners this season. His 29 goals and 74 points are already Tucson franchise records, while his 45 assists trail forward Chris Mueller’s 48 assists during the 2016-2017 campaign for the most in team history. In addition, Carcone ranks second in the AHL in both power-play goals (14) and shots on goal (229), and has amassed 140 total points (68g 72a) in 140 games with Tucson since the start of the 2020-2021 season. 

Jan But Not Forgotten

Forward Jan Jenik returned to the Roadrunners lineup for Saturday’s series opener against Colorado after missing 37 consecutive games due to injury. In his first game action since December, Jenik scored a goal and added two assists in Tucson’s 7-1 win over Colorado. The multiple-point performance extended his active point streak to four games dating back to December 13, with four points (2g 2a) in his three previous games before Saturday night against the Eagles. The 22-year-old has tallied six goals and 11 assists for 17 points across 24 appearances this year after finishing second on the team in scoring last season with 47 points (17g 30a) in 51 games played. Jenik took a scheduled day off on Sunday as part of his return plan from the Roadrunners Medical Staff but is expected to be in the lineup Wednesday night in San Diego.

Goalies Keep It Going

Roadrunners goaltenders Tyler Parks and David Tendeck combined to keep the Colorado Eagles scoreless for a stretch of 106:54 during their two-game series at the Budweiser Events Center Saturday and Sunday. The pair stopped 78 of 80 total shots faced for an overall save percentage of .975, with each netminder allowing just one goal across the Roadrunners back-to-back wins. The 2-1 win in the series finale was Tendeck’s first AHL victory of the year after last starting in net for the Roadrunners in his season debut on January 11. Tucson’s penalty-kill also went a combined eight-for-eight against an Eagles team that had previously outscored their opponents by 24 on home ice, snapping a five-game unbeaten streak for Colorado in the process. In addition, goaltender Ivan Prosvetov has gone a perfect 3-0 with the Arizona Coyotes since making his season debut in the NHL on March 9 against the Nashville Predators.

Did You Know?

The Roadrunners have found their footing in March with standings points in seven of their ten total games since the start of the month, as well as four wins over their last five contests entering the week. Tucson’s March resume includes win over teams battling for first place in both the AHL’s Pacific and Central Divisions in the Calgary Wranglers and Milwaukee Admirals, followed by two-straight come-from-behind victories on the road against the Colorado Eagles. Forwards Colin Theisen and Mike Carcone are tied for the team lead in scoring in March with four goals and five assists for nine points apiece. The Roadrunners and goaltenders Tyler Parks and David Tendeck have also limited their opponents to two goals or less in regulation seven times since the start of the month, and 11 times over their last 14 outings overall.

Nathan In The NHL

Forward Nathan Smith was recalled by the Arizona Coyotes on Friday, March 24 and made his season debut with the Coyotes that night in Colorado against the Avalanche. The 24-year-old totaled four points (2g 2a) in ten games with Arizona last season after making his National Hockey League debut on April 12, 2022, and his appeared in each of the Coyotes last two contests. Defenseman Michael Kesselring also earned his first NHL point on Sunday with an assist on Christian Fischer’s third-period goal. Forward Matias Maccelli was the first to light the lamp for Arizona in Sunday’s final frame at Mullett Arena with his eighth goal of the season, after becoming the third NHL rookie to reach 40 points on the season with an assist Wednesday night in Edmonton.

Roadrunners Roster Moves

Monday, March 27: Defenseman Michael Kesselring was assigned to Tucson from the Arizona Coyotes

Monday, March 27: Forward Boko Imama was recalled from the Tucson Roadrunners by the Arizona Coyotes

Friday, March 24: Forward Nathan Smith was recalled by the Arizona Coyotes, while forward Boko Imama was assigned to the Roadrunners

Wednesday, March 22: Forwards Boko Imama and Milos Kelemen were recalled by the Arizona Coyotes from Tucson

Wednesday, March 22: The Roadrunners recalled forward Tyson Empey from the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators

On The Air

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, co-hosts Adrian Denny and Kim Cota-Robles will be joined by defenseman Ronald Knot ahead of their Wednesday-night matchup against the San Diego Gulls. In addition, a new episode of the Tucson Roadrunners Insider Podcast released on Sunday, as TucsonRoadrunners.com’s Jimmy Peebles and Tucson.com’s Brett Fera discussed the weekend sweep of the Colorado Eagles before hearing from Sunday’s overtime hero Mike Carcone and defenseman Steven Kampfer. The podcast can be found on the iHeartRadio App or at TucsonRoadrunners.com/Podcast.