Szuber’s Two Goals, Rooney’s OT Winner Power Tucson Past Iowa

Roadrunners Recap: 1/10/2026

Game #33: Tucson Roadrunners (5) vs Iowa Wild (4) OT

SOG: TUC (27) – IA (29)

PP: TUC (0/3) – IA (1/3)

IOWA SCORING: Oskar Olausson (4), Gerry Mayhew (12), David Špaček (3), Jean-Luc Foudy (3)
TUCSON SCORING: Max Szuber (7, 8), Julian Lutz (3), Ty Tullio (6), Kevin Rooney (7)

TUCSON, AZ – Kevin Rooney delivered the game-winner in overtime as the Tucson Roadrunners (16-12-5-0) closed out their season series with a 5–4 victory over the Iowa Wild (10-22-3-1) on Saturday night at Tucson Arena.

Max Szuber capped a standout weekend with three goals across the two-game set, while Julian Lutz and Ty Tullio scored six minutes apart in the second period to give Tucson control after Iowa tied the game early in the frame.

The Wild mounted a late comeback with two goals in a four-minute span during the third period, including the equalizer with 20 seconds remaining to force overtime. Despite several Grade A chances from Iowa in the extra session, Rooney ended the contest with 2:45 left, lifting the Roadrunners to their third straight win.

Matthew Villalta earned his 11th victory of the season, stopping 25 of 29 shots and improving to 2-0 against Iowa this year.

Rookie defenseman Dmitri Simashev also shined with three assists to lead all skaters in points.

Saturday’s win wrapped up the season series between the two clubs, with Tucson going 3-0-1 against its Central Division counterpart. The Roadrunners also secured their third series sweep of the season and second in the last week.
With four straight victories, Tucson sits just one point back of fifth-place San Diego in the Pacific Division standings.

HIGHLIGHTS

TEAM NOTES

• Riding a season-high four-game win streak, Tucson has earned points in each of its last seven games (6-0-1-0) and in 11 of its last 13 contests (8-2-3-0).
• Tucson didn’t concede a goal in the first period for the third consecutive game, and has outscored its opponent 22-3 in the first period in the last eight contests dating back to Dec. 20.
• Tucson has played 12 overtime games this season, tied for the second-most in the AHL, and owns a 7-0-5-0 record in extra time.
• Four of Tucson’s last six games have gone to overtime, dating back to Dec. 28 vs. Calgary, and owns a 3-0-1-0 record in that span.
• Tucson improved its record to 11-0-1-0 overall and 6-0-1-0 when leading after two periods.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Finding the back of the net for the second straight game, Max Szuber recorded his second two-goal performance of the season — which leads Roadrunners defensemen — and his first since Nov. 15 at Colorado.
• With eight goals on the year, Szuber is tied for second in goals among AHL defensemen.
• Szuber leads the team with four goals in his last seven games, dating back to Dec. 27 vs. Calgary, and is second among Roadrunners defensemen and fourth overall with six points.
• The Roadrunners are 6-0-0-0 in games when Szuber scores. 
• Ty Tullio has two goals in his last three games and Saturday’s goal extended his point streak to a season-high three games, dating back to Jan. 4 at Calgary, with three points (2g, 1a) in that span.
• Cameron Hebig extended his home point streak to seven games, tied for the second-longest active streak in the AHL, totaling nine points (2g, 7a) in that span dating back to Dec. 12 vs. Bakersfield.
• Hebig has recorded an assist in six straight home games dating back to Dec. 13 vs. Bakersfield, collecting seven helpers over that stretch.
• After Saturday’s assist, Hebig is one point shy of 200 career AHL points and nine goals shy of 100.
• Dmitri Simashev tallied his second three-point and three-assist game of the season – previous: Dec. 13 vs Bakersfield (0-3-3) – joining Ben McCartney as the only Roadrunners to do so this season.
• Simashev has 13 points (4g, 9a) in his last 12 games dating back to Dec. 6 at San Jose, tied for first among AHL blueliners in that span.
• Simashev’s .93 points-per-game pace leads all AHL rookie defensemen and ranks third on the team.
• With Saturday’s helper, Scott Perunovich now leads the team in assists (20), and is fourth in assists and tied for fourth in points (22) among all AHL defensemen.
• Matthew Villalta has won five of his last six starts, dating back to Dec. 6 at San Jose, including three-straight victories.
• With 60 wins as a Roadrunner, Villalta is six wins shy of tying Adin Hill for first all-time in franchise history (66).

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST PERIOD
Tucson controlled possession through the opening five minutes, forcing Iowa to defend in its own zone.

The Roadrunners’ penalty kill and goaltender Matthew Villalta shut the door on an early Wild power play. Villalta flashed the right pad to deny Riley Heidt from the top of the crease, while Cameron Hebig added a key shot block from the point.

Iowa generated extended zone time later in the period, highlighted by a blast from Nicolas Aube-Kubel at the right circle that rang off the post.

After Iowa took a penalty at the nine-minute mark, Ben McCartney created Tucson’s best chance on the power play, redirecting a set play from Scott Perunovich at the point that Riley Mercer stopped with the right pad.

Tucson continued to press despite coming up empty on the man advantage, outshooting Iowa 6–0 over a stretch midway through the period. The Roadrunners earned another power play at 13:36 but again failed to convert.

The pressure finally paid off late. With 1:02 remaining, Max Szuber fired a point shot that beat Mercer low to the right pad for a 1–0 lead. Hebig provided traffic at the top of the crease to help screen the goaltender.

Tucson carried a 1–0 advantage into the intermission and outshot Iowa 12–4 in the opening frame.

SECOND PERIOD
Tucson’s 1-0 lead lasted only 3:39 into the middle frame as Aube-Kubel fed a backdoor pass to forward Oskar Olausson who snapped from just below the right faceoff dot  past the left pad and under the glove of Villalta.

Soon after Olausson tally, the Roadrunners got a golden opportunity on the man-advantage to retake the lead. Despite not taking the lead, Tucson put relentless pressure on Iowa defenders but Mercer stood tall.

Then almost a minute after Mercer denied Ty Tullio on a breakaway with the right pad, Dmitri Simashev ripped a slap shot from point that found the stick of Julian Lutz in front of the crease into the yawning cage to restore Tucson’s lead to 2-1.

At 11:13 McCartney and Wild forward Bradley Marek dropped the mitts at center Ice with the two electrifying the crowd with multiple haymakers before falling to the ice.

 The Roadrunners extended their lead to two at 16:19 off the stick of Tullio who got revenge on Mercer after the netminder robbed him earlier in the period. Sam Lipkin fed Tullio from down-low, drawing the Iowa defenders with him, leaving Tullio wide open just below the crease. Tullio fired a shot past Mercer’s glove side making it 3-1.

Tucson headed into the final period up 3-1, while outshoot Iowa 22-13.

THIRD PERIOD
The opening five minutes turned physical as both teams played with an edge. Bodies flew on both sides, highlighted by Szuber stepping up to flatten an Iowa attacker.

After offsetting penalties, Tucson struck again. Maveric Lamoureux absorbed a hit while moving the puck to a wide-open Szuber, who ripped a shot past Mercer’s blocker to score his second goal of the night.

Momentum shifted midway through the period as Iowa pushed back. Gerry Mayhew slid a shot in from the right post that trickled across the goal line at 9:06, cutting Tucson’s lead to two.

Villalta answered with a highlight-reel stop moments later, sprawling on his stomach to snare Jean-Luc Foudy’s curl-and-drag attempt with the glove.

Iowa pulled within one two minutes later when defenseman David Špaček blasted a one-timer from the left point that squeaked past Villalta’s glove.

In the final seconds of regulation, Foudy tied the game at four after a loose puck took an odd bounce in front and slipped behind Villalta. The teams headed to overtime deadlocked, 4–4.

OVERTIME
Rooney sealed the win in overtime, beating Mercer blocker side with a spin-o-rama move to lift Tucson to a 5–4 victory.

UP NEXT
Tucson’s homestand continues with a two-game set against the San Jose Barracuda on Friday and Saturday at Tucson Arena. Both games will start at 7 p.m. AZT. Fans can listen live on FOX Sports 1450 AM and the iHeartRadio app, watch on AHLtv on FloHockey and secure their seats online at Ticketmaster.com.