Game #35: Tucson Roadrunners (3) vs Iowa Wild (1)
Game #35: Tucson Roadrunners vs Iowa Wild
SOG: TUC (25) –IA (30)
Someone please remind the Iowa Wild netminder to check his 5 hole as Josh Doan is going to sneak the puck through it to give Tucson a 1-0 second period lead. Doan would score another goal in the period and cap off his sixth multiple goal game of the season.
DOAN’T OVERLOOK IT
FOLLOW THE (Tucson Roadrunners points) LEADER – Josh Doan. It’s Josh Doan. It was always Josh Doan. let’s talk about Josh Doan. In Monday night’s 3-1 victory over the Iowa Wild, Doan scored his seventh game-winning goal. That number is good enough to lead the entire AHL. To go along with that, Doan leads the Tucson Roadrunners in multiple-point games this season with five. Doan scored his 14th and 15th goals of the year Monday which leads the Tucson Roadrunners. It was also Doan’s third two-goal game of the year, all of which have come at Tucson Arena.
LOOK AT THIS
Tucson Roadrunners Forward Hunter Drew unloads his concrete fists into the cheek bone of an Iowa Wild player. Drew has fought in two of the Roadrunners last three games. Tonight’s was the 19th Tucson tilt of the season.
THEY SAID IT
“It’s always a tough game coming off of traveling the day before, but we take challenges head on. We came in this morning and had a game plan and stuck to it tonight.”
Forward Josh Doan following Tucson’s 3-1 win on Monday night.
THE RUNDOWN
In the first period Matthew Villalta, recent AHL All-Star selection, showed the Tucson crowd why he has stood out amongst his peers in the American Hockey League; stopping 12 of 12 shots from the Iowa Wild and helping kill off an Iowa power-play. Villalta stopped 29/30 shots he faced on the night. Tucson had just six shots of their own in the frame and an unsuccessful power-play. The two teams would head to the intermission knotted up in a 0-0 pitchers’ duel.
Period two was spent by Josh Doan putting the entire Iowa Wild team on skates (no pun intended); helping give Tucson a two-goal lead in the frame. Before Josh Doan took over the period, it would be Hunter Drew dropping the gloves, giving off his best Muhammad Ali impression, and showing off his heavy hands all while firing up the Tucson faithful. Josh Doan scored his first goal of the period at the 8:37 mark breaking the game’s 0-0 tie. Doan was assisted by Ben McCartney and Justin Kirkland. Just under four minutes later it was Josh Doan again adding to the Tucson lead and lighting the lamp for Tucson to make it 2-0. This goal, coming on the power-play, gave Ben McCartney his second assist of the night and John Leonard his first. Doan added to his team leading goal total of 15 and helped the good guys, in black Kachina jerseys, head into the final period eyeing two points.
The game would get tight in the third as Iowa would break-up the Matthew Villalta shutout at the 4:39 mark and make it a 2-1 game. Under a minute later, Iowa would go on a power-play and really tighten things up. The Tucson Arena sells fans the entire seat, but you only needed the edge, for the Roadrunners penalty-kill unit. Some stellar saves by Villalta and the defense would bring the two sides back to even-strength and allow for the fans to breathe, for the first time in two minutes. Iowa would pull the goalie late and Milos Kelemen would take advantage, scoring an empty-netter to seal it for the Roadrunners. Kelemen was assisted by Ben McCartney, his third of the night, and Patrik Koch. McCartney has been on a roll scoring 10 points in his last 10 games and six points in his last three.
Tucson will play the Wild at the Tucson Arena again on Wednesday, January 17th before hosting the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday and Saturday.
