Game #53 – Tucson Roadrunners at Chicago Wolves

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6:00 p.m. MST, Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois

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Referees: Reid Anderson (49) Sean Fernandez (72)

Linespersons: Dan Kovachik (72) Ibrahim Arifi (47)

The Tucson Roadrunners head out on the road for a two-game weekend series against the Chicago Wolves beginning on Saturday, January 25 at 6:00 p.m. MST. The pair of contests at the Allstate Arena represent the last two meetings between Tucson and the AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes on the four-game season series, as well as the Roadrunners final two outings in the month of February. The Roadrunners enter the series off of a two-game sweep of the Henderson Silver Knights last weekend at the Tucson Arena, while the Wolves return home for a quick turnaround after taking on the Grand Rapids Griffins on the road Friday night.

Three Things
1) The Roadrunners previously hosted the Wolves at the Tucson Arena for a midweek series January 24 and 25, with Tucson winning both matchups by multiple goals. 14 different Roadrunners players recorded a point as they defeated the Wolves by scores of 5-1 and 4-1 while never trailing for the entire series. Linemates Adam Cracknell and Mike Carcone led the series with a goal and two assists for three points apiece, while Laurent Dauphin (2g), Cam Hebig (2g), Hudson Elynuik (1g 1a), Cam Dineen (2a) and Ronald Knot (2a) also averaged a point per-game. Tucson outshot Chicago 79 to 50 across the back-to-back wins with goaltenders Ivan Prosvetov and Tyler Parks combining for a .960 save percentage. The series opener against the Wolves also marked the start of the Roadrunners current six-game winning streak on their home ice.

2) Tucson is taking a trip to the Allstate Arena to face the Chicago Wolves for the first time since their final two road games of the 2019-2020 season on March 5 and 7 of 2020. The Roadrunners won both games by final scores of 4-2 and 3-2, as the series finale represented their third shootout win of the season. Tucson owns an all-time record of 3-2-1-0 at the Allstate Arena dating back to their first ever meeting with Chicago on October 21, 2017, a 4-3 Roadrunners victory. The Wolves are the first of three AHL Central Division opponents that the Roadrunners will wrap up their season series with this year, with a trip to Milwaukee to face the Admirals and a two-game set at home against the Texas Stars still on the schedule.

3) The Roadrunners will look to pack their recent success at home with them as they head back on the road to face Chicago, after earning a two-game series sweep over the Henderson Silver Knights Saturday and Sunday at the Tucson Arena. The Roadrunners won both games by final scores of 3-2 while finding the back of the net in all six periods of play over the weekend. Tucson went a combined two-for-five on the power-play with scores from Ben McCartney and Mike Carcone, and their penalty-kill unit held the Silver Knights scoreless in each of their final five trips to the man-advantage. Five different Roadrunners players enter the weekend series from Chicago with points in back-to-back outings against Henderson, as forward Milos Kelemen leads the way with two goals and two assists on an active four-game scoring streak. Meanwhile, Tucson backstop Ivan Prosvetov has started in net for four consecutive outings and went a combined 59-for-63 (.937%) in back-to-back victories over the Silver Knights. His win in the series finale on Sunday, February 19 was his 15th of the season, which is tied for seventh in the AHL this year and matches his career high from the 2021-2022 campaign.

What’s The Word?

“It’s been nice to get a week off here, it’s been pretty chaotic with all the games we’ve played. It’s been nice to be home and have a good week of practice in Tucson, and we’re ready to go at it in Chicago.”

Roadrunners forward Hudson Elynuik on having a week of practice leading into the two-game weekend series against the Chicago Wolves. Tucson’s last full practice week on their home ice was in early December before they earned standings points in each of the following three outings.

Number to Know
1.40 – With 1.42 points per-game and 1.44 penalty minutes per-game through 45 outings, Roadrunners forward Mike Carcone is on pace to become the first player since 2007 to finish a full AHL season at 1.40 or higher in both categories. The feat was last achieved by forwards Keith Aucoin and Martin St. Pierre in the 2006-2007 campaign, as both finished the year with at least 1.52 points per-game and penalty minutes per-game across 65 outings apiece. The last player to do it with at least ten AHL outings was current Nashville Predators forward Tanner Jeannot in 2020-2021, when he appeared in 13 games with the Chicago Wolves.

We’re Doing It Live
Tonight’s game will broadcast live on AHLtv, as well as on the radio on FOX Sports 1450AM and the iHeartRadio app. Coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. with Roadrunners Warm-Up hosted by Jimmy Peebles, before Adrian Denny has all the action from the Allstate Arena.