Roadrunners Earn First Win of Season With 7-4 Victory Over San Jose

Roadrunners Recap: 10/9/2026

Game #3: Tucson Roadrunners (7) at San Jose (4)

SOG: TUC (31) – SJ (36)
PP: TUC (2/3) – SJ (2/5)

TUCSON SCORING: Zac Jones (1), Cameron Hebig (1), Caleb Desnoyers (1), Ben McCartney (1), Vadim Moroz (2), Artem Duda (1), Kevin Rooney (2)
SAN JOSE SCORING: Jimmy Huntington (2, 3), Filip Bystedt (3), Brendan Hoffmann (1)

SAN JOSE, CA – The Tucson Roadrunners (1-2-0-0) secured their first win of the season Friday with a 7-4 victory over the San Jose Barracuda (1-2-0-0) at Tech CU Arena. After falling behind early, Tucson responded with a goal from Zac Jones five minutes into the game and never trailed again.

The Roadrunners added two more first-period goals just seven seconds apart, with Cameron Hebig and Caleb Desnoyers finding the back of the net. After San Jose erased a two-goal deficit, Tucson regained control with second-period goals from Ben McCartney and Vadim Moroz.

Moroz’s goal kicked off Tucson’s run of three unanswered goals to close the game. Artem Duda added an insurance goal early in the third period to put the Roadrunners ahead 6-4 and Kevin Rooney added a late empty-net goal to put the game on ice.

Rookie goaltender Michael Hrabal stopped 32 of 36 shots to earn his first win of the season.

Desnoyers’ goal marked his first professional tally, while Jones, Hebig, McCartney and Duda also scored their first goals of the season. Jones’ goal was his first in a Roadrunners sweater, while Duda scored for the first time since Dec. 31 after missing the second half of last season.

Rookies Tij Iginla and Gabe Smith also recorded their first career AHL points with assists. Smith finished with four assists, becoming the first Roadrunner this season to record four points in a game and earn First Star honors.

Smith was one of five Roadrunners to record a multi-point performance. McCartney, Hebig and Moroz each finished with a goal and an assist, while Joshua Roy recorded two assists in the first period for his first points of the season. Roy became the first Roadrunner to record a multi-point game this season. Captain Austin Poganski and Brandon Tanev also recorded their first points of the season with an assist each, while Moroz and Kevin Rooney extended their scoring streaks to two games.

HIGHLIGHTS

TEAM NOTES

• – Three Roadrunners rookies recorded their first career AHL points, with Caleb Desnoyers scoring a goal and Gabe Smith (4a) and Tij Iginla (1a) each combining for five assists.
• – Desnoyers was one of five Roadrunners to score their first goals of the season, joining Zac Jones, Cameron Hebig, Ben McCartney and Artem Duda. McCartney’s goal was Tucson’s first power-play goal of the season.
• – Seven Roadrunners recorded their first points of the season, with Desnoyers, Jones, Hebig and Duda scoring goals and Austin Poganski (1a), Brandon Tanev (1a) and Joshua Roy (2a) adding assists. Jones’ goal and Roy’s assist marked their first points in a Roadrunners sweater.
• – Five Roadrunners recorded their first multi-point games of the season. Roy (2a) and Smith (3a) combined for five assists, while Moroz, McCartney and Hebig recorded a goal and an assist apiece.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• – With Friday’s goal, Zac Jones extended his point streak to two games (1-1–2), dating back to Oct. 4 against Colorado.
• – With Friday’s goal, Ben McCartney extended his scoring streak to two games (1-2–3), dating back to Oct. 4 against Colorado.
• – With Friday’s assist, Yegor Borikov extended his assist streak to two games (0-2–2), dating back to Oct. 4 against Colorado.
• – With Friday’s two-point performance, Vadim Moroz extended his scoring streak to two games (2-1–3), dating back to Oct. 4 against Colorado. His second-period assist marked his first career AHL assist and power-play point, while his second-period goal secured his first career multi-point game in the AHL.
• – With Friday’s goal, Kevin Rooney extended his scoring streak to two games (2-0–2), dating back to Oct. 4 against Colorado.
• – Joshua Roy recorded the 11th two-assist game of his career, tying his career high for assists in a single game.
• – Gabe Smith recorded the first four points of his AHL career, tallying four assists. He also recorded his first career AHL power-play point with an assist on McCartney’s second-period goal.

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST PERIOD
After falling behind early, the Roadrunners responded with three consecutive goals in a span of 3:10 to take a 3-1 lead before San Jose scored late in the period to pull within one.

The Barracuda applied early pressure and opened the scoring just 1:27 into the game when Jimmy Huntington beat Tucson goaltender Michael Hrabal with a quick shot from the left circle.

Tucson responded just over three minutes later. Defenseman Zac Jones took a centering pass from Joshua Roy along the boards and snapped a shot past San Jose goaltender Eric Comrie from the slot to tie the game at 1-1 at 4:53. Rookie Gabe Smith also earned an assist on the play.

The Roadrunners struck again at 7:54 when captain Austin Poganski retrieved Roy’s dump-in behind the net and fed Cameron Hebig in the low slot for an easy tap-in, giving Tucson its first lead of the night and season.

Just seven seconds later, the Roadrunners doubled their advantage. Tucson won the ensuing faceoff and sent the puck into the San Jose zone, where rookie Caleb Desnoyers buried a rebound off a shot from fellow rookie Yegor Borikov to make it 3-1 at 8:03. Rookie Tij Iginla also picked up an assist.

Tucson killed off San Jose’s first power play of the night, but the Barracuda capitalized on their second man advantage when Filip Bystedt buried a rebound from just outside the crease with 2:15 remaining in the period to cut the deficit to 3-2.

San Jose held a 12-10 advantage in shots on goal after 20 minutes.

SECOND PERIOD
The Roadrunners carried a 5-4 lead into the third period after both teams scored twice in a back-and-forth middle frame. Tucson opened and closed the scoring, while San Jose rallied with two goals in a span of 1:35 to erase a two-goal deficit and tie the game.

Tucson nearly doubled its lead just 30 seconds into the period when Comrie robbed Julian Lutz’s one-timer from just outside the crease. Kevin Rooney collected the rebound and fired immediately, but Comrie turned him away with a left-pad save to keep the Barracuda within two.

The Roadrunners continued to apply pressure and earned their second power play of the night when San Jose’s Leo Sahlin-Wallenius was called for holding just before the six-minute mark. Ben McCartney converted on the man advantage at 6:54, burying a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Vadim Moroz to extend Tucson’s lead to 4-2.

Michael Hrabal kept the two-goal advantage intact midway through the period, denying Sahlin-Wallenius on a breakaway with a pad save. San Jose eventually broke through, though, as Brendan Hoffmann fired a point shot through traffic and into the back of the net with 6:35 remaining to cut Tucson’s lead to 4-3. Huntington followed 1:35 later, scoring his second goal of the night on a breakaway to even the score at 4-4 with 4:59 left.

Moroz answered less than two minutes later, restoring Tucson’s lead with his second goal of the season. Set up by Smith from behind the net, Moroz buried a one-timer from the right circle past Comrie with 3:03 remaining. McCartney also picked up an assist on the goal, while Smith recorded his third assist of the night. Both teams registered 12 shots in the period.

THIRD PERIOD
The Roadrunners extended their lead to 6-4 at 6:26 of the third period when Artem Duda buried a wrist shot from the high slot into the top corner for Tucson’s second power-play goal of the night. Smith and Hebig each recorded an assist on the goal.

San Jose pulled goaltender Comrie with 4:20 remaining, but Kevin Rooney sealed the victory with an empty-net goal less than a minute later, notching his second goal of the season.

UP NEXT

The Roadrunners will look to complete the sweep against the Barracuda on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. PT. Fans can watch the game live on AHLtv on FloHockey.