Roadrunners Erase Three-Goal Deficit to Beat Gulls 4-3 in Shootout

Roadrunners Recap: 1/28/2026

Game #40: Tucson Roadrunners (4) at San Diego Gulls (3) SO

SOG: TUC (27) – SD (33)

PP: TUC (1/1) – SD (1/2)

SAN DIEGO SCORING: Ryan Carpenter (7), Yegor Sidorov (10), Coulson Pitre (1)
TUCSON SCORING: Ty Tullio (8), Max Szuber (10), Robbie Russo (2)

SAN DIEGO, CA – The Tucson Roadrunners did it again.

For the second straight game, Tucson (19-14-7-0) scored three unanswered goals and erased a multi-goal deficit to defeat the San Diego Gulls 4–3 in a 10-round shootout on Wednesday night at Pechanga Arena.

The victory marked Tucson’s first win against San Diego (18-14-6-3) this season and capped another gutsy comeback on the road, coming on the heels of a similar overtime rally on Sunday in Henderson.

Defenseman Lleyton Moore delivered the decisive shootout goal in the 10th round in his first game in five weeks after being sidelined with an injury since Dec. 20. Ty Tullio and Robbie Russo each recorded two-point nights with a goal and an assist, while Jalen Luypen picked up an assist in his Roadrunners debut. Cameron Hebig added an assist in his first game back since being recalled from the Utah Mammoth, and Montana Onyebuchi recorded his second assist in the last three games.

Matthew Villalta anchored Tucson’s comeback with 30 saves to earn his 13th win of the season. After allowing three goals in the first 24 minutes, Villalta turned aside 20 consecutive shots over the final two periods and overtime, then stopped nine of San Diego’s 10 shootout attempts to secure the victory.

San Diego built a 2–0 lead after the first period and extended it to 3–0 just over four minutes into the second on a goal from Coulson Pitre.

The Roadrunners responded with three goals in a 4:42 span to pull even midway through the second period. Ty Tullio put Tucson on the board, followed by a power-play tally from Maz Szuber, before Robbie Russo tied the game at 3–3 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the frame.

The win snapped Tucson’s four-game winless streak against San Diego this season and pulled the Roadrunners even with the sixth-place Gulls at 45 points apiece.

Tucson closed its road trip with a 2-1-0-0 record.

HIGHLIGHTS

COMEBACK NOTES

• The Roadrunners have erased multi-goal deficits in each of their last four games.
• Wednesday vs. San Diego: Trailed 3–0 until 5:22 of the 2nd period before rallying for a 4–3 shootout win.
• Jan. 25 at Henderson: Trailed 2–0 until 17:41 of the 2nd period; won 3–2 in overtime.
• Jan. 24 at Henderson: Trailed 2–0 until 13:30 of the 1st period; tied the game 2–2 before falling 4–3.
• Jan. 21 vs. San Diego: Trailed 3–0 until 17:37 of the 1st period; tied the game 3–3 before losing 5–3.

OVERTIME NOTES

• Tucson has played 16 overtime games this season, tied with Calgary for the most in the AHL, and owns a 9-0-7-0 record in extra time.
• Tucson’s 9 overtime victories leads the AHL. 
• Wednesday marked Tucson’s first game of the season to be decided by a shootout.
• Four of Tucson’s last six games (dating back to Jan. 17 vs SJ) have gone to overtime, with a 2–0–2–0 record in those contests.
• Six of Tucson’s last nine games (dating back to Jan. 9 vs IA) have gone to overtime, with a 4–2–0–0 record in those contests.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Ty Tullio recorded his fourth multi-point game of the season and third point (2g, 1) in his last three games
• Max Szuber‘s career-high 10th goal is tied for the second-most among all AHL defensemen.
• The Roadrunners are 7-0-1-0 in games when Szuber scores.
• Robbie Russo scored his 50th career goal and collected his second multi-point game (1g, 1a) of the season.
• With Wednesday’s helper, Jalen Lupen has two points (1g, 1a) in three AHL games this season with the Hershey Bears and Tucson. Both of his two points have come in his last two games. 
• With Wednesday’s assist, Cameron Hebig tallied his sixth point (1g, 5a) in his last six games dating back to Jan. 9 vs. IA. 
• Matthew Villalta is 7-2-1 in his last 10 starts, dating back to Dec. 6 at San Jose.
• Villalta‘s 13 wins is tied for the 8th-most in the AHL.
• With 62 wins as a Roadrunner, Villalta is four wins shy of tying Adin Hill for first all-time in franchise history (66).

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST PERIOD
San Diego struck early on the power play as Gulls captain Ryan Carpenter buried a rebound above the crease off a Matthew Phillips shot from the low circle to give the home side a 1–0 lead just 3:31 into the game.

The goal sparked a strong opening stretch for the Gulls, who outshot the Roadrunners 7–3 over the first 10 minutes.

Tucson went to the penalty kill again midway through the frame, but the unit settled in and limited San Diego to a single perimeter shot, keeping the deficit at one.

However, momentum swung back in the Gulls favor shortly after their power play expired. At 13:59, San Diego’s Yegor Sidorov knocked down a Tucson clearing attempt, cut from the right circle into the slot and snapped a wrist shot past Matthew Villalta to extend the Gulls’ lead to 2–0.

Tucson pushed late for a response as Ben McCartney found Maveric Lamoureux at the point for a one-timer, but Gulls goaltender Calle Clang turned aside the chance in the final minute to preserve San Diego’s two-goal edge heading into the first intermission.

SECOND PERIOD
Tucson carried its late first-period momentum into the middle frame and came out flying. Just before the four-minute mark, Sammy Walker forced a neutral-zone turnover and burst into the San Diego zone on an odd-man rush. Walker kept the puck and drove to the net, but Clang denied him with a split save to keep Tucson off the board.

The game’s breakneck pace continued as both teams found the back of the net in a 1:02 span. San Diego struck first when Coulson Pitre finished a 2-on-1 rush by lifting a shot over Villalta’s glove to extend the Gulls’ lead to 3–0.

Undeterred, the Roadrunners responded with three goals in a 4:42 span to erase the deficit.

On the ensuing shift, newly acquired Jalen Luypen fed Ty Tullio along the far wall, and Tullio fired a shot past Clang to make it 3–1 at 5:23.

Momentum continued to swing Tucson’s way when Yegor Sidorov was whistled for tripping, giving the Roadrunners their first power play of the night. Tucson capitalized as Tullio set up Maz Szuber from the goal line, and Szuber snapped the puck home to cut the deficit to one at 8:19.

The comeback was completed at 10:05 when Cameron Hebig won a puck battle down low and found Robbie Russo in the high slot, where the defenseman blasted a one-timer past Clang to tie the game, 3–3.

Russo’s goal was Tucson’s final shot of the period. San Diego closed the frame with nine consecutive shots on goal, but Villalta turned aside each attempt to keep the game even heading into the third period.

THIRD PERIOD
Tucson applied early pressure just over three minutes into the final frame with back-to-back quality scoring chances. Walker drove hard to the net for a close-range attempt that was turned aside by Clang, before defenseman Scott Perunovich fired a low shot that deflected off Clang and the post and nearly crossed the goal line before the Gulls netminder smothered the loose puck.

The remainder of the period took on a playoff-like feel and both teams tightened up defensively and limited high-danger opportunities. San Diego held a slim 9–8 edge in shots during the frame, but neither side could break the deadlock.

OVERTIME
Tucson nearly ended it just under a minute into the extra session when Perunovich carried the puck in on a 2-on-1 with Walker. Walker came close to recording his fourth overtime winner of the season, but Calle Clang denied both his initial attempt and McCartney’s rebound chance to keep the game alive.

Walker threatened again in the final minute. With 34 seconds remaining, he drove hard to the net and fired a shot that created a loose rebound behind the goal line. Walker jammed at the puck and appeared to knock it in, but officials had whistled the play dead before it crossed the line.

The game remained tied 3–3 after 65 minutes, sending the contest to a shootout.

SHOOTOUT
The shootout opened with seven scoreless rounds as both goaltenders stood tall. In the eighth round, San Diego struck first when Carpenter found the back of the net, but Tucson answered immediately as Andrew Agozzino beat Clang five-hole to extend the shootout.

Villalta then came up with back-to-back stops against Jan Myšák and Nathan Gaucher in the ninth and 10th rounds, setting the stage for the Roadrunners.

With a chance to win it, Lleyton Moore skated in and picked the top corner to lift Tucson to a 4–3 shootout victory.

UP NEXT
The Roadrunners return home to host a two-game set against the Colorado Eagles on Friday and Saturday. Puck drop for both games is set for 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.