Roadrunners Extend Winning Streak to Five Games with 3-1 Win Over Firebirds

Roadrunners Recap: 11/6/2026

Game #12: Tucson Roadrunners (3) vs Coachella Valley Firebirds (1)

SOG: TUC (31) – CVF (23)
PP: TUC (0/5) – CVF (1/4)

COACHELLA VALLEY SCORING: Eduard Šalé (5)
TUCSON SCORING: Tij Iginla (2), Joshua Roy (2), Brandon Tanev (3)

TUCSON, AZ – The Tucson Roadrunners (8-2-2-0) extended their winning streak to five games and point streak to 10 games with a 3-1 victory over the Coachella Valley Firebirds (5-5-2-1) on Friday at Tucson Arena.

Roadrunners goaltender Jaxson Stauber made 22 saves to earn his fourth win of the season, including each of his last three starts.

Tij Iginla opened the scoring just 1:17 into the game, and Joshua Roy doubled Tucson’s lead with two minutes remaining in the second period. Iginla also recorded an assist on Roy’s goal to lead all skaters with two points. Brandon Tanev added an empty-net goal in the closing minutes before Eduard Šalé got Coachella Valley on the scoreboard with six seconds remaining.

Rookies Caleb Desnoyers, Yegor Borikov and Tomas Lavoie, along with defenseman Montana Onyebuchi, also found the scoresheet with an assist apiece.

The Roadrunners continue to lead the Pacific Division with 18 points, one point ahead of the second-place Abbotsford Canucks, who defeated the Ontario Reign 2-1 on Friday. Meanwhile, the Firebirds saw their two-game winning streak come to an end and sit sixth in the Pacific Division with 13 points.

HIGHLIGHTS

TEAM NOTES

• – Friday’s victory extended Tucson’s winning streak to five games, the second-longest active streak in the AHL, while extending its league-best point streak to 10 games (8-0-2-0) dating back to Oct. 9 at San Jose.
  
• – Tucson improved to 6-0-0-0 this season when leading after either the first or second period.
  
• – The Roadrunners allowed just two shots on goal in the second period, marking the fewest shots they have surrendered in a single period this season.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• – Montana Onyebuchi recorded his third assist of the season on Tij Iginla’s first-period goal. With five points in 11 games this season, Onyebuchi is halfway to matching his career-high 10 points from the 2025-26 season.
  
• – Tij Iginla scored his second goal of the season just 1:17 into the first period to open the scoring, marking his first career game-opening goal and first goal at Tucson Arena.
  
• – Iginla later added an assist, giving him five on the season and marking his second career multi-point game. He now has five points (2g, 3a) over his last five games dating back to Oct. 24 at Henderson.
  
• – Joshua Roy scored his second goal of the season at 18:01 of the second period to extend Tucson’s lead to 2-0. It marked his first goal at Tucson Arena, and he now has three points (2g, 1a) over his last four games dating back to Oct. 24 at Henderson. The goal also marked his first game-winning goal of the season, with all eight of Tucson’s game-winning goals coming from different Roadrunners.
  
• – Caleb Desnoyers recorded his fourth assist of the season with the primary assist on Roy’s second-period goal. It marked Desnoyers’ first career point at Tucson Arena.
  
• – Jaxson Stauber’s three-game winning streak is the longest by a Roadrunners goaltender this season.
  
• – Brandon Tanev’s third-period goal marked his third of the season and second empty-net goal, tying him for the AHL lead. He has two goals in his last three games and three points (2g, 1a) over his last four dating back to Oct. 28 at Coachella Valley.
  
• – Tomas Lavoie recorded an assist for the second consecutive game, extending his point streak to three games (1g, 2a) dating back to Oct. 30 at Ontario.
  
• – Yegor Borikov recorded an assist for the second straight game, picking up his fifth of the season on Tanev’s third-period goal.

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST PERIOD
Tucson took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission behind an early goal from Tij Iginla.

The Roadrunners controlled the opening half of the frame, outshooting the Firebirds 9-1 through the first 10 minutes.

Tucson wasted little time opening the scoring as Iginla beat Firebirds goaltender Nikke Kokko from the left circle just 1:17 into the game. Two minutes later, Iginla nearly doubled his tally when he stole the puck in the offensive zone and fired a hard shot from the top of the right circle, but Kokko turned it aside to keep it a one-goal game.

The Roadrunners nearly extended their lead again just under five minutes into the period when Yegor Borikov raced into the Coachella Valley zone off the rush, but his shot from the right circle rang off the right post.

The Firebirds found their footing over the final 10 minutes, outshooting Tucson 5-1 during that stretch. Coachella Valley also benefited from two power-play opportunities in the final six minutes.

Montana Onyebuchi received the game’s first penalty for tripping, giving the Firebirds a power play with just over six minutes remaining. Coachella Valley generated its first quality chance of the night when Ty Nelson fired a low wrist shot through traffic, but Roadrunners goaltender Jaxson Stauber tracked the deflected attempt and swallowed the rebound to preserve Tucson’s lead.

In the final stages of the period, Daniil But created a scoring opportunity when he drove around the right circle and into the slot, but Kokko turned aside his shot. But was then called for holding near the end of his shift, giving the Firebirds their second power play of the period. Similar to their first opportunity, Coachella Valley was unable to capitalize, and Tucson carried its 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

SECOND PERIOD
Similar to the opening frame, the Roadrunners controlled the game in the second period, outshooting the Firebirds 9-2 in the middle frame to hold a 19-8 advantage through the first 40 minutes.

Just two and a half minutes into the period, Nathan Villeneuve was called for the Firebirds’ first penalty of the game, giving Tucson its first power-play opportunity. Looking to capitalize, Iginla circled around the left circle and fired a shot from the slot, but was unable to find the back of the net.

Four minutes later, Carson Rehkopf was sent to the penalty box for slashing, giving the Roadrunners another power-play opportunity. But worked his way around the back of the left circle and found himself with a clear shooting lane, but Kokko turned aside his attempt to keep Tucson off the scoreboard.

After the teams traded possession, J.R. Avon worked his way around the back of the net and attempted to slide a shot past Stauber, but the Roadrunners goaltender made the save.

With five minutes remaining in the period, Kevin Rooney fired a shot from the top of the slot through a pair of Coachella Valley defenders, but was unable to convert.

Tucson came close to extending its lead when Robbie Russo sent a pass from the top of the right circle to Brandon Tanev on the left side. Tanev got a shot off, but the attempt rang off the post to keep the game 1-0.

Late in the period, Joshua Roy extended the Roadrunners’ lead to 2-0 with help from Caleb Desnoyers and Iginla. Desnoyers drove the puck down the ice on a two-on-one and darted a pass from the bottom of the left circle to Joy at the opposite circle, and his one-timer beat Kokko glove-side to beat Tucson a two-goal advantage heading into the third period.

THIRD PERIOD
Needing a pair of goals, Coachella Valley started fast and Lleyton Roed drove the puck down the ice and fired a shot from the top of the left circle, but his attempt sailed high over the net just over two minutes in.

The Firebirds created another scoring chance when Logan Morrison sent a pass to J.R. Avon from the bottom of the right circle, but Avon was unable to get a clean shot off, allowing Tucson to regain possession.

Iginla generated Tucson’s first grade-A opportunity of the period when he dangled his way to the net and a fired a quick shot on goal. Desnoyers tried to jam home the rebound but Kokko robbed him to keep Coachella Valley within two.

However, the Firebirds’s comeback hopes were dashed when Tanev extended Tucson’s lead to 3-0 with an empty-net goal with two minutes left. After the puck was sent down the ice toward the unguarded net and rang off the post, Tanev followed up and buried the rebound.

With just five seconds remaining, Eduard Šalé got Coachella Valley on the scoreboard on the power play with a shot from the right circle, but the Roadrunners held on for a 3-1 home victory.

The Firebirds outshot the Roadrunners 15-12 in the third period, but Tucson finished the night with a 31-23 advantage in shots on goal.

UP NEXT

The Roadrunners will look to complete the sweep against the Firebirds on Saturday at Tucson Arena. Puck drop set for 7 p.m. MST. Fans can watch the game live on AHLtv on FloHockey and secure their seats on Ticketmaster.com.