Roadrunners Sweep Barracuda With 4-1 Victory

Roadrunners Recap: 10/10/2026

Game #4: Tucson Roadrunners (4) at San Jose (1)

SOG: TUC (29) – SJ (36)
PP: TUC (1/4) – SJ (1/10)

TUCSON SCORING: Vadim Moroz (3), Caleb Desnoyers (2), Montana Onyebuchi (2), Yegor Borikov (1)
SAN JOSE SCORING: Roland McKeown (2) 

SAN JOSE, CA – The Tucson Roadrunners (2-2-0-0) led from start to finish in a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda (1-3-0-0) on Saturday at Tech CU Arena, securing their first series sweep of the season.

Three Roadrunners rookies combined for three of Tucson’s four goals, led by Vadim Moroz, who scored for the third consecutive game to open the scoring and give Tucson a 1-0 lead after the first period. Rookie Caleb Desnoyers doubled the Roadrunners’ advantage early in the second period with his second goal in as many nights. He also recorded his first career AHL assist to secure his first multi-point game in the league.

Fellow rookie Yegor Borikov also recorded his first multi-point game in the AHL, scoring his first career goal while shorthanded and adding an assist to extend his point streak to three games. Borikov’s goal capped a three-goal second period that gave Tucson a commanding 4-0 lead, while defenseman Montana Onyebuchi also found the back of the net in the middle frame.

The Roadrunners’ dominant performance was sparked early by assistant captain Kevin Rooney, who dropped the gloves with San Jose’s Anthony Vincent seven minutes into the game while the score remained tied 0-0. The fight marked Rooney’s first at any level in more than three years.

Goaltender Jaxson Stauber stopped 35 of 36 shots to earn his first win of the season and record his fifth career AHL shutout bid, ultimately finishing just 90 seconds short of his fifth career shutout as San Jose scored late in the third period.

HIGHLIGHTS

TEAM NOTES

• – Saturday’s victory extended Tucson’s winning streak in San Jose to three games, dating back to Mar. 1, 2026. The Roadrunners have also won four of their last five games at Tech CU Arena, dating back to Dec. 6, 2025.
• – The Roadrunners recorded a season-high for number of shots on goal in a single period, with 15 in the opening frame, surpassing the previous high of 12 in the second period on Oct. 9 against Colorado.
• – Tucson went 3-for-7 (42.8%) on the power play over its two-game series in San Jose. The Roadrunners rank second in the Pacific Division with a 21.4% conversion rate.
• – The Roadrunners killed 12 of 15 penalties (80.0%) over the two-game series while also scoring their first shorthanded goal of the season, courtesy of Yegor Borikov. Tucson ranks tied for third in the Pacific Division with a 87.5% penalty-kill percentage.
• – Tucson recorded a season-high 36 penalty minutes, surpassing the previous high of 15 on Oct. 9 against Colorado.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• – Vadim Moroz extended his scoring streak to three games (3-1–4) dating back to Oct. 4 against Colorado. Saturday’s goal marked the rookie’s first game-opening goal of his AHL career.
• – Ben McCartney extended his point streak to three games (1-4–5) dating back to Oct. 4 against Colorado, recording the primary assist on Moroz’s first-period goal.
• – Kevin Rooney‘s fight against San Jose’s Anthony Vincent marked the first time he has fought at any level since he dropped the gloves with then then-Colorado Eagles forward Spencer Smallman as a member of the Calgary Wranglers on Mar. 3, 2023. His last tilt in the NHL occured on Nov. 10, 2022 with the Calgary Flames with then-Boston Bruin forward Nick Foligno.
• –Caleb Desnoyers extended his scoring streak to two games (2-1–3), dating back to Oct. 9 at San Jose. Saturday’s goal marked the rookie’s first career AHL power-play goal, while his second-period assist on Montana Onyebuchi’s goal was his first career AHL assist and secured his first multi-point game as a professional.
• – Zac Jones extended his point streak to three games (1-2–3) dating back to Oct. 4 against Colorado, recording the primary assist on Desnoyer’s second-period, power-play goal. Saturday’s assist also marked Jones’ first power-play point of the season.
• – Montana Onyebuchi has scored twice through his first three games, surpassing his goal total from last season and moving within one of matching his career-high three goals in a season. He previously recorded three goals in 2024-25 with Tucson and in 2022-23 with San Jose.
• – Yegor Borikov recorded his first career AHL goal and his first multi-point game with a short-handed goal and a secondary assist on Montana Onyebuchi’s second-period goal. Saturday’s performance extended his assist and point streak to three games (1-3–4), dating back to Oct. 4 against Colorado.

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST PERIOD
The Roadrunners carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission after rookie Vadim Moroz scored late in the opening frame.

After a whistle-free opening five minutes in which both sides traded chances, highlighted by Brandon Tanev’s short-side wrister from the left faceoff circle, San Jose’s Tye Felhaber drew the game’s first penalty with an interference call on Tucson captain Austin Poganski. Rookie Tij Iginla generated Tucson’s best scoring chance on the ensuing power play, but his point-blank attempt from the low slot was turned aside.

Just 10 seconds after Felhaber’s penalty expired, assistant captain Kevin Rooney dropped the gloves with San Jose’s Anthony Vincent after taking exception to a hit on Iginla. Rooney also received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, giving the Barracuda their first power play of the night. Tucson’s penalty kill held San Jose to just two shots from the perimeter to keep the game scoreless.

Near the halfway mark, Joshua Roy created another quality scoring chance off the rush, dangling around a pair of San Jose defenders before spinning and firing on goal. Barracuda goaltender Matt Davis kicked the attempt aside to preserve the scoreless tie.

That didn’t last for long, however. With 5:58 remaining in the period, Moroz scored his second goal in as many nights to put Tucson on the board. McCartney carried the puck into the offensive zone and fired a low shot from the left boards, where Moroz crashed the net and redirected it past Davis at 14:02 to give the Roadrunners a 1-0 lead.

Tucson finished the opening frame with a season-high 14 shots on goal, outshooting San Jose 14-10.

SECOND PERIOD
The Roadrunners erupted for three second-period goals, including two in a span of 3:32, to extend their lead to 4-0 heading into the final frame.

Tucson earned its second power-play opportunity of the night just over two minutes into the middle frame when San Jose’s Leo Sahlin Wallenius was whistled for tripping Cam Hebig. The Roadrunners needed less than a minute to capitalize. Rookie Caleb Desnoyers carried the puck into the offensive zone on the right side, initially looking to pass to Hebig before electing to shoot. Desnoyers beat Barracuda goaltender Matt Davis five-hole from just outside the crease at 3:01 to double Tucson’s lead.

Just over three minutes later, Montana Onyebuchi made it 3-0 with a one-timer from the right point, beating Davis glove-side at 6:33. Desnoyers set up the goal with a quick pass from the bottom of the right faceoff circle, recording his second point of the period.

With 8:02 remaining in the frame, Yegor Borikov capitalized on a San Jose turnover in the Barracuda zone while shorthanded and broke in alone on Davis. With no defenders between him and the net, Borikov took two strides before snapping the puck past the goaltender for Tucson’s first shorthanded goal of the season, its third goal of the period and a commanding 4-0 lead.

Borikov’s tally came on Tucson’s fifth shot of the period. The Roadrunners finished the frame with six shots to San Jose’s 10, while both teams had 20 shots on goal through 40 minutes.

THIRD PERIOD
San Jose had an early opportunity to get on the scoreboard when Onyebuchi and Borikov were sent to the penalty box less than a minute apart, giving the Barracuda an extended two-man advantage. However, Tucson’s penalty kill came through once again, killing off the 5-on-3 and the ensuing abbreviated 5-on-4 to preserve its four-goal lead.

The first half of the period belonged to San Jose, which outshot Tucson 9-5, but goaltender Jaxson Stauber stood tall between the pipes to keep the Barracuda off the scoreboard and maintain his shutout bid.

Stauber’s shutout bid came up just 90 seconds short when Roland McKeown scored from point-blank range on the power play to cut Tucson’s lead to 4-1 with 1:31 remaining. San Jose earned the man advantage after Robbie Russo was assessed an incidental roughing penalty following a post-whistle confrontation with Vincent.

UP NEXT

The Roadrunners return home to host the San Diego Gulls for a two-game weekend series Friday and Saturday at Tucson Arena, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. MST both nights. Fans can watch the game live on AHLtv on FloHockey and secure their seats on Ticketmaster.com.