Series Preview – Tucson Roadrunners vs Colorado Eagles

Game 1: Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. AZT, Tucson Arena
Game 2: Sunday, Nov. 23 at 4 p.m. AZT, Tucson Arena

Broadcast Info
Friday: LISTEN LIVE HERE or on Fox Sports 1450AM | WATCH on AHLtv on Flo Hockey 
Saturday: LISTEN LIVE HERE or on Tejano 1600 AM | WATCH on AHLtv on Flo Hockey

Officials
Saturday – Referees: #45 Liam Maaskant, #27Jackson Kozari | Linespeople: #33 Andrew Gaggin, #35 Andrew Leonardo

Sunday – Referees: #45 Liam Maaskant, #27Jackson Kozari | Linespeople: #54 Anthony Caruso, #14 Jett Larson | Supervisor: Pierre Racicot

Tucson, AZ – The Tucson Roadrunners (6-6-2-0) return home to face off against the Western Conference–leading Colorado Eagles (12-3-0-1) for the second straight weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. AZT on Saturday and 4 p.m. AZT on Sunday at Tucson Arena.

In a rare back-to-back series, the two-game set marks the third and fourth consecutive meetings between the clubs. The teams split last weekend in Loveland, with Colorado taking Friday’s opener 6-2 before Jaxson Stauber earned his first win of the season in a 32-save, 3-0 shutout on Saturday.

Tucson became just the second team this season to win at Blue FCU Arena and the first to beat the Eagles in regulation since Rockford’s 4-0 decision on Oct. 25. The victory returned the Roadrunners to .500 overall and improved them to 3-2-1-0 on the road, while snapping Colorado’s three-game win streak. The Eagles have still gone 7-1-0-1 over their last nine.

Looking ahead, the series also opens a busy home stretch for the Roadrunners, who will play five games at Tucson Arena over an eight-day span to close out November. The five-game homestand is one of the busiest stretches in franchise history and gives Tucson a golden opportunity to make up ground in the standings.

This weekend completes the first half of the eight-game season series between the Pacific Division rivals. Colorado will be back in Tucson for another two-game set on Jan. 30–31, and the Roadrunners will close out the series in Loveland on April 10–11.

Tucson will look to take the edge in the season series and climb the Pacific Division standings. The Roadrunners sit ninth with 14 points but hold games in hand on five of the eight teams ahead of them. Colorado leads the division with 25 points – seven more than second-place San Jose and two ahead of Grand Rapids for the conference lead.

The Roadrunners enter the weekend with wins in two of their last three games and points in three of their last five.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW
HEBIG’s WORLD
Tucson leading scorer Cameron Hebig hit a major milestone in Loveland last weekend. His two-goal outing on Friday — his second multi-goal game of the year — moved him past Michael Carcone for second all-time in franchise goals with 71. He now sits just three goals behind Michael Bunting’s all-time record (74) and could tie it as early as this weekend. Hebig enters the series with momentum on his side, posting a team-high four points (3g, 1a) in his last four games, and is also on track to reach another milestone: Sunday would mark his 400th career AHL game if he appears in both contests.

MAD MAX 
Defenseman Max Szuber is coming off the first multi-goal game of his career, scoring twice in Saturday’s 3–0 win. His two-point night was his third multi-point game of the season, most among Roadrunners defensemen and tied for the second-most on the team. He also had five shots on goal, a team-season high for shots in a game among defenseman. The Opole, Poland native now leads all Tucson defensemen in goals (3) and is tied for the team lead among blueliners in points (8) with Artem Duda and Scott Perunovich. He ranks second on the roster in second-period goals (2), tied with Sammy Walker.

YOUNG GUNS
A pair of 21-year-old Roadrunners enter the series riding a hot hand. Rookie forward Owen Allard tallied his first career game-winning goal and first multi-point performance (1g, 1a) on Saturday, marking his second goal of the season and first since Opening Night at Ontario (Oct. 10). Both of his goals this year have come on the road—tied for the third-most on the team—and each has been either a game-tying or go-ahead marker.

Second-year defenseman Maveric Lamoureux has posted assists in back-to-back games and now ranks fourth among Tucson blueliners with six points, all helpers. His sixth assist on Saturday is tied for the fourth-most on the roster, and four of his six assists have come in his last five games (since Nov. 2 at Iowa).

Numbers to Know:

3 – Three Roadrunners enter the weekend with four points in their last four games:

• Austin Poganski: 1g, 3a
• Cameron Hebig: 3g, 1a
• Daniil But: 3g, 1a

But and Hebig — who share the team lead in goals in that span — also lead Tucson in shots over the last four contests with 12 and 11, respectively.

Keeping with the “three” theme: Hebig is three assists shy of 100 career AHL helpers, and Ben McCartney needs three points to tie Lane Pederson for fourth all-time in franchise history (124).

WE’RE DOING IT LIVE
Both games this weekend will be streamed on AHLtv on FloHockey. Fans can listen to Saturday’s games live on FOX Sports 1450 AM and the iHeartRadio app and Sunday’s matchup will be broadcast on KXEW 1600 AM and the iHeartRadio app.

Saturday’s coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. AZT with Roadrunners Warm-Up hosted by David Mooradian.Sunday’s broadcast starts at 3:45 p.m. ahead of puck drop.