Series Preview – Tucson Roadrunners vs Bakersfield Condors

Game 1: Friday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. AZT, Tucson Arena
Game 2: Saturday, Dec. 12 at 7 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 Fox Sports 1450AM | WATCH on AHLtv on Flo Hockey 

Officials
Friday – Referees: #16 Adam Tobias, #50 Ben Solomon | Linespeople: #70 Craig Ford, #32 Robert Fay

Saturday – Referees: #16 Adam Tobias, #50 Ben Solomon | Linespeople: #70 Craig Ford, #35 Andrew Leonardo

Tucson, AZ – The Tucson Roadrunners (9-10-3-0) return to Tucson Arena this weekend for their only two home games before Christmas, hosting the Bakersfield Condors (10-8-4-0) on Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. AZT. The series marks Tucson’s first home action in December and the fourth and fifth meetings of eight this season between the Pacific Division rivals.

The clubs met just over a week ago on Dec. 3 in Bakersfield, where the Condors earned a 5-1 win. Tucson enters the weekend 1-2-0-0 against Bakersfield this season after the teams split a pair in Tucson on Oct. 24–25 before Bakersfield took the last two matchups.

That Dec. 3 meeting opened Tucson’s recent three-game trip through California. After the loss in Bakersfield, the Roadrunners picked up three of a possible four points in San Jose with a 4-3 overtime loss Friday and a 6-2 win over the Barracuda on Saturday.

Bakersfield has gone 1-2-0-0 since the last meeting with Tucson, dropping two of three straight games against the Henderson Silver Knights. The Condors enter the weekend in sixth place in the Pacific Division with 24 points. Tucson sits in ninth with 21 points behind eighth-place Henderson (23 points) and seventh-place San Diego, which currently holds the final playoff spot in the division with 24 points.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

NORDH STAR RISING
Rookie forward Noel Nordh is quietly putting together one of the most consistent stretches of play by any Roadrunner this season and enters Friday riding a season-high four-game point streak dating back to Nov. 29 vs. Abbotsford. It’s the team’s longest active streak, with four points (1g, 3a) in that span, and he has recorded an assist in three straight games. He’s one assist shy of matching Ben McCartney’s team season-high four-game assist streak and five-game point streak in early October.

Nordh has skated beside Austin Poganski and Sammy Walker on Tucson’s top forward line in each of the last three games. His elevated play in the top six has given Head Coach Steve Potvin more flexibility, allowing Tucson to spread scoring throughout the lineup and move the team’s top two scorers — Cameron Hebig and Ben McCartney — onto separate lines centered by Kevin Rooney and Andrew Agozzino.

STEADY BENNY
Assistant Captain Ben McCartney enters the series with goals in back-to-back games, marking his season-best scoring streak. He has seven points (4g, 3a) in his last eight games dating to Nov. 22 vs. Colorado, and recorded his third multi-point outing of the year in Tucson’s 6-2 win over San Jose on Saturday with a power-play goal and an assist.

The power-play tally was his second of the season, the 19th of his AHL career, and the 56th goal of his career overall. He is now four power-play goals shy of tying Michael Bunting (23) for second on the franchise’s all-time PPG list, and two goals shy of matching Lane Pederson (58) for fourth on the team’s all-time goals list.

With 18 points (8g, 10a) in 22 games, McCartney ranks second on the team in points, goals, and assists and third in points per game (0.82). He’s also tied for first in power-play points with six (2g/4a) and tied for third in multi-point games with three. His production has remained steady while taking on expanded special-teams usage and driving pace on his line at 5-on-5.

HE-BIG MAKING HISTORY
Roadrunners forward Cameron Hebig enters Friday on the verge of a franchise milestone after recording his second career hat trick last Saturday in San Jose. The three-goal performance moved him into a tie with Michael Bunting for the most goals in team history (74), giving him a chance to stand alone at the top of the Roadrunners’ all-time list with his next tally. The hat trick also pushed Hebig to 152 career points as a Roadrunner, passing Michael Carcone for second on the franchise’s all-time scoring list.

Hebig has five points (3g, 2a) over his last five games dating to Nov. 26 vs. San Diego and leads Tucson in nearly every major offensive category, including goals (11), points (19) and points per game (0.90) through 21 contests. He also leads the team in multi-point games (5), multi-goal outings (3) and is tied for the Roadrunners’ power-play points lead with six (3g, 3a). The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan product sits first among Roadrunners forwards in plus-minus at +3 and would become the franchise’s all-time goal leader with his next marker.

Numbers to Know:

9 – Tucson’s blue line fueled the offense on last week’s California swing, combining for nine points from six different defensemen across the three-game road trip. Lleyton Moore (2a), Max Szuber (2a), and Robbie Russo (2a) each posted a pair of assists on the trip, with Russo’s two helpers in Game 1 marking his first points of the season and Moore’s two-assist night in Game 2 counting as his first multi-assist game and second multi-point performance this year. Dmitri Simashev earned his first AHL point on Saturday in just his third game, while Scott Perunovich picked up his 12th point of the season, which leads all Roadrunners defensemen and ranks tied for seventh in assists among AHL blueliners. Montana Onyebuchi also added an assist to round out a productive weekend for Tucson’s backend group.

WE’RE DOING IT LIVE
Both games this weekend will be streamed on AHLtv on FloHockey and broadcast on FOX Sports 1450 AM and the iHeartRadio app. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. AZT with Roadrunners Warm-Up hosted by David Mooradian.

Fans can secure their seats online at Ticketmaster.com.