Series Preview – Tucson Roadrunners vs San Diego Gulls

Game 1: Tuesday, Jan. 20 at 6:30 p.m. AZT, Tucson Arena
Game 2: Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 6:30 p.m. AZT, Tucson Arena

Officials
Tuesday – Referees: #82 Harrison O’Pray, #13 Taylor Burzminski | Linespeople: #76 Gabe Lomen, #33 Andrew Gaggin

Broadcast Info
Tuesday: LISTEN LIVE HERE or on Fox Sports 1450AM | WATCH on AHLtv on Flo Hockey 
Wednesday: LISTEN LIVE HERE or Fox Sports 1450AM | WATCH on AHLtv on Flo Hockey 

Tucson, AZ – The Tucson Roadrunners (17-12-6-0) wrap up their six-game homestand with a two-game series against the San Diego Gulls (16-12-6-2) on Tuesday and Wednesday at Tucson Arena. Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. MST.

Tucson enters the series with a 3-0-1-0 record on the homestand after opening with a pair of overtime wins against the Central Division’s Iowa Wild and earning three of four points against the San Jose Barracuda over the weekend. The Roadrunners defeated San Jose 4-2 on Friday before falling 3-2 in overtime in Saturday’s series finale, which snapped Tucson’s season-high five-game winning streak.

Despite the setback, the Roadrunners have earned points in a season-high nine straight games (7-0-2-0) and in 13 of their last 15 contests (9-2-4-0) dating back to early December.

Tucson will look to extend its current point streak to double digits while searching for its first win of the season against San Diego. The Roadrunners are 0-1-1 against the Gulls, with Tuesday’s matchup marking the third meeting between the I-8 rivals — and the third at Tucson Arena. San Diego won the previous two contests in Tucson by scores of 4-3 (OT) on Dec. 31 and 5-3 on Nov. 26. Ben McCartney leads Tucson with two goals in the season series, while Cameron Hebig tops the Roadrunners in points with three assists.

San Diego enters the series having dropped three of its last four games and is coming off a 4-0 shutout loss to the Coachella Valley Firebirds.

Despite the recent skid, the Gulls are sixth in the Pacific Division with 40 points. Tucson is tied with San Diego at 40 points but sits in seventh due to the Gulls holding the head-to-head tiebreaker. The winner of the two-game series will move ahead of its I-8 rival in the standings and inch closer to the top half of the Pacific Division.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

DMITRI DISHING
Fresh off his selection to the AHL All-Star Classic on Thursday, rookie defenseman Dmitri Simashev followed it up by scoring the game-tying goal late in the third period Saturday to force overtime. Simashev has 15 points (5g, 10a) in his last 14 games dating back to Dec. 6 at San Jose, tied for third among AHL defensemen in that span. His 0.94 points-per-game pace leads all AHL rookie blueliners and ranks third among all AHL defensemen.

CREASE REPORT
Matthew Villalta has won six of his last seven starts dating back to Dec. 6 at San Jose, tied for the sixth-most wins in the AHL over that span. He ranks tied for seventh in the league with 12 wins overall and enters the week riding a season-best four-game winning streak dating back to Dec. 27 vs. Calgary.

Jaxson Stauber is coming off a season-high 36-save performance Saturday and has won two of his last three starts to open 2026. Over that stretch, he has allowed just five goals, posting a .938 save percentage and a 1.59 goals-against average.

OFFENSE ON A ROLL
Tucson enters the series ranked sixth in the Western Conference and ninth in the AHL in goals per game (3.29). The Roadrunners have averaged 4.00 goals per game over their last three contests dating back to Jan. 10 vs. Iowa and are 12-0-2-0 overall (8-0-1-0 at home) when scoring four or more goals.

NUMBERS TO KNOW:

13 – Sixty minutes has not been enough to decide a Roadrunners game more often than all but one team in the AHL. Tucson has played 13 overtime games this season, the second most in the league, and owns a 7-0-6-0 record in extra time. Three of Tucson’s last four games have gone to overtime, dating back to Jan. 9 vs. Iowa, and the Roadrunners are 2-0-1-0 in that span.

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 6:15 p.m. AZT with Roadrunners Warm-Up hosted by David Mooradian.