Game #18: Tucson Roadrunners (3) @ San Diego Gulls (0)
Game #18: Tucson Roadrunners (3) at San Diego Gulls (0)
SOG: TUC (25) – SD (22)
PP: TUC (1/2) – SD (0/2)
SAN DIEGO SCORING:
TUCSON SCORING: Lleyton Moore (1), Travis Barron (1), Kailer Yamamoto (5)
Roadrunners Blank San Diego 3-0 for Villalta’s First Shutout of the Season
San Diego, CA – Tucson Roadrunners goalie Matthew Villalta made 22 saves and earned his first shutout of the season in Tucson’s 3-0 victory over the San Diego Gulls (4-12-1-1) on Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. With the victory, Tucson (10-8-0-0) has won five out of its last six games and is two games over .500 for the first time this season.
Roadrunners defenseman Lleyton Moore and forward Travis Barron scored their first goals of the season, while forward Kailer Yamamoto notched his fifth of the year. His goal extended his point streak to seven games, which is the team’s longest point streak of the season. Moore opened the scoring 3:50 into the first period, and Barron and Yamamoto found the back of the net eight minutes apart in the third period to put the game out of reach. Moore had an assist on Barron’s goal for the first multi-point game of his career.
YA GOTTA SEE IT
Moore scored his first goal of the season and third of his career early in the first period. It was his first goal since Jan. 17, 2024, against the Iowa Wild. His goal on Saturday set the tone for the game and improved Tucson’s record to 7-2 when scoring the game’s first goal and 6-1 when leading after the first period. Later in the game, Moore notched an assist on Barron’s third-period goal for his first-career multi-point game. Moore has three points (one goal and two assists) in nine games this season. Last year, the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native had two goals and two assists for four points in 14 games. He is on pace to surpass all of his rookie totals in his sophomore campaign.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
Villalta notched his first shutout of the season and third win in his last four starts on Saturday. This was Villalta’s first shutout since his 31-save performance against Henderson on Mar. 12, 2024. It was also the 25-year-old’s first road shutout since Jan. 12, 2024 at Abbotsford. He had a career-high three shutouts in 51 games last season, and all three of them came after the second half of December. Villalta has won three of his last four starts and is on track to surpass his previous career-high for shutouts in a season.
THEY SAID IT
“He’s an unbelievable guy. He’s a great teammate. I would classify him as a glue guy. He plays a big role in our team. We saw flashes of him last year when he got to play and, he’s getting his chances now this year and he’s playing unbelievable “
Roadrunners goalie Matthew Villalta on defenseman Lleyton Moore’s first multi-point game.
THE RUNDOWN
First Period
The Gulls generated the first chance of the game, but the Roadrunners registered the first goal. On the first shift, San Diego forward Judd Caulfield closed in on Villalta on a breakaway, but the Tucson netminder blocked his wrist shot to the side. Then, Moore opened the scoring 3:50 into the game. He fired a shot from the point that deflected just wide of the net, but Roadrunners forward Aku Räty retrieved the puck in the corner after outmuscling Gulls forward Pavol Regenda. Moore crashed the net and quickly snapped Räty’s goal-line pass from below the slot past San Diego goalie Calle Clang to put Tucson ahead 1-0. The Roadrunners had a great chance to extend its lead after forward Josh Doan stole the puck from Gulls forward Yegor Sidorov above San Diego’s blue line. Doan dished a backhand lead pass through the Gulls defense and McGregor corralled the puck in the offensive zone with no defenders ahead of him. After a few strides, McGregor deked to his backhand, but Clang denied the breakaway opportunity 11:30 into the period. Tucson’s next best opportunity came five minutes later when Duda walked the puck in from the point and fired a shot between the circles, but Clang made a huge save to keep it a one-goal game. Tucson was outshooting San Diego 6-1 in the back half of the period before the Gulls’ last-minute push. Villalta preserved the Roadrunners lead with 37 seconds remaining when he denied Gulls forward Nathan Gaucher’s one-timer from Sidorov. Tucson outshot San Diego 10-6 and had a 1-0 lead at the first intermission.
Second Period
Villalta continued his strong play and warded off a couple of San Diego scoring chances in the first five minutes. His most impressive save came against Coulson Pitre’s point-blank shot after the forward slipped past the Roadrunners defense for a 1-on-0 opportunity. The Tucson backend may have bent but it didn’t break, and the Roadrunners put the pressure back on San Diego in the middle of the period. Tucson controlled possession in the Gulls zone on consecutive shifts and wore down the San Diego line that was caught in its own zone. Defenseman Montana Onyebuchi fired a couple of blasts from the point, but the Roadrunners couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity. With 7:10 remaining, the Gulls had the game’s first power play. However, it was Tucson who generated the most grade-A scoring chances. On the ensuing faceoff, McGregor and Doan raced down the ice on a 2-on-1, but Doan’s shot was deflected out of play. In the final minute of the penalty kill, captain Austin Poganski and Barron had a 2-on-0, but Poganski’s shot was blocked. With 4:37 left, Gulls defenseman Roland McKeown’s tripping penalty gave Tucson its first man advantage of the night. Defenseman Kevin Connauton registered the only shot on goal and scoring opportunity after forward Ben McCartney battled for the rebound in front of the net. Shots were even at seven apiece, and the Roadrunners carried it’s 1-0 lead into the second intermission.
Third Period
Assistant captain Travis Barron extended Tucson’s lead 3:13 into the period after he buried home a rebound from Moore’s shot. Barron also nearly scored moments early when his back-handed one-timer off the rush sailed high of the net. The Gulls responded after the ensuing faceoff and appeared to have a breakaway opportunity, but Räty raced back to disrupt the puck from the San Diego forward. With 11:43 to play, a Roadrunners hooking penalty gave San Diego its second power-play of the game. Villalta made a couple of big saves in the final seconds of the penalty kill to preserve Tucson’s lead. Immediately after the penalty expired, Sasha Pastujov’s tripping minor gave Tucson its second power play. Yamamoto found the back of the net 50 seconds later at 11:09 after his slick deke and back-hand shot beat Clang. Defenseman Robbie Russo and forward Egor Sokolov were credited with an assist. Russo was sent to the box for roughing three minutes later alongside Gulls forward Ryan Carpenter. The coincidental penalties made it 4-on-4 and both teams tallied one shot with the extra ice. The Gulls pulled Clang with 2:37 left and desparately tried to break Villalta’s shutout. Defenseman Triston Luneau and Pastujov each fired a pair of hard shots, but Villalta made four big saves in the final two-and-a-half minutes to preserve his clean stat sheet. San Diego outshot Tucson 9-8 in the final frame, but the Roadrunners outshot the Gulls 25-22 overall.
The Roadrunners will head north of the border for a two-game slate against the Calgary Wranglers on Friday and Saturday at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Puck drop on Friday will be at 7:00 p.m. MST. and the game will be available to stream on AHLTV on FLO HOCKEY.
