Game #19: Tucson Roadrunners (4) @ Calgary Wranglers (2)
Game #19: Tucson Roadrunners (4) at Calgary Wranglers (2)
SOG: TUC (31) – CGY (34)
PP: TUC (1/5) – CGY (0/3)
CALGARY SCORING: William Strömgren (4), Jonathan Aspirot (2), Martin Frk (4), Dryden Hunt (4)
TUCSON SCORING: Egor Sokolov (9), Curtis Douglas (1)
Roadrunners Comeback Falls Short in 4-2 Loss to Wranglers
Calgary, AB – The Tucson Roadrunners (10-9-0-0) scored two third-period goals to claw back from a late three-goal deficit before falling 4-2 to the Calgary Wranglers (16-5-1-0) at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday.
Calgary scored two goals in the first period and added another at 1:16 of the third to go ahead 3-0. Roadrunners forward Egor Sokolov scored his ninth goal of the season less than a minute later and forward Curtis Douglas tallied his first goal of the season at 13:13 to make it a one-goal game. Tucson’s comeback bid came up short after the Wranglers notched an empty-net goal in the final seconds to put the game out of reach.
YA GOTTA SEE IT
The Roadrunners faced a daunting deficit, but Douglas took it upon himself to ensure Tucson wouldn’t go down without a fight – literally. The 6-foot-9, 242-pound power forward fought Wranglers forward Alex Gallant early in the second period. Douglas led Tucson with 10 fights last year and has a team-high of four this season. Then, Douglas found the back of the net in the third period, his first goal of the season, to cut Calgary’s lead to 3-2. The goal was his second game in a row with a point. He notched an assist against the San Diego Gulls on Nov. 30. The fifth-year pro has his first multi-game point streak of the season and first since the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs. Douglas had an assist in the last two games of the 2023-24 regular season and another in Game One of Tucson’s playoff series against Calgary.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
Roadrunners assistant Captain Travis Barron notched an assist on Douglas’ goal for his first two-game point streak of the season. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound forward also scored in Tucson’s 3-0 victory over San Diego on Nov. 30. Before that, forward Kailer Yamamoto had an assist on Sokolov’s early third-period goal. The play extended his team and league-high eight-game point streak, which stretches all the way back to Nov. 15 against the Henderson Silver Knights.
THEY SAID IT
“I love playing with Doug (Curtis Douglas). He’s so tough. He’s so important, and I’m happy to see him get rewarded tonight.”
Roadrunners assistant captain Travis Barron on forward Curtis Douglas’ performance on Friday.
THE RUNDOWN
First Period
Calgary forward William Strömgren scored 17 seconds into the game off the opening faceoff. The left-shot winger received a break-out pass from defenseman Ilya Solovyov, skated the puck up ice through the Tucson zone, and fired a wrist shot from below the right faceoff circle past Villalta.
The Roadrunners shook off the early goal and created a couple of chances in the opening five minutes. At 2:25, Roadrunners defenseman Robbie Russo intercepted a pass below the blue line and fired a point shot that forward Miko Matikka nearly tipped home. Less than two minutes later, forward Aku Räty fed forward Sam Lipkin a one-timer off the rush, but Calgary goaltender Devin Cooley slid across his crease to make the save.
Tucson couldn’t convert, and Calgary had the next push, tallying six consecutive shots. Then a Roadrunners delay of game penalty gave Calgary its first power play 9:20 into the period, but the man advantage was negated with 33 seconds remaining from a Wrangler’s interference minor. During four-on-four play, Roadrunners captain Austin Poganski had a good look on a zone-entry play, but Cooley denied his quick shot to preserve Calgary’s lead.
Wranglers defenseman Jonathan Aspirot found the back of the net with 3:27 left to extend Calgary’s lead to 2-0. Aspirot carried the puck into the offensive zone off the rush and picked the top right corner of the net from above the left circle. However, Tucson created a late push in the final minute. Forward Cameron Hebig deked around Wranglers defenseman Joni Jurmo towards the net and fired a point-blank back-hand shot. Poganski picked up the rebound, but Cooley denied both Roadrunners forwards with less than 30 seconds left. Shots were 14-11 in favor of Calgary.
Second Period
For the second straight period, Strömgren flew into the Tucson zone off the opening faceoff, but Villalta made a key glove save to keep it a two-goal game. After conceding another period-opening scoring chance, Douglas dropped the gloves for the fourth time this season to give his team a spark. Douglas squared off against Gallant, and delivered more punches he received in a lengthy fight.
A minute later, the Roadrunners earned its second power play of the night 3:35 into the period. Forward Egor Sokolov had the lone shot – a left-circle one-timer. It was Tucson’s first and only shot on goal until assistant captain Travis Barron tallied the team’s second shot of the period just past the midway mark. Tucson created it’s best opportunity with 4:30 remaining on a three-on-two rush. Poganski dropped a back-pass to forward Kailer Yamamoto, who snapped it across the slot to defenseman Artem Duda for a one-timer. The Russian rookie’s shot sailed wide, and Calgary’s two-goal advantage remained intact.
The Wrangler’s nearly pushed its lead to three in the final minute. Calgary capitalized on a turnover and entered the Tucson zone on a three-on-one against Roadrunners defenseman Max Szuber. The second-year blueliner shut down one passing lane, and Villalta denied Calgary forward Adam Klapka’s one-timer and Martin Frk’s rebound shot with 26 seconds left. Calgary had a 7-5 shot advantage in the scoreless second period.
Third Period
The Roadrunners flipped the script and nearly found the back of the net seconds into the final frame. Hebig fired a shot on net and several Roadrunners crashed the net to jam the puck home. Cooley kept the puck in front of him, and the Wranglers regained possession and skated the puck up ice. Calgary set up in the Roadrunners zone and Frk scored 1:16 into the period to make it a 3-0 game.
On the next shift, a Calgary tripping penalty put the Roadrunners back on the power play. On the man advantage, Sokolov’s hard shot beat Cooley to cut the deficit to 3-1 at 2:20. Three minutes later, another Wranglers minor penalty gave Tucson its fifth power play of the night. Tucson had a couple of grade-A chances from Sokolov, Doan, and assistant captain Andrew Agozzino, but neither of their shots found the back of the net.
Tucson kept up the pressure and kept the puck in Calgary’s zone for several shifts in a row. The Roadrunners generated a couple of high-danger scoring opportunities, including Duda’s point shot at 8:45 that Cooley scrambled to save with Poganski screening him above the crease.
The Roadrunners’ relentless attack continued and finally found pay dirt with 6:46 remaining after Douglas fired a shot past Cooley to make it 3-2. After scoring two unanswered goals to make it a one-score game, Tucson had all the momentum. But, a late high-sticking penalty put the Roadrunners down a man with 3:11 left in the game. On the penalty kill, Villalta made the save of the night, sliding across his crease just in time to make a glove save on Wranglers forward Dryden Hunt’s one-timer.
Tucson killed the penalty and pulled Villalta with a minute left, but Hunt scored an empty-net goal with 12 seconds left to put the game away.
The Roadrunners will wrap up its three-game road trip and weekend series against the Calgary Wranglers on Saturday at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Puck drop will be at 6:00 p.m. MST. and the game will be available to stream on AHLTV on FLO HOCKEY.
