Game Recap: Tucson (1) at Canucks (4)

Roadrunners Recap: 2/11/23 

Game #48: Tucson Roadrunners (1) at Abbotsford Canucks (4) 

SOG: TUC (28) – ABB (24) 

PP: TUC (0/5) – ABB (0/2) 

TUCSON SCORING: Mike Carcone (23) 

ABBOTSFORD SCORING: Vincent Arseneau (5), Justin Dowling (11), Wyatt Kalynuk (3), Kyle Rau (12) 

ROADRUNNERS END SEASON SERIES AGAINST ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS WITH 4-1 ROAD LOSS 

Abbotsford, British Columbia – The Tucson Roadrunners closed out the weekend series against the Canucks with a 4-1 loss Saturday night on the road at the Abbotsford Centre. After falling behind 2-0 in the first 8:04 of the contest, Tucson drew four of the following five trips to the power-play and recorded 18 of the next 28 shots on goal as they clawed to within one goal of the Canucks heading into the third period. The series finale from Abbotsford marked the final meeting of the season between the Roadrunners and the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, as well as their eighth consecutive matchup all-time where the home team earned the win. Tucson forward Mike Carcone provided the score for the Roadrunners with 9:14 gone by in the middle frame, extending his team lead in goals to 23 and his league lead in total scoring to 63 points in 41 outings on the year. 

YA GOTTA SEE IT 

Roadrunners forward Mike Carcone put Tucson on the board midway through the second period with his team-leading 23rd goal of the season. The AHL’s leading scorer is one goal away from matching the Roadrunners single-season franchise record, which Carcone set himself last season with 24 tallies in 48 games played. With the score, Carcone moved into a tie with Coachella Valley’s Jesper Froden for second place in total goals in the American Hockey League. The 26-year-old is the only player in the top three in both goals and assists this year, with the current top three in each category featuring only Pacific Division skaters.  

DON’T OVERLOOK IT 

NEXT MAN UP – Prior to Saturday’s series finale between Tucson and Abbotsford, the Arizona Coyotes recalled Roadrunners defensemen Victor Soderstrom and Dysin Mayo to the NHL. The pair of blue-liners each took the ice for the Coyotes in St. Louis on Saturday, as Arizona earned a standings point in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Blues. In a corresponding move, Tucson signed defenseman Patrick Kudla to a PTO (professional tryout) from the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads. Kudla is second in scoring among defensemen in the ECHL this season with 6 goals and 33 assists for 39 total points in 43 games played. The 26-year-old was originally drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the sixth round (#158 overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, the same Coyotes draft class as his new Roadrunners teammate Cam Dineen. 

PHOTO OF THE GAME 

Tucson defenseman Devante Stephens faced off against his former team for the first time Saturday night, as the Roadrunners took on the Abbotsford Canucks from British Columbia. Originally from White Rock, BC, Stephens finished the 2021-2022 campaign third on the AHL’s Canucks as a plus-15. The 26-year-old is tied for second on the Roadrunners this season as a plus-ten along with Captain Adam Cracknell. With his outing in Abbotsford, Stephens became the sixth Tucson skater to face a former team of theirs this season. 

THEY SAID IT 

“Getting wins isn’t going to get easier, especially at this time of year. Everyone is battling in our Division, we just have to take it game by game.” 

Roadrunners forward Mike Carcone on the strength of the AHL Pacific Division this year. 19 of Tucson’s 25 remaining games in the regular season are against divisional rivals. 

THE RUNDOWN 

The Canucks became the fourth consecutive home team to score first in the four-game season series between Tucson and Abbotsford, as they took a 2-0 lead in the opening 8:04 of the contest with a pair of five-on-five goals. The remainder of the first period was without a goal, but a late surge by the Roadrunners gave them a narrow edge in shots in the frame by a count of nine to eight. Tucson got on the board just before the midway point of the second period, with All-Star forward Mike Carcone’s team-leading 23rd goal of the season reducing Abbotsford’s lead to 2-1 9:14 into the frame. Carcone’s score was the only offense of the middle frame, as Tucson backstop Tyler Parks turned aside all seven shots faced in the period. With the Roadrunners still trailing by one in the early goings of the third period, the Canucks found the back of the net for the first time in nearly 38 minutes of play to retake their two-goal advantage at 3-1. Tucson nearly pulled back to within one of Abbotsford nine seconds into a power-play midway through the third period, but the potential J.S. Dea goal was disallowed following a review to determine if the puck was kicked. The Roadrunners continued to battle late in regulation, but another tally by the Canucks with 2:50 left to play secured a 4-1 win for Abbotsford. The Canucks have won five-straight contests since the Roadrunners swept the two-game set from the Tucson Arena January 28 and 29, while the Roadrunners will continue their seven-game road trip on Tuesday with a matchup against the San Diego Gulls from the Pechanga Arena. 

(Photo Credits: Abbotsford Canucks)