Game Recap: Tucson (3) at Ontario (1)
Roadrunners Recap: 11/26/22
Game #16: Tucson Roadrunners (3) at Ontario Reign (1)
SOG: TUC (35) – ONT (32)
PP: TUC (1/3) – ONT (0/1)
TUCSON SCORING: Travis Barron (3), Jean-Sebastien Dea (8 PP), Adam Cracknell (5 EN)
ONTARIO SCORING: Aidan Dudas (6)
ROADRUNNERS EARN TENTH WIN OF THE SEASON IN SERIES OPENER WITH ONTARIO REIGN
Ontario, California – The Tucson Roadrunners improved to 10-5-1-0 on the season Saturday night with a 3-1 win over the Ontario Reign on the road. The win gave Tucson their tenth win on the season, as they became the third team in the AHL’s Pacific Division to reach double-digit wins on the year (Colorado, Calgary). The Roadrunners tallied a power-play goal on three total chances against the Reign while holding Ontario to just one chance on the man-advantage. Tucson netminder Jon Gillies stopped 31 of 32 shots faced for his best save percentage of the season at .969.
YA GOTTA SEE IT
Roadrunners forward J.S. Dea broke a 1-1 tie in the opening 1:47 of the second period with his team-leading eighth goal of the season. The strike came on Tucson’s first trip to the man-advantage in Saturday’s contest and represented Dea’s third power-play goal on the year. Mike Carcone and Cam Dineen registered assists on the score, as Carcone has recorded a point on ten of Tucson’s 12 total power-play goals this season.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
CLEAN CONTEST – The Roadrunners faced just one penalty-kill situation in Saturday’s series opener with the Ontario Reign, their fewest in a game this season. Tucson skated at even strength or better for the opening 48:53 of the game and outdrew the Reign in trips to the power-play three to one. Five of the Roadrunners nine total penalty minutes in Saturday’s 3-1 win came from a third-period fight between Ben McCartney and Ontario’s Jacob Moverare, who was cited for instigating the situation and also assessed a 10-minute misconduct. The bout was McCartney’s first of the season.
PHOTO OF THE GAME
Roadrunners forwards Boko Imama and Travis Barron factored into Tucson’s first goal of the game Saturday night against the Ontario Reign. Imama fired in a shot onto his former team and Barron tipped it in for his third goal of the season and fifth point in the last seven games. The 26-year-old Imama was back in the Roadrunners lineup for the first time since October 28, as he tallied his third point in four games this season with the assist. Saturday night linemates Imama, Barron and Hudson Elynuik are all in their second seasons with Tucson.
THEY SAID IT
“That was a huge game. We were playing a good team (in Ontario) and we knew what to expect, I think we executed the system we wanted to play. The guys did a great job, we stayed out of the box, and we were able to use everybody tonight to keep the momentum in our favor. [Jon] Gillies held us in with some big saves, and we’re happy with the win.”
Tucson Captain Adam Cracknell on Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Ontario Reign. Cracknell capped off the victory with an empty-net goal in the first of two meetings with the Reign this weekend.
THE RUNDOWN
The Roadrunners opened the scoring for the second-straight contest to open their current road trip, as Travis Barron tipped the puck past Ontario backstop Pheonix Copley for his third goal of the season. The puck was sent in by Tucson forward Boko Imama, who recorded the primary assist for his third point in as many games (1g 2a). Saturday’s series opener with his former team in Ontario represented Imama’s first outing since October 28. The Reign were able to get on the board less than two minutes later to even the score at 1-1 late in the opening frame, with shots on goal 13 to 10 in favor of the Roadrunners at the end of the first period. Tucson broke the 1-1 tie just 1:47 into the second period, as J.S. Dea lit the lamp with his team-leading eighth goal of the season to retake the lead at 2-1. The score came on the Roadrunners first man-advantage of the contest for Dea’s third power-play goal of the season with assists from Mike Carcone and Cam Dineen. The goal for Tucson was the difference in the second period, as they led the Reign 2-1 at the end of the middle frame from Ontario. With the Roadrunners still ahead 2-1 after 40 minutes, the Reign pushed to even the score in the early goings of the third period. Ontario pulled even with Tucson in shots on goal with five of the first eight shots in the frame, but the Roadrunners and goaltender Jon Gillies were able to preserve the lead. The Reign were inches from tying the game just past the midway point of the third period, but a replay review upheld the call on the ice of a no-goal with the puck hitting the post. With less than two minutes to go in the third, Roadrunners Captain Adam Cracknell scored on the empty net to secure the second consecutive 3-1 win for Tucson. The Roadrunners and Reign will meet again Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. to wrap up the weekend series in Ontario, with that game available to listen to on TucsonRoadrunners.com and video available on AHLtv.
(Photo Credits: Ontario Reign)
