Game #24 – Roadrunners at Gulls
Game #24 –Tucson Roadrunners at San Diego Gulls
8:00 p.m. MST, Pechanga Arena, San Diego, California
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Referees: Phillip Kasko (93) Matt Menniti (30)
Linespersons: Jacob Fraser (4) Ben DuBow (52)
The 11-8-4-0 Tucson Roadrunners head out on the road for three games over the next four nights, beginning on Saturday with the second matchup of the season against the San Diego Gulls. Three of Tucson’s next five games will be against the AHL Affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, as the I-8 Border Rivals will meet in Tucson for the first times this year on Thursday, December 22 and Friday, December 23. The Roadrunners have a three-game winning streak over the Gulls dating back to the final two games of the 2021-2022 season in Tucson.
Three Things
1) The Roadrunners enter Saturday having earned at least a standings point in six of their last nine games, starting with a 3-1 win over the Gulls on Wednesday, November 23. Meanwhile, San Diego has dropped nine-straight games following their home loss to Tucson. Saturday is the second night of a back-to-back for the Gulls after they took on the Coachella Valley Firebirds Friday night at the Pechanga Arena and fell by a score of 8-1. Following Saturday’s contest with San Diego, the Roadrunners will help the Firebirds open their new Acrisure Arena Sunday night in Coachella Valley, while the Gulls will be off until they visit Tucson for a pair of games December 22 and 23.
2) Tucson’s first meeting of the year with the San Diego Gulls on November 23 produced a pair of notable streaks. The Roadrunners 3-1 win at the Pechanga Arena was the first game of J.S. Dea’s season-high five-game goal streak, as well as the start of Mike Carcone’s season-high seven-game point streak. Dea beat the buzzer with a last-second goal on an empty net to cap off Tucson’s win over San Diego, while Carcone assisted on the opening goal by Ben McCartney 6:55 into the first period. Two of Carcone’s four career AHL hat tricks have come against the Gulls, and the 26-year-old is less than a week removed from a four-point performance on Tuesday, December 13 that included his fourth hat trick as a Roadrunner (3g 1a).
3) Ahead of Tucson’s three-game road trip, defenseman Dysin Mayo was assigned to the Roadrunners by the Arizona Coyotes. Mayo returns to Tucson with the second-most games played in team history, with 253 outings as a Roadrunner since their inaugural 2016-2017 campaign. Mayo has appeared in 80 NHL games with the Coyotes since his National Hockey League debut on October 21, 2021, when he scored his first goal against the Edmonton Oilers. The 26-year-old was drafted by Arizona in the Fifth Round (#133 overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and is the only player to appear for the Roadrunners in each of their first six seasons in the desert before 2022-2023.
What’s The Word?
“It’s a really busy schedule, so anytime we can get rest we’re thankful for it. Our guys want to play, we’re in good shape, and we’re ready to go for whatever’s ahead.”
Roadrunners Head Coach Steve Potvin on the upcoming schedule for Tucson, which features three games in four nights on the road followed by a pair of games back home before Christmas.
Number to Know
9 – The number of Roadrunners that have scored a power-play goal this season, led by Mike Carcone with seven. Their five goals while on the man-advantage in Tuesday’s matchup with the Coachella Valley Firebirds set a new franchise record, as Tucson enters Saturday with a power-play goal in each of their last three contests. The Roadrunners have had at least ten players notch a PPG in every season since arriving in the desert in 2016, with a franchise-record 19 players in 2018-2019.
We’re Doing It Live
Tonight’s game will be broadcast live on AHLtv, as well as on the radio at FOX Sports 1450AM and the iHeartRadio app. Coverage will begin at 7:45 with Roadrunners Warm-Up hosted by Jimmy Peebles, before “Voice of the Roadrunners” Adrian Denny has all the action from the Pechanga Arena.
