Game #46 – Roadrunners at Reign
Game #46 – Tucson Roadrunners at Ontario Reign
7:00 p.m. MST, Toyota Arena, Ontario, California
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Referees: Conor O’Donnell (41) Adam Bloski (94)
Linespersons: Ben Dubow (52) Nikolaus Diehr (31)
The Tucson Roadrunners will take on the Ontario Reign Saturday night at the Toyota Arena for the second of two games with the AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings on the weekend. Tucson took the series opener Friday by a score of 2-0, with forward Hudson Elynuik breaking a scoreless tie early in the second period and forward Milos Kelemen sealing the win with an empty-net tally late in regulation. The Roadrunners enter the series finale against Ontario having won five of their last six outings and trail the Reign in the AHL Pacific Division standings by just two points. Saturday also represents the final contest for Tucson before the AHL’s All-Star Break, with Roadrunners forward Mike Carcone set to head to Laval, Quebec for the festivities beginning Sunday after the game.
Three Things
1) After Friday’s 2-0 victory, the Roadrunners have earned six of ten possible standings points through five meetings with the Reign this year for an overall record of 2-1-2-0. A win in the series finale on Saturday would secure an even or better record for Tucson in the eight-game season series against Ontario. The Roadrunners have outscored the Reign 13 to 10 in regulation, with their shutout win on Friday matching the previous best margin of victory in the season series from Tucson’s 3-1 win at the Toyota Arena on Saturday, November 26. Friday’s opening frame was the first scoreless period between the Roadrunners and Reign on the season, and the 2-0 victory marked the lowest combined score between Tucson and an opponent since they opened the 2021-2022 season with a 1-0 overtime win over Stockton.
2) Tucson netminder Ivan Prosvetov earned his first shutout of the season on Friday against the Ontario Reign, turning away all 23 shots faced in the 2-0 victory. Prosvetov improved to 8-3-1 on the road this year with a win, which also represented the 23-year-old’s fourth career shutout. His first shutout came in his tenth American Hockey League start on December 21, 2019, an 8-0 win over the Ontario Reign. Current Roadrunners defenseman Cam Dineen has taken the ice for all four of Prosvetov’s AHL shutouts with an assist in each of the last three. With an overall record of 13-10-2, Prosvetov is two wins away from matching his career high of 15 from the 2021-2022 campaign.
3) The Roadrunners opened the scoring in their sixth-straight contest on Friday, their longest streak of scoring first on the season. The 2-0 win also marked the sixth time in Tucson’s last eight games where they never trailed to their opponent. Hudson Elynuik lit the lamp 3:09 into the second period to break the scoreless tie with his fifth goal on the season. The Roadrunners have scored first in 25 of their 45 total outings this year, with 14 different players having recorded the opening goal of a contest. Friday was Elynuik’s second time registering the first goal of a game, as he became the ninth Tucson skater to tally multiple first goals. Forwards Mike Carcone and J.S. Dea are the only two Roadrunners to open the scoring in an outing three times this season, while Carcone’s five total first goals last year are tied for second in Tucson franchise history.
What’s The Word?
“We have our game now, and we want to just continue doing the same things. To be honest, we’re confident in ourselves and in our game plan. We all know what to do, so we’re just going to continue working.” .
Tucson goaltender Ivan Prosvetov on the Roadrunners taking the series opener against Ontario 2-0 for their fifth win in the last six outings.
Number to Know
29 – The number of assists recorded by Roadrunners defenseman Cam Dineen on the year after the 24-year-old factored into Hudson Elynuik’s second-period goal Friday against Ontario. Dineen has set AHL career highs in assists and total points (32) through 41 games this season, while his 29 assists rank fourth in the American Hockey League among defensemen. The 2016 Third Round Draft Pick by the Arizona Coyotes is six assists away from matching the Tucson franchise record for assists by a blue-liner at 35, which was set by Jamie McBain in 2016-2017.
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 begins at 6:45 p.m. with Roadrunners Warm-Up hosted by Jimmy Peebles, before Adrian Denny has all the action from the Toyota Arena.
