Game #57 – Tucson Roadrunners at Milwaukee Admirals

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6:00 p.m. MST, UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Tucson Roadrunners Current Roster: CLICK HERE

Referees: Jordan Deckard (14) Phillip Kasko (93)

Linespersons: Tyler Gregory (66) TJ Lyle (88)

The Tucson Roadrunners travel to Milwaukee for the first time ever in the regular season and the first time since a preseason contest in 2019, as they’ll face the Admirals Friday and Saturday at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. The two-game series against the AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators represents the Roadrunners first road games of March, while Tucson is the second opponent for Milwaukee on their current five-game home stand. The Admirals opened the week with a 5-3 loss to the Iowa Wild at home on Tuesday and enter the weekend third in the AHL Central Division with a record of 32-18-3-2.

Three Things
1) The Roadrunners and Admirals last faced off in a two-game set from the Tucson Arena January 10 and 11 to open the season series. Tucson netted eight goals over the pair of contests, led by linemates Mike Carcone and Adam Cracknell who each tallied three. Carcone led both teams in total scoring with six points (3g 3a) as a plus-two, with Cracknell tied for second with five points (3g 2a). Tucson closed out the pair of midweek matchups by scoring each of the last two five-on-five goals and holding Milwaukee scoreless on their final five trips to the man-advantage. Since the Roadrunners and Admirals last met in January, three of Milwaukee’s top four scorers from the series (forwards Phil Tomasino, Luke Evangelista, and Kiefer Sherwood) have each been recalled to the NHL’s Nashville Predators.

2) The weekend set from Milwaukee marks Tucson’s last out-of-division road trip of the year, and the final two meetings between the Roadrunners and Admirals in their four-game season series. Tucson is one of two Pacific Division teams to visit Milwaukee this year after the Admirals split a two-game series with the San Diego Gulls in January, with San Diego winning 5-0 in the opener on January 6 and Milwaukee winning 5-1 the following night on January 7. After the weekend, the Roadrunners will take on their only remaining Central Division opponent during the first weekend of April, when they’ll host the Texas Stars at the Tucson Arena April 7 and 8.

3) Tucson enters the weekend series against the Admirals coming off of their third-straight practice week spent on their home ice. The Roadrunners have earned at least a standings point in five of their eight contests coming out of a full practice week this season, including each of their last two weekends against the Chicago Wolves and San Diego Gulls. Tucson has a 6-1-1-0 record in their last eight series openers and a 3-1-2-0 mark in their last six games overall, which includes a 6-2 road win in the series opener over Milwaukee’s closest regional rivals in Chicago.

Roadrunners Roster Moves

  • The Arizona Coyotes acquired defenseman Steven Kampfer from the Detroit Red Wings and assigned him to Tucson. The 34-year-old has 22 points (4g 18a) on the year with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.
  • Forward J.S. Dea was assigned to the Roadrunners from the Arizona Coyotes. Dea ranks second in games played (54), goals (19), and total points (43) for Tucson this year.
  • Forward Boko Imama was recalled by the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday and recorded three hits and a blocked shot in their 6-2 win over the St. Louis Blues.
  • The Arizona Coyotes recalled goaltender Ivan Prosvetov from Tucson Thursday, representing Prosvetov’s second NHL call-up of the season.
  • The Arizona Coyotes recalled netminder David Tendeck on Thursday from the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators and assigned him to the Roadrunners. Tendeck previously appeared with Tucson on Wednesday, January 11 against the Milwaukee Admirals.

What’s The Word?

“These last games have looked like playoff games, every game is tight. We need every point, so we must play hard in Milwaukee like last weekend and get some points.”

Roadrunners forward Milos Kelemen on how close games have been for Tucson, with five of their last six contests decided by one goal.

Number to Know
62 – The number of combined penalty minutes between the Roadrunners and Admirals in their last series opener on January 10 at the Tucson Arena. The Roadrunners received 34 of the 62 minutes in the penalty box, which included fights by forwards Curtis Douglas and Travis Barron against Milwaukee’s Tommy Apap and Tim Schaller, respectively. The fight by Douglas was his second as a Roadrunner and the first for Tucson as a team in 2023, while Barron’s was his sixth time dropping the gloves out of a team-leading eight bouts on the season. The series finale the following night once again featured a fight by Curtis Douglas as he took on Navrin Mutter, but Tucson and Milwaukee combined for just 30 total penalty minutes.

We’re Doing It Live
Tonight’s game will broadcast live on AHLtv, as well as on the radio on FOX Sports 1450AM and the iHeartRadio app. Coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. with Roadrunners Warm-Up hosted by Jimmy Peebles, before Adrian Denny has all the action from UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.