Game #64: Tucson Roadrunners (2) at Colorado Eagles (1)

Roadrunners Recap: 3/26/23

Game #64: Tucson Roadrunners (2) at Colorado Eagles (1) (OT)

SOG: TUC (30) – COL (39)

PP: TUC (0/3) – COL (0/4)

TUCSON SCORING: Mike Carcone (28, 29 OT)

COLORADO SCORING: Mikhail Maltsev (8)

ROADRUNNERS OUTLAST EAGLES IN 2-1 OVERTIME WIN TO COMPLETE TWO-GAME SWEEP

Loveland, Colorado – The Tucson Roadrunners overcame a late 1-0 deficit to force overtime and defeated the Colorado Eagles by a final score of 2-1 Sunday afternoon at the Budweiser Events Center. Forward Mike Carcone scored his team-leading 28th and 29th goals of the season to tie and to win the series finale against the AHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, securing a two-game sweep on the road for Tucson. David Tendeck was between the pipes for his second start of the season with the Roadrunners, stopping an AHL career-high 38 of 39 shots faced to earn his first win of 2023. Tucson takes their first ever series sweep against the Eagles in Colorado to start their current six-game road trip with back-to-back victories, and will continue on to face the San Diego Gulls Wednesday night from the Pechanga Arena with wins in four of their last five efforts overall.

YA GOTTA SEE IT

Forward Mike Carcone secured Tucson’s first overtime victory of the season Sunday afternoon with his team-leading 29th goal of the season, scored 1:58 into the extra three-on-three period to propel the Roadrunners past the Colorado Eagles 2-1. Carcone put Tucson on the board with 1:20 left to play in regulation by lighting the lamp for the 28th time this season, as his second-straight multiple-point performance of the weekend put the 26-year-old in first place in the AHL for total scoring with 74 points (29g 45a) in 57 games played.

DON’T OVERLOOK IT

RELIABLE REILLY – While forward Mike Carcone netted each of Tucson’s goals in their 2-1 overtime win on Sunday against the Colorado Eagles, defenseman Will Reilly was the only other Roadrunners skater to be on the ice for both scores. The 25-year-old led the team with a plus-two in the series finale after tallying a second-period assist in Saturday’s series opener. Reilly has recorded a shot on goal in all ten of Tucson’s outings in the month of March and was one of four Roadrunners defensemen to register a point over the weekend in Colorado.

PHOTO OF THE GAME

Roadrunners goaltender David Tendeck started in net for Sunday’s series finale against Colorado, marking his first AHL outing since the 23-year-old made his season debut with Tucson on January 11. Tendeck kept the Eagles scoreless for the opening 53:53 of the contest and recorded a career-high 38 saves to earn his second American Hockey League victory, with both coming on the road in Colorado. Tendeck combined with Saturday’s starting goaltender Tyler Parks to stop 78 of the 80 total shots faced against the Eagles for an overall save percentage of .975 on the weekend, as the two kept Colorado off the board for a stretch of nearly one hour and 47 minutes at one point during the two-game series.

THEY SAID IT

“The game changes quickly, I think we did a good job overall this weekend of sticking with it and playing our game. I just tried to get the puck on net, and it went in.”

Roadrunners Forward Mike Carcone on scoring both goals for Tucson in their 2-1 overtime victory against the Colorado Eagles. Carcone tied the contest at 1-1 with 1:20 remaining in regulation with his 28th goal of the season, before earning the Roadrunners a two-game sweep in Colorado with his 29th tally of the year with 1:58 gone by in overtime.

THE RUNDOWN

Sunday’s action began with a fight 2:42 into the contest between Tucson forward Boko Imama and Colorado defenseman Keaton Middleton. The bout was Imama’s sixth time dropping the gloves this season, and the first fight of the four-game season series between the Roadrunners and Eagles. Tucson outdrew Colorado in opportunities on the power-play two trips to one, but neither team could find the back of the net for just the second scoreless frame of the year between the Roadrunners and Eagles. Netminder David Tendeck stopped all 12 shots faced in the opening 20 minutes of his first start for Tucson since January, sending the Roadrunners and their opponent to the second period knotted at 0-0 for the fourth time in their last six games. The Roadrunners and Eagles continued to battle in the middle frame tied at 0-0, which remained the score after 40 minutes from the Budweiser Events Center. David Tendeck was once again up to the task for Tucson, denying each of Colorado’s 14 shots on goal in the frame to improve to 26-for-26 through two periods. With back-to-back scoreless periods, Sunday’s series finale marked the longest the Roadrunners and their opponent had been scoreless to begin a contest this season, as Tucson entered the final frame tied with their opposition for the first time since the first matchup of the 2021-2022 campaign. The Eagles broke the scoreless tie with just 6:07 still to play in regulation, snapping a combined scoreless streak of 106:54 between Roadrunners backstops Tyler Parks and David Tendeck. Mikhail Maltsev lit the lamp for Colorado on their 33rd shot of the contest to take the late 1-0 lead. Tucson pulled Tendeck late in the frame for a six-on-five attack that paid off when Mike Carcone tied the game up at 1-1 with just 1:20 still to play in the third period, eventually sending the Roadrunners and Eagles to overtime still even at one goal apiece. Tucson recorded the first and only shot of the three-on-three period when Carcone netted the overtime game-winner to give the Roadrunners a 2-1 victory over Colorado. Carcone’s goal came just 1:58 into the overtime period, giving the AHL’s leading scorer his second goal in the span of 3:18. The win was also Tendeck’s second American Hockey League victory since making his first ever AHL start against the Eagles on February 11, 2022, as he went on to stop a career-high 38 saves in the effort.

(Photo Credits: Colorado Eagles)