Preaseason Game #1: Tucson Roadrunners (3) @ Henderson Silver Knights (2) Shootout
SOG: TUC (25) – HSK (27)
PP: TUC (0/3) – HSK (1/2)
HENDERSON SCORING: Jonas Rondbjerg (1), Mason Morelli (1)
TUCSON SCORING: Vladislav Kolyachonok (1), Cameron Hebig (1)
ROADRUNNERS COMEBACK FALLS SHORT IN SERIES OPENER WITH SAN JOSE ON FRIDAY
Tucson, Arizona – The Tucson Roadrunners dropped the preseason opener against the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday evening. The game went to a shootout where Henderson prevailed by a final tally of 3-2. Tucson had goals from defensemen Vlad Koloyochonok and forward Cameron Hebig. In net for Tucson was Matthew Villalta for the first two periods, and Jared Moe for period three, overtime and the shootout. Villalta stopped 12 of 14 shots against and Moe stopped 14 of 14 including; two of three in the shootout. Three Roadrunners forwards ended the night with assists from: Ryan McGregor, Curtis Douglas, and Aku Raty.
YA GOTTA SEE IT
It’s going to be an exciting weekend at the Tucson Arena as the Tucson Roardrunners host the NHL preseason matchup between the Arizona Coyotes and the Anaheim Ducks. The game will feature several former Roadrunners including Lawson Crouse (with Tucson 2017-2018), Ben McCartney (with Tucson 2021-2023), Mike Carcone (with Tucson 2021-2023) and others. It’s not too late to get for tickets for tomorrow afternoon’s contest so go ahead and click the link here.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
HOPEFUL TIMES IN TUCSON – It’s a hopeful season ahead for the Tucson Roadrunners who look to build on their 2023 Calder Cup playoff appearance and look to bring home a Calder Cup. The Roadrunners return several veteran leaders including Steven Kampfer, Ryan McGregor, and Nathan Smith. The youth of the team has another year of that invaluable experience that can help lead this team deep into the playoffs. Newcomers Montana Onyebuchi, John Leonard, and Justin Kirkland will look to step into a big role with the team and be another piece that can help this team stay in the win column.
PHOTO OF THE GAME
Roadrunners forward Colin Theisen sells out for an attempt to give Tucson a lead in the third period. Making contact with Henderson net minder Jiri Patera, who was successful in keeping the puck out of the net.
THEY SAID IT
“I saw a lot of our details, I thought a lot of guys were responsible in the defensive zone and answered the questions pretty well. It’s tough to lose when you feel like you had good control of it for long stretches but we did a lot of good things out there today and we can build off of that.
What I like the most about our group is they stuck together tonight, and it looks like they will be a team that makes sure they have each other’s backs.”
Roadrunners Head Coach Steve Potvin on Tucson battling hard against Henderson in their first preseason game of the 2023-2024 season.
THE RUNDOWN
The Tucson Roadrunners journeyed to Henderson, Nevada for a Friday night preseason tilt against the Henderson Silver Knights. Puck was dropped and both sides went 9:05 before the first scoring action of the preseason. It was Tucson Roadrunners defenseman Vlad Kolyachonok who struck first, finding the back of the net on an assist from Aku Raty and Ryan McGregor. Just under two minutes after the Tucson goal came the first penalty of the game. It was a high-sticking minor on Henderson and gave Tucson their first power-play attempt. That power-play, as well as one other was killed by Henderson in the first and the game remained 1-0. Henderson struck back at the 15:53 mark of the first period with a goal of their own, knotting things up 1-1 with a Jonas Rondbjerg goal. A fight between Tucson’s Montana Onyebuchi and Henderson’s Mason Geertsen would lead to a 5-minute fighting penalty for both squads. The first 20 minutes would end without much additional action and Tucson would take the ice for the second in a 1-1 game.
The second period gave us a lot of Tucson shots on goal, 13 to be exact, but only one goal got past Henderson netminder Jiri Patera. That goal came from the stick of Cameron Hebig. Hebig totaled 9 goals last season and kicked off his 2023-2024 preseason campaign with a big one. His goal only briefly gave Tucson the 2-1 lead as just over 2 minutes later it was a power-play goal for Henderson’s Mason Morelli. Morelli scored a tic-tac-toe ruining the Roadrunners hopes of a successful penalty-kill. It was the first penalty-kill attempt of the preseason from Tucson. The period ended with the score being 2-2 after each team scored one in each of the first two periods.
Period 3 began with Jared Moe stepping in between the pipes for Tucson. Moe was phenomenal in his AHL preseason debut stopping all 14 shots on goal against him in both the third period and the five minute three-on-three overtime. The highlight of the period for Tucson was successfully killing the one Henderson power-play that they faced. As time expired in overtime and the game headed to a shootout it was Henderson’s Jakub Brabenec who scored the difference maker in the game and the only goal of the shootout in the top of round three. Tucson returns to the ice for their regular season opener next Friday, October 13th in Texas as they take on the Texas Stars (Dallas Stars AHL affiliate).
(Photo Credits: Zak Krill, Henderson Silver Knights)
