Tucson Roadrunners Road Ahead: Coming Home
Upcoming Games in Home Stand (All time MST)
Saturday, October 21 Coachella Valley at Tucson, 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 24: San Diego at Tucson, 10:30 a.m.
Friday, October 27: Bakersfield at Tucson, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 28: Bakersfield at Tucson, 7:00 p.m.
Friday, November 3: Chicago at Tucson, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, November 4: Chicago at Tucson, 7:00 p.m.
Home Opener:
The Roadrunners home opener will commence on Saturday, October 21, at 7:00 p.m. against the defending Western Conference Champions Coachella Valley Firebirds. The Roadrunners look to start 3-0 for the third time in four seasons while the Seattle Kraken Affiliate look to avoid an 0-2 start after falling to the Bakersfield Condors in its home opener on Friday. Fans can join Dusty and the team at 4 p.m. and greet Roadrunners players as they walk the red carpet on their way into the arena and enjoy a pregame tailgate. Tickets are on sale at TucsonRoadrunners.com/Fun.
Six-Game Home Stand:
Including the home opener against the Firebirds, the Roadrunners will play six straight games at the TCC with games against the San Diego Gulls, Bakersfield Condors and the Chicago Wolves. This will be the longest home stand for the Roadrunners since January of last season which also included six games. Tucson went 5-1 in that stretch, which coincidentally included Bakersfield and Chicago.
Kid’s School Day Game:
On Tuesday, October 24, presented by Stantec in partnership with: Pima County School Superintendent’s Office, Hughes Federal Credit Union, Delta Dental and the Roadrunners will host thousands of local students who will enjoy hockey for Field Trip Day against the San Diego Gulls. The Roadrunners hosted their inaugural School Day Game on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 against the San Diego Gulls in front of a sellout crowd of 6,521.
Texas Sweep:
The Roadrunners began their season with an impressive two-game sweep over the Texas Stars and start the season 2-0 for the third time in six years. Five different Roadrunners scored a goal including Jan Jenik, Dylan Guenther, Josh Doan, Milos Keleman and Max Szuber. Jenik created the most offense over the weekend, scoring the first goal of the season and adding two assists overall. Guenther did not get on the scoresheet on opening night but was a force in game two, scoring the first goal of the game and having the primary assist on Szuber’s game-winning goal. Matthew Villalta was the best Roadrunner of the weekend, stopping 60 of 63 total shots on back-to-back games. Through those two games, Villalta owns 1.51 goals against and .952 save percentage that both crack top-five in the AHL. In addition only Villalta and Henderson Silver Knights goaltender Jiri Patera are the only netminders in the league who started in back-to back games over the weekend.
Undefeated Squad
Entering the week, Tucson is one of seven teams who have started the season 2-0 including four teams being apart of the Pacific Division. In the NHL, Arizona, Vancouver and Vegas are the only teams whose NHL and AHL affiliates are all undefeated.
On The Air:
Tucson Roadrunners Happy Hour airs every Tuesday at 5 p.m. on FOX Sports 1450AM and the iHeartRadio app, with a podcast version also available after each episode on the iHeartRadio app. This week “Voice of the Roadrunners” Adrian Denny, with co-hosts Kim Cota Robles and Brett Fera, are joined by Roadrunners President Bob Hoffman. In addition, a new episode of the Tucson Roadrunners Insider Podcast released on Sunday, as Adrian Denny and Jonathon Schaffer recap the opening weekend in Texas and preview the upcoming homestand, starting against Coachella Valley.
