Tucson Roadrunners Road Ahead: Strapping Up For California

Upcoming Games on three-game Road Trip (All time MST)

Wednesday, November 8: Tucson at Ontario, 8:00 p.m.

Friday, November 10: Tucson at Ontario, 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, November 12: Tucson at Coachella Valley, 6:00 p.m.

Three Game Trip To Cali:
After finishing their six-game homestand, the 5-3 Roadrunners now head to California for a three-game road trip with two games against the Ontario Reign and one against the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Tucson has not been on the road since its two-game sweep against the Texas Stars opened the season on October 13 and 14. The Roadrunners, Reign and Firebirds all have five wins on the season. Tucson is 5-3-0-0, Ontario is 5-4-0-0 and Coachella Valley is 5-2-0-0. 

Back Home
The Roadrunners return home next Friday, November 17 and Saturday, November 18 when they will host Coachella Valley after this upcoming weekend in Coachella Valley. The weekend includes: Faith and Family Night, a Roadrunners Hat & Ticket Special, Hockey Fights Cancer and Rudy’s Texas B-B-Q Family Packs. VisitTucsonRoadrunners.com/Fun for more.

Doan Take It For Granted:
Forward Josh Doan had three goals over the weekend against the Chicago Wolves and now leads the team with five goals in eight games played. He had the game-winning goal in Friday’s 3-2 win and added an empty-net goal to seal Saturday’s victory.

We’ll Take Our Streaks Well Done:
Josh Doan, Nathan Smith, Ben McCartney and Justin Kirkland are all on point streaks entering the week. Nathan Smith has the longest active streak at five games (two goals, three assists) with two goals coming last weekend against the Wolves Friday and Saturday. Justin Kirkland has five assists in his last two outings, including four assists in Saturday’s game against Chicago. Ben McCartney has three assists in his last two games since coming back from the Arizona Coyotes. 

Defense Stepping Up:
In the last two games, Roadrunners defensemen combined for two goals and two assists. Vlad Kolyachonok and Victor Soderstrom each scored a goal and Patrick Koch had two assists in Saturday’s contest. Both Koch and Montana Onyebuchi have stepped in for injured defensemen Michael Kesselring and Steven Kampfer. In his 2023 debut on Saturday, Onyebuchi had a +2 and 12 penalty minutes.

PK Magic:
The Roadrunners have not allowed multiple power-play goals in a game in the first eight games of the season. Overall, the team is 29-for-35 on the PK (82.9%), and though with a small sample size of two games, Tucson is 7-for-8 (87.5%) while shorthanded on the road. 

Weekly Roster Moves:

On Saturday, November 4:

-Goaltender Jared Moe Released from PTO, reports to Idaho (ECHL)

Lights, Camera, Action!
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 Arizona Daily Star Sports Editor Brett Fera, are joined by Roadrunners Forward Jan Jenik. In addition, a new episode of the Tucson Roadrunners Insider Podcast released on Sunday, as Adrian Denny and Jonathon Schaffer recap Jan Jenik’s big fight last Saturday and preview the California road trip.