Game #23: Tucson Roadrunners (5) vs Abbotsford Canucks (0)
Game #23: Tucson Roadrunners vs Abbotsford Canucks
SOG: TUC (26) – ABB (21)
PP: TUC (0/4) – ABB (0/3)
ABBOTSFORD SCORING:
TUCSON SCORING: Aku Raty (3), John Leonard (3), Josh Doan (11), Jan Jenik (5), Ryan McGregor (3)
ROADRUNNERS DEFEAT ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS 5-0 AFTER SURGING FOR FOUR SECOND PERIOD GOALS TO TAKE GAME ONE OF WEEKEND SERIES AT THE TUCSON ARENA
TUCSON, AZ – A four goal second period and a shutout from netminder Matthew Villalta led to a 5-0 Tucson victory to help them improve to 14-7-1-1 on the season and make it a pretty good Friday night and Tucson Arena, eh?
YA GOTTA SEE IT
The Tucson Roadrunners defeated the Abbotsford Canucks 5-0 on Friday night. Tucson had an electric four-goal second period; including two shorthanded goals from John Leonard and Josh Doan. The two goals came under a minute apart from one another.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
HOTTER THAN JULY IN TUCSON – The Tucson Roadrunners have been hot over the last month. They are 7-2-1-0 in their last ten games; which is tied for best in the Pacific division over that span with Coachella Valley. With Friday night’s victory, Tucson now has the second best winning percentage in the division at .652 and is tied for second for most wins with Ontario.
LOOK AT THIS
Forward John Leonard skates over to celebrate with teammates Josh Doan, Jan Jenik, and Montana Onyebuchi after scoring a second period shorthanded goal. Leonard and Doan both scored shorthanded goals Friday night and Jan Jenik scored an even-strength goal. Montana Onyebuchi had an assist. A picture full of Tucson Roadrunners point scorers.
THEY SAID IT
We got off to a pretty good start and kept it rolling. In the third, we really got back to our game and closed it out well.
Forward Ryan McGregor after Friday’s 5-0 victory at the Tucson Arena.
THE RUNDOWN
The Roadrunners returned home on Friday night and came out with a vengeance against Pacific Division rival Abbotsford. The two teams came into the night equal in the standings with one team going to come out of Friday night on top. In the first it was the Roadrunners Aku Raty breaking the 0-0 tie in favor of the Roadrunners. Raty scored in front of his parents, who were in town from Finland and his brother, Aatu, who was in town playing for the Canucks. It was Aku and Aatu’s first time playing against each other professionally. Aku Raty was assisted by Peter DiLiberatore and Victor Soderstrom on the play.
Tucson’s offense came alive in the second period but not at even-strength. A late first period minor would cause the Roadrunners to spend the first 1:58 of period two on the penalty-kill. The party really got started at the 1:02 mark with a John Leonard shorthanded goal for the Roadrunners. It was Leonard’s third of the year and the team’s first shorthanded goal of the year. Leonard was assisted by Victor Soderstrom who picked up his second assist of the night. Just 53 seconds later, it would be Josh Doan who would find himself on a breakaway and score another Roadrunners shorthanded goal. With a 3-0 lead Tucson wasn’t finished. Jan Jenik would light the lamp at the 9:08 mark to stretch the lead to four. Montana Onyebuchi and Josh Doan assisted Jenik on the goal. Just 55 seconds later Ryan McGregor, returned from his first NHL call-up with the Coyotes, would find the back of the net and make it a 5-0 game. McGregor was assisted by Dylan Guenther, who picked up his team leading 14th assist, and Nathan Smith on the play. It was the third four-goal period in the last three Tucson home games.
The third period became the Matthew Villalta show. Villalta was more than solid for the Roadrunners, pitching a shutout, the first of the year for Tucson. Villalta faced 21 shots-against in the game with ten of those coming in the third period. Tucson’s penalty-kill unit was a perfect 3-3 killing off the Abbotsford power-play.
Tucson returns home Saturday night at 7:00pm at the Tucson Arena against Abbottsford. Saturday night is Teddy Bear Toss so be sure to bring your teddy bears to be thrown onto the ice after the Roadrunners first goal and then donated to local kids in the Tucson area.
