Game #27: Tucson Roadrunners (4) vs San Diego Gulls (3)
Game #27: Tucson Roadrunners vs San Diego Gulls
SOG: TUC (45) – SD (27)
PP: TUC (0/4) – SD (1/6)
SAN DIEGO SCORING: Brayden Tracey (6), Glenn Gawdin (7), Andrew Agozzino (7)
TUCSON SCORING: Jan Jenik (6), Jan Jenik (7), Aku Raty (7), John Leonard (5)
Goalie Matthew Villalta picked up his 14th win of the season Saturday night in San Diego. That number leads all AHL goalies. Saturday night Villalta had 24 saves, perhaps none better than this breakaway chance, that he denied in true brick wall fashion.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
ALL WE WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS POINTS – Tucson is fourth of all 32 teams in the AHL with 36 standings points. Their winning percentage of .667 ranks sixth in the league and second in the Western Conference. Tucson is just two points behind Pacific Division leading Calgary, and is tied with Hershey for the hottest 10 game stretch in the league at 8-2.
LOOK AT THIS
Tucson Forward Jan Jenik skates through the handshake line in the first period after scoring his first goal of the evening and giving Tucson a 1-0 lead. Jenik would add another goal in the second period as Tucson would win the game 4-3 and complete the road trip sweep in California.
THEY SAID IT
You always want to head into Christmas time on a high note. We won in three different ways; which you always want to show you can do. It isn’t easy going to three different cities and winning three games so props to everyone in the room.
Forward Josh Doan following Tucson’s 4-3 win over San Diego.
THE RUNDOWN
It didn’t take long on Saturday night for the Tucson Roadrunners to get on the board in San Diego. Jan Jenik would score his sixth goal of the year at the 3:47 mark of the first period and give Tucson a 1-0 lead. Jenik was assisted by Dylan Guenther who picked up his team-leading 17th assist, and Milos Kelemen, recently reassigned from the Arizona Coyotes, who picked up his sixth. San Diego took just 60 seconds to respond with a goal of their own and tie things up 1-1. The Roadrunners would kill off two penalties and head into the dressing room tied up.
Jan Jenik would pick up in the second where he left off in the first, scoring his second goal of the evening to give Tucson the 2-1 lead. Ben McCartney and Patrik Koch assisted Jenik on the play. Travis Barron would drop the gloves in the period but the scoring would stop with Jenik and the Roadrunners took a one-goal lead into the final 20 minutes. Despite not scoring, Tucson controlled the puck the entire period and out-shot the Gulls 17-5 in the frame.
In the third it would be Aku Raty who would score for Tucson and give them a two-goal lead. Raty was assisted by Ryan McGregor, fresh off his first NHL call-up to the Coyotes, on the play. San Diego would respond late with a goal and make it 3-2. Trailing by one, they would pull their goalie. John Leonard would take advantage of this as he received a pass from Josh Doan and found the back of the net to score the empty-netter and eventual game-winner. Josh Doan and Austin Poganski assisted John Leonard on the play. With a 4-2 lead for Tucson things seemed to be in control. A late roughing minor on the Roadrunners and San Diego pulling their goalie again would put the Gulls on a 6-on-4 chance. They would take advantage and score with just 30 seconds left in the game. Tucson would fend off the final 30 seconds of the San Diego power-play and win the game 4-3. Tucson played three games in four days in three different cities, winning all three and adding six points to their season win total.
Tucson returns home Friday, December 29th against San Diego and Saturday, December 30th for a matchup against Coachella Valley followed by San Diego.
