Game #68: Tucson Roadrunners (4) vs Colorado Eagles (3)
Game #68: Tucson Roadrunners vs Colorado Eagles
SOG: TUC (44) – COL (28)
PP: TUC (0/4) – COL (0/3)
COLORADO SCORING: Peter Holland (12), Ryan Sandelin (5), Riley Tufte (21)
TUCSON SCORING: Steven Kampfer (2,3), Milos Kelemen (15), Cameron Hebig (11)
Actually, wait, there is one thing that beats a Kampfer bomb… a Kampfer bomb followed by a second Kampfer goal just 23 seconds later. The Tucson Roadrunners Captain tallied his second and third goals of the season both coming in the first period of Tucson’s 4-3 victory over the Colorado Eagles. Kampfer, the 12th year pro out of the University of Michigan, has tallied 40 goals and 129 assists in the AHL, as well as 15 goals and 24 assists in the NHL.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
THEY SAY GOOD THINGS COME IN FOURS – Is that what they say? They used to say good things come in threes until Cam Hebig became the fourth Tucson Roadrunners player to record a four-point game this season. Hebig recorded two assists in the first period, and assist early in the third, and scored the fourth goal for the Roadrunners late in the third period. Hebig joins the likes of Justin Kirkland, Aku Raty and Dylan Guenther who have all recorded four-point games this season.
LOOK AT THIS
Forward Curtis Douglas catches up with former teammate and current Colorado Eagles goaltender Ivan Prosvetov. Douglas would receive a roughing minor for the exchanging of pleasantries and Prosevtov would receive an embellishment minor. Curtis Douglas leads the Roadrunners with 142 PIMs this season. Douglas ranks fourth in the AHL in the same category.
THEY SAID IT
“You look across the locker room and we have a great group of individuals and leaders. It comes down to everyone who is playing that night buying in and putting the team first. We take it day by day, game by game. We enjoy this victory until we wake up tomorrow and it’s a new day and new challenge,”
Defensemen Steven Kampfer following Tucson’s 4-3 victory on Friday night.
THE RUNDOWN
Colorado would score first in period one at the 3:22 mark to take an early lead and momentarily hush the Tucson faithful. It wouldn’t take long for a response from the Roadrunners as Captain Steven Kampfer would rip a one-timer and find the back of the net at the 14:12 mark. On the same shift following the draw it would be Kampfer again scoring and giving Tucson the 2-1 lead. Both Kampfer goals were assisted by John Leonard and Cam Hebig and all three of the players had multiple point periods in the first.
Colorado would tie things up in period two on an even-strength goal at 6:42. Tucson goalie Matthew Villalta would record 10 saves in the second period, 10 in the first, and five in the third to end his night with 25 and pick up his 29th win of the season.
With the score all knotted up 2-2 it would be Milos Kelemen taking the puck and burying it behind former Roadrunners goalie, Ivan Prosvetov. Kelemen was assisted by Cam Hebig and Patrik Koch. Hebig would pick up his third assist of the game. Hebig, probably, got tired of just getting assists, so he would follow up his third assist with a goal of his own giving him a four-point night and Tucson the 4-2 lead in the third. Hebig, who was nominated for The AHL’s Man of The Year Thursday, was assisted by Ben McCartney and Victor Soderstrom.
The 4-2 lead would be erased by Colorado late in the third after the Eagles would pull their goalie and take the man-advantage. Scoring their third goal of the night at the 18:36 mark would make the final 1:24 nerve raking for Roadrunners fans everywhere. Tucson would hold off the Eagles and secure the two-points.
