GAME #12: TUCSON ROADRUNNERS AT HENDERSON SILVER KNIGHTS

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Game #12: Tucson Roadrunners (5-6-0-0) at Henderson Silver Knights (3-8-0-0)

Time: 8:00 p.m. MST, Lee’s Family Forum, Henderson, NV

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Referees: #3 Jake Kamrass, #16 Adam Tobias

Linespersons: #67 Adam Hendren, #91 Logan Wescott

After Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to the Ontario Reign, the Tucson Roadrunners continue its road trip with a two-game slate against the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday and Saturday at Lee’s Family Forum. Tucson looks to end its two-game skid in Friday’s 8 p.m. MST matchup versus Henderson and get back to .500.

Both teams hope to make ground in the Pacific Division standings this weekend. Four points separate the last-place Silver Knights (6 pts.), eighth-place Roadrunners (10 pts.), and seventh-place Reign (10 pts.), who hold the final Pacific playoff position and tiebreaker with Wednesday’s head-to-head victory over Tucson.

Friday’s game kicks off a five-game homestand for the Silver Knights, who are coming off a road series split with the Calgary Wranglers. Henderson beat Calgary 8-3 on Saturday before falling 4-0 on Sunday. Before being shutout, seven different Silver Knights scored a goal in game one, and forwards Mason Morelli, Riley McKay, and Grigori Denisenko enjoyed three-point nights.

Three things:

  • Roadrunners forward Hunter Drew has dressed in half of Tucson’s games so far, and has made an impact every time he’s in the lineup. On Wednesday, he scored his fifth goal of the year on a breakaway to tie the game in the first period. The 2018 Anaheim Ducks sixth-round draft pick is second on the team in goals and third in points with seven despite playing just six games. He has been over a point-per-game player since the tail-end of last season, with 16 points in his last 15 regular season games, and one goal in two 2024 Calder Cup Playoff games.
  • Henderson has yet to win a home game this season. The team is 0-5 at Lee’s Family Forum and owns the second-longest home winless streak in the AHL behind Utica’s seven losses. Tucson is 2-3 through its first five away contests so far and lost to the Reign in its last road game on Wednesday. However, Tucson has bounced back to win every road game following a loss and has a 2-0 record in series game twos on the road.
  • Both teams’ power-play units rank in the mid-pack of the league. Tucson is 15th overall, scoring 18.2% of the time on the man advantage, while Henderson is 17th and has scored at a 17.5% clip. But, the Roadrunners power play has performed on another level on the road and is top-five in the AHL. Tucson has found the back of the net 24% of the time in away games and scored six of the team’s eight power-play goals on the road. The Roadrunners will look to exploit its matchup against Silver Knights penalty kill, which ranks 24th in home games with a 77.3% success rate. Tucson’s 16th-ranked road penalty kill (82.4%) also holds a slight advantage against Henderson’s home power play, which is 21st (12.5%).

What’s the word?

“It’s good that we’re right back at it this weekend. We don’t have much time to dwell on the loss. I think everybody just needs to look in the mirror to find that extra inch, mile, whatever you got, just bring that to the rink. We’ll turn this around.”

Roadrunners forward Hunter Drew on bouncing back from Wednesday’s loss to Ontario.

Number to Know:

3 – Roadrunners rookie forward Sam Lipkin had his three-game points streak snapped against Ontario. The 2021 Arizona Coyotes seventh-round draft pick scored his first career AHL goal on Oct. 30 against the Abbotsford Canucks and has two goals and one assist in the last four games. His three-game points streak leads Roadrunners rookies. Lipkin is also tied for the second-most points by a rookie behind forward Julian Lutz (4) despite playing in just six games after missing the beginning of the season with an injury.

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We’re Doing It Live
Friday’s game will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1450AM and the iHeartRadio app. Coverage begins at 7:45 p.m. with Roadrunners Warm-Up, hosted by “Voice of the Roadrunners” Jonathon Schaffer, who all of the action from Toyota Arena. The game can also be seen on AHLtv now on Flo Hockey.