Game #39: Tucson Roadrunners (2) vs Abbotsford Canucks (6)
Game #39: Tucson Roadrunners (2) vs Abbotsford Canucks (6)
SOG: TUC (22) – ABB (30)
PP: TUC (1/2) – ABB (0/4)
ABBOTSFORD SCORING: Sammy Blais (6), Aatu Räty (8), Tristen Nielsen (7), Nils Åman (7), Danila Klimovich (12, 13)
TUCSON SCORING: Austin Poganski (8), Kailer Yamamoto (13)
Roadrunners’ Early Lead Slips Away in 6-2 Loss to Abbotsford
Tucson, AZ – The Tucson Roadrunners (19-18-2-0) extended their winless streak to six games with a 6-2 loss to the Abbotsford Canucks (22-15-1-1) Saturday night at Tucson Arena. Despite leading 2-1 after the first period, the Canucks responded with five unanswered goals, including four in the second period, to pull away.
After Abbotsford opened the scoring early, Roadrunners captain Austin Poganski tied the game on the power play just 50 seconds later with his eighth goal of the season. Kailer Yamamoto followed with his 13th goal at 11:13 of the first period, giving Tucson a 2-1 lead heading into intermission.
Yamamoto led the Roadrunners offensively with two points, assisting on Poganski’s goal to earn his third consecutive multi-point game and ninth overall this season, a team high. His 13 goals now tie him with Egor Sokolov for the second-most on the team, just one behind Cameron Hebig.
Hebig also extended his season-high point streak to eight games with an assist on Poganski’s goal, bringing his total to 11 points (5G, 6A) during the streak.
YA GOTTA SEE IT
Moments after Tucson’s penalty kill stood strong, Yamamoto delivered a highlight-reel play to put the Roadrunners ahead 2-1 midway through the first period. Breaking out cross-ice, Yamamoto took on Christian Wolanin one-on-one, and dangled around the Canucks defenseman before firing a hard wrister from the slot past Abbotsford netminder Artūrs Šilovs.
The goal marked Yamamoto’s second point of the game, following his earlier assist on Poganski’s tally. He’s now recorded multiple points in each of his last three games, with three goals and three assists for six points during that stretch. It’s the third time this season Yamamoto has posted multi-point efforts in three consecutive games, previously doing so against Henderson on Nov. 16 and versus Calgary on Nov. 22 and 23.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
Poganski’s equalizer came less than a minute after Abbotsford’s opening goal, marking his second goal in three games and extending his point streak to four—matching his season high from December. The Tucson captain now has five points (2G, 3A) during this stretch.
Cameron Hebig and Yamamoto both earned assists on the play, with Hebig extending his point streak to a season-high eight games (11 points: 5G, 6A). The trio of Yamamoto, Hebig, and Poganski have accounted for Tucson’s last six goals from forwards. Over the last five games, they’ve contributed nine of the Roadrunners’ 13 goals from forwards—a remarkable 69% of the team’s production.
THEY SAID IT
“It’s definitely a frustrating stretch right now, but I think it’s to the point where we have to hit the reset button. Get back to the fundamentals and just play Roadrunner hockey. Get pucks in and finish hits. We’re not the most skilled team, but we’ll outwork any team and we have to get back to that.”
Roadrunners captain Austin Poganski on moving forward after Saturday’s loss
THE RUNDOWN
The Canucks struck first 4:16 into the game. Tucson defenseman Robbie Russo disrupted Abbotsford forward Nate Smith’s breakaway, but Smith recovered the puck and found Sammy Blais wide open in the slot. Blais capitalized with a quick wrister that beat Jaxson Stauber, giving Abbotsford a 1-0 lead.
Moments later, Abbotsford’s Erik Brännström was called for delay of game, giving Tucson their first power play of the night. On the man advantage, Poganski carried the puck into the zone, drove hard to the net, and slipped a low shot through Artūrs Šilovs’ five-hole to tie the game.
The Canucks earned their first power play just over five minutes later after a tripping penalty against Tucson. They nearly regained the lead, but Stauber made a series of acrobatic saves, including a diving stop on Arshdeep Bains’ rebound attempt into an open net, to keep the game even.
Shortly after the penalty kill, Yamamoto broke out of the defensive zone with speed, weaving cross-ice. Entering the Abbotsford zone, he pulled off a slick dangle to beat Christian Wolanin and fired a wrist shot past Šilovs’ glove, giving the Roadrunners a 2-1 lead at 11:12.
Tucson nearly extended their lead late in the period when Sam Lipkin set up Hunter Drew with a behind-the-net feed to the slot. However, Šilovs made a spectacular glove save on Drew’s one-timer to keep the Canucks within one.
Second Period
The Canucks regained control with two goals in the first five minutes of the second period. Aatu Räty tied the game 2-2 at 3:38, finishing off a two-on-one rush with Brännström by sneaking a one-timer past Stauber. Just over a minute later, Tristen Nielsen capitalized on a rebound from Nils Åman’s initial shot, giving Abbotsford a 3-2 lead at 4:53.
Midway through the period, Tucson’s Maveric Lamoureux was called for roughing, putting Abbotsford on their second power play of the game. The Canucks came close to extending their lead when Brännström fired a one-timer off the crossbar, but the Roadrunners successfully killed the penalty.
Abbotsford struck twice more in the final two minutes to take a commanding 5-2 lead into the second intermission. Åman made it 4-2 with a glove-side laser from below the blue line with 2:03 remaining. Then, with just nine seconds left in the period, Danila Klimovich buried a rebound from the slot after consecutive attempts from Ty Mueller and Brännström, pushing the Canucks’ advantage to three.
Third Period
The Roadrunners opened the final frame with energy, applying heavy pressure in the offensive zone. Just 90 seconds in, Austin Poganski fired a one-timer off the left post, but play was halted moments later as Abbotsford’s net was dislodged.
Despite Tucson’s strong start, the Canucks extended their lead just over a minute later. Klimovich netted his second goal of the game off the rush at 2:33, going bardown past a challenging Jaxson Stauber to make it 6-2 Abbotsford.
Up next, the Roadrunners will face off against the Ontario Reign in a two-game series to close out their six-game homestand at Tucson Arena. The action begins Friday night at 7 p.m., with Saturday’s matchup also set for a 7 p.m. puck drop. Fans can watch the game live on AHLTV on FloHockey and purchase tickets using the link here.
