Happy April, everyone.

We’ve made it through three weeks and I’m not sure this has gotten any easier.  One thing we can do is assure ourselves that we’re one day closer to the end of this though, right?

Let’s recap this week and share some thoughts.

Virtual Fan Appreciation Night

Saturday, April 4 was scheduled to be Fan Appreciation Night at Tucson Arena.  One of the best-attended nights each season, the home regular season finale has been far from dull the past two seasons.  One it was seeing the team conclude the 2017-18 campaign with the best record in the Western Conference, and another with the entire season on the line, coming down to the final few minutes.

Now, of course there remains hope that we haven’t played our final regular season game of 2019-20.  We still want to celebrate you though.

For those whom have attended Fan Appreciation Night in the past, you know that it’s a free-for-all of prizes being distributed.  Almost every stoppage, every intermission, seemingly almost everyone goes home with something.  The organization puts a lot of stock in this night, collecting prizes that we think you’d enjoy.

We’ll save some should we get the opportunity to play for you again in the coming weeks or months, but in place of the actual game that should have taken place, we’ll be giving away items during the team’s second virtual game Saturday night on the team’s Youtube channel.

For those who tuned in last week, thanks!  It’s a quick game, it only runs about 30 minutes, but we try and provide you with some fresh hockey that you haven’t seen before and now we’ll do it again with a little bit more pop.

Full details on that and the full weekend of broadcasts can be found HERE.

Chaput Back For More

The lone item of new hockey news came this week came bright and early Monday morning to start things off, the re-signing of Roadrunners captain Michael Chaput.

The one-year contract will keep him as Coyotes property through the 2020-21 season, exciting news for the stability of our club and furthered evidence that the pipeline between Tucson and Glendale is strong.

Whenever I think of Chaput one of the first things that comes to mind for me was the brilliance behind the move that brought him to our organization in the first place.  Coyotes General Manager John Chayka was able to bring him over from Montreal in February of last year in exchange for Jordan Weal, a player who was in and out of the lineup with the parent club, only playing in 19 games before his departure.  In return they’ve gotten a veteran leader for the top developmental club, one that can score as well and additionally someone that can play at the NHL level when needed.  Solid acquisition.

Perhaps I’ll delve more into it next week, but it’s worth noting that the bulk of performers that have made this team so great this season are now under contract for next season as well. That’s a tremendous thing.

This Week In Team History

What a fun time of year this has been.  Lots and lots of good memories.

March 29, 2019 – Nick Merkley records the sixth hat trick in team history, the first and only thus far coming in a losing effort.  The final two goals were assisted by goaltender Adin Hill in a 4-3 shootout loss to Colorado.

March 30, 2019 – The next night at Tucson Arena the Roadrunners were able to earn a split of the series, taking down Colorado, 5-2. Hudson Fasching had a goal late in the second and another early in the third to conclude the effort.  It was also the team’s second annual Hockey and Hops and the team wore their Autism Awareness specialty uniforms.

March 30, 2018 – As the team inched closer than ever to its first-ever playoff berth, a wild weekend opener in Iowa that stood 4-4 through 40 minutes led to an interestingly-timed goaltender change by Mike Van Ryn before the final period.  The decision proved to be correct as Kyle Wood and Lawson Crouse would provide a one-two punch in the third to bring Tucson within a pair of points of that history.

March 31, 2018 – The very next night in Des Moines, tied at 3-3 with less than a minute to go in the game, Lane Pederson finds the back of the net to give Tucson a thrilling win and their first Calder Cup Playoff berth.

The Outro

Fingers crossed by this time next week you’ll see some new content involving both Roadrunners players and coaches.  In working with the parent club and the powers that be we’ve taken steps forward to hopefully provide you guys with some updates from the folks you come to see on the ice when you come to Tucson Arena.

Who would you like to hear from?  What’re you curious about?  Send your thoughts to walt.ruff@tucsonroadrunners.com and we’ll try our best to make a lot of you happy.  Happiness is good.