Game #13: Tucson Roadrunners (2) @ Henderson Silver Knights (1)
Game #13: Tucson Roadrunners (2) at Henderson Silver Knights (1)
SOG: TUC (29) – HSK (27)
PP: TUC (1/3) – HSK (0/1)
HENDERSON SCORING: Mason Morelli (5)
TUCSON SCORING: Kailer Yamamoto (2,3)
Yamamoto’s Two Goals Propel the Roadrunners 2-1 Over the Silver Knights
Henderson, NV – The Tucson Roadrunners (6-7-0-0) fought back from an early deficit to beat the Henderson Silver Knights 2-1 on Saturday at Lee’s Family Forum. Forward Kailer Yamamoto scored twice to lift the Roadrunners over Henderson (4-9-0-0), including the game-tying and game-winning goals. Goalie Jaxson Stauber stopped 26 of 27 shots to secure his fifth win of the season and fourth in five outings.
The Roadrunners remain in eighth in the Pacific Division after the win, but Tucson is now even with the seventh-place Ontario Reign in points with 12. Both teams only trail the Bakersfield Condors and Abbotsford Canucks, who hold the fifth and sixth spots, by one point.
YA GOTTA SEE IT
Yamamoto tallied his second goal of the season to tie the game up at 1-1 early in the first period. Then, the 2017 Edmonton Oilers first-round pick struck again on the power play to break the tie in the third period. He was positioned wide right of the net, and deflected home a smart shot-pass from forward Egor Sokolov for his second goal of the night. It was also Yamamoto’s second game-winning goal in four games. The only Roadrunner with more on the season is Sokolov with three. Since being recalled to Tucson from the Utah Hockey Club on Oct. 26, Yamamoto has three goals and two assists through five games. All five of his points have come in the last four games, with three of them coming in both contests against Henderson.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
The Roadrunners snapped it’s three-game skid thanks to Yamamoto’s late power-play goal. The team didn’t score on the man advantage in all three losses, including the first two games of this roadtrip. The lack of special teams scoring hurt the Roadrunners during that stretch, as Tucson’s power play has been a strength this season – particularly on the road. Seven of the team’s nine power-play goals have all come in away games. After Saturday’s victory, the team is now 3-1 in away games where they score a power-play goal and 5-1 overall.
THEY SAID IT
“We drew up a play and it worked out. Sokes (Egor Sokolov) made an unbelievable play – a slap-shot-pass right, back door, and I couldn’t have been more wide open. It was a great play by everybody on the ice.”
Roadrunners forward Kailer Yamamoto on scoring the game-winning goal .
THE RUNDOWN
First Period
The Silver Knights struck first 1:05 into the game when forward Mason Morelli raced down the right-wing boards off the rush and scored from a backhand shot that snuck through Stauber’s five-hole. Tucson responded five minutes later when Yamamoto received a center-ice pass from captain Austin Poganski and flew through the Henderson zone before firing a wrist shot past Henderson goalie Akira Schmid’s glove to make it a 1-1 game at 6:10. Poganski and rookie Artem Duda both had an assist on the play. After tying the game, the Roadrunners tallied five straight shots and had several dangerous scoring opportunities. With eight minutes remaining, forward Andrew Agozzino nearly scored on a one-timer from an excellent feed from Sokolov behind the net. Second-year forward Josh Doan crashed the net and fired a rebound shot, but Schmid made a couple of big saves to keep the game even. On the next shift, forward Aku Räty had a great look off the rush on a two-on-one, but his shot sailed just wide. The Roadrunners controlled the game more and more as the period went on and outshot Henderson 10-5 in the opening frame, which was the team’s largest first-period shot advantage of the season.
Second Period
A Roadrunners holding penalty gave Henderson its first power play of the game 1:16 into the second period. On the penalty kill, Stauber stopped a difficult net-front deflection from defenseman Calen Addison’s point shot to keep the game even. The Roadrunners killed the penalty and escaped Henderson’s early second-period rush. After the Silver Knights tallied the first four shots, Tucson responded with five consecutive shots and a couple of quality scoring chances from the top-six forward group. The Roadrunners had a five-minute stretch without a shot in the middle of the period before Doan and Agozzino opened things up with six minutes remaining. Doan raced down the ice with Agozzino off the rush and snapped a quick shot into Schmid’s outstretched pads. Then, in Tucson’s net, Stauber made a giant glove save on Addison’s slapshot from the point with a minute remaining. Despite those high-danger plays, the middle frame was a much more even and tighter game than the first period. Neither team surrendered many opportunities, and Henderson had a slight 11-10 shot advantage.
Third Period
The Roadrunners set the third-period tone in the opening two minutes after defenseman Patrik Koch delivered a heavy hit on Henderson forward Grigori Denisenko in the Silver Knights zone. Henderson matched Tucson’s physicality on the next shift when forward Brendan Brisson interfered with Roadrunners assistant captain Ben McCartney behind Stauber’s net. Brisson’s minor penalty gave Tucson its second power play of the night. On the man advantage, Sokolov rifled a shot from the left circle that deflected off Schmid’s mask, which was Tucson’s lone shot with the extra attacker. Still tied at one goal apiece, the game’s fast pace and tight play continued until Henderson forward Raphael Lavoie found himself all alone on a breakaway. Stauber made his biggest save of the night to keep the score tied. Shortly after, Sokolov raced down the ice on a two-on-one and fired a quick one-timed shot left of the crease, but Schmid made an athletic pad save. Lavoie’s hooking penalty put Tucson back on the power play, and the Roadrunners finally broke through to take a 2-1 lead with 7:17 remaining in the game. Russo fired a pass down low to Sokolov along the left circle. Sokolov secured Russo’s pass and fired a shot-pass toward the net, and Yamamoto deflected the puck into the back of the net for his second goal of the night. With a late one-goal lead, the Roadrunners effectively kept the puck in Henderson’s zone to kill the clock. In its own zone, Tucson didn’t allow the Silver Knights’ desperate attack to create much of anything offensively and kept most of Henderson’s shots to the outside. The Silver Knights pulled Schmid with two minutes left, but the Roadrunners limited Henderson to only two shots on goal with its extra attacker. Stauber stopped them, and the Roadrunners escaped Lee’s Family Forum with a win.
The Roadrunners will kick off a four-game homestand, starting with Friday’s matchup against the first-place Calgary Wranglers at Tucson Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MST. Tickets can be purchased using the link here. The game will be available to stream on AHLTV on FLO HOCKEY.
