Game #14: Tucson Roadrunners (5) vs Calgary Wranglers (3)
Game #14: Tucson Roadrunners (5) vs Calgary Wranglers (3)
SOG: TUC (25) – CGY (22)
PP: TUC (1/2) – CGY (0/2)
CALGARY SCORING: Clark Bishop (7, 8), Ilya Solovyov (4)
TUCSON SCORING: Josh Doan (3), Austin Poganski (1), Ben McCartney (3), Sam Lipkin (4), Andrew Agozzino (4)
Roadrunners Captains Lead the Way in 5-3 Victory Over Calgary
Tucson, AZ – The Tucson Roadrunners (7-7-0-0) scored a pair of goals in the first and second periods and cruised to a 5-3 victory over the Calgary Wranglers (13-4-1-0) on Friday night at Tucson Arena. Forwards Josh Doan and Andrew Agozzino led the Roadrunners offensively with two points from a goal and an assist each, but the leadership group had the biggest impact on the game. Captain Austin Poganski tallied his first goal of the season, assistant captain Travis Barron dropped the gloves, and assist captain Ben McCartney scored a short-handed goal on a breakaway. Goaltender Matthew Villalta made 19 saves for his second win of the season.
YA GOTTA SEE IT
Doan’s goal 50 seconds into the game gave Tucson the early lead and momentum and set the tone for the rest of the night. It was Doan’s second two-point game of the season, and the third time Tucson has scored in the opening minute of a game this year. Agozzino scored 26 seconds in against the Bakersfield Condors on Oct. 25 and defenseman Kevin Connauton found the back of the net 37 seconds in against the Abbotsford Canucks on Oct. 30.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
McCartney’s second-period shorthanded goal halted Calgary’s comeback and pushed Tucson’s lead back to two goals. The scoring play was the Roadrunners’ first short-handed goal of the season. In the final frame, Agozzino found the back of the net on a four-on-three power play, which was also Tucson’s first of the season. With the pair of special teams goals and trio of even-strength goals, Tucson scored every which way on Friday.
THEY SAID IT
“They (fights) get us going big time. Bear (Roadrunners assistant captain Travis Barron) had a very spirited tilt that was two minutes long. He did a great job. And then the big boy came through there, Dougie (Roadrunners forward Curtis Douglas) really took care of business.”
Roadrunners defenseman Robbie Russo on the impact of the team’s physicality.
THE RUNDOWN
First Period
Doan put Tucson on the board 50 seconds into the game when he buried home a loose rebound from Sokolov’s shot off the rush. Sokolov drove the puck up the left wing boards and fired a low shot off Ignatjew’s left pad. With a Flames defender bearing down on him, Doan secured the puck to the right of the crease for an easy tap-in before Ignatjew could recover. Doan’s score kicked off Tucson’s early onslaught, where Tucson tallied the game’s first four shots and a few quality scoring chances. The Roadrunners controlled most of the action in the first half of the opening period and extended it’s lead when Poganski scored off the rush to put Tucson ahead 2-0 with five minutes remaining. Poganski corralled a rebound in the Tucson zone and raced up the ice towards the Wranglers zone. Tucson forward Kailer Yamamoto caught up to join the rush for a two-on-one, but Poganski picked the right corner past Ignatjew for his first goal of the season. Calgary responded two and a half minutes later when Wranglers forward Clark Bishop deflected home a point shot from forward Martin Frk. The Roadrunners finished the period strong with a couple of good looks from defenseman Peter Diliberatore and forward Sam Lipkin, and carried a 9-6 shot advantage going into the first intermission.
Second Period
Calgary jumped out of the gates with a pair of dangerous chances in the opening minutes and earned its first power play of the game at 5:51 from a Roadrunners tripping penalty. Villalta made a couple of key stops on the penalty kill before Yamamoto beat Wrangler’s defense Jeremie Poirier for a loose puck near Tucson’s blue line. Yamamoto poked the puck out of his zone, and McCartney scooped it up and took off on a breakaway. McCartney entered the Calgary zone with speed, deked Ignatjew going west to east, and quickly snapped a forehand shot into the back of the net to put the Roadrunners ahead 3-1. It was Tucson’s first shorthanded goal of the season. Goals often come in pairs in hockey, and the Roadrunners tallied another one just over two minutes later. Defenseman Robbie Russo fired a hard slapshot from the point, and Lipkin deflected it past Ignatjew at 9:33 to extend Tucson’s lead to 4-1. It was Lipkin’s second goal in three games. Two minutes later, Calgary defenseman Lucas Ciona dropped the gloves with Roadrunners assistant captain Travis Barron. Although it was Barron’s first fight of the season, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound forward had the advantage after a length back-and-forth tilt. The Wranglers needed a momentum shift, trailing by three goals, but Tucson gained the biggest spark from the scrap and had the next three shots on goal, including a pair of shots from defenseman Max Szuber and Lipkin. The Roadrunners finished the middle frame with an 11-7 shot advantage.
Third Period
Wranglers defenseman Ilya Solovyov scored 1:13 into the third to make it 4-2, but its momentum halted a minute later after a pair of penalties gave the Roadrunners a four-on-three man advantage. Tucson forward Aku Räty and Poirier were sent to the box after a post-whistle scrum. On the next shift, Bishop’s slashing penalty put the Roadrunners on the power play and Tucson capitalized with the extra ice. After a few passes in the offensive zone, Agozzino scored 30 seconds into the power play to push the Roadrunners’ lead back to three goals. Ignatjew stopped Russo’s bomb from the point, and Doan battled with both Calgary defenders for the rebound. After several whacks, Agozzino joined the net-front scrum and batted home the puck for his first goal and second point of the night. Similar to the previous period, Calgary forward Jarred Tinordi and Tucson forward Curtis Douglas dropped the gloves at center ice seven minutes into the period. Douglas got the best of the exchange and electrified the Tucson Arena fans when he raised his arms to get the Tucson faithful on its feet. A Roadrunners slashing penalty gave Calgary its second power play, but Tucson killed the penalty and only conceded one shot. Bishop tallied his second goal of the night to make it a 5-3 game with 5:47 remaining.
The Roadrunners will look for the sweep against the first-place Calgary Wranglers on Saturday 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.
