Game #58: Tucson Roadrunners vs. Texas Stars

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Game #58: Tucson Roadrunners (33-19-3-2) vs. Texas Stars (28-24-3-2)

Time: Saturday, March 16, 7:00 p.m. MST, Tucson Convention Center, Tucson, Arizona

**LISTEN LIVE** HERE

**WATCH LIVE** HERE

Tucson Roadrunners Current Roster: CLICK HERE

Referees: #47 Mike Sullivan, #94 Adam Bloski

Linespersons: #54 Anthony Caruso, #32 Robert Fay

The Tucson Roadrunners face a team they have not seen since the opening weekend of the season this evening in the Texas Stars for First Responders Night. The Roadrunners swept the Stars in a two-games series on October 13 and October 14 where Tucson won game one 3-2 and game two 2-1; solidifying what would be the Tucson way to win one-goal games. The Roadrunners this season are 19-5-3-2 in one goal contests; which is tied for the third best winning percentage in the AHL (.741%) with the Cleveland Monsters; who have a 18-4-3-3 record. In addition, the Roadrunners have been in the second most one-goal games in the AHL season with 29; tied with the Rochester Americans who have a 18-3-6-2 record and .758 winning percentage. The Bridgeport Islanders (13-10-6-1) and Lehigh Valley Phantoms (17-6-5-2) have the most one goal games at 30 each. As for the Texas Stars, they have a 10-9-3-2 record in one-goal games.

Three things:

  1. Forward Jan Jenik is coming off the recent series versus the Henderson Silver Knights with five points (3 goals, 2 assists) in two games. His recent outburst of goals and points has put him at second on the team in goals (15) and third on the team in points (31). Jenik has become a point-per-game player in his last 10 games with 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) and is tied with forward Aku Raty in scoring in the month of March with eight points in seven games.
  2. In Wednesday’s 6-2 victory over the Silver Knights, all of the Roadrunners defensemen had a point and provided three goals. Steven Kampfer, Cam Crotty, and Vladislav Kolyachonok all scored goals while Max Szuber, Montana Onyebuchi and Patrik Koch had an assist. In the last 12 games, Roadrunner defensemen have combined for 30 points (8 goals, 22 assists) with Captain Steven Kampfer leading the with eight points (1 goal, 7 assists). In addition, blueliners have contributed to 10 of the last 11 Roadrunner power-play goals where the team has gone 11-for-45 (24.4%) in that same stretch. Kampfer also leads that stretch with seven power-play points with one goal and six assists.
  3. Josh Doan (7 goals, 3 assists) and Justin Kirkland (1 goal, 9 assists) each lead the Roadrunners in team scoring against the Central Division this season with 10 points. This includes Kirkland’s team high four-assist night versus the Chicago Wolves on November 4 and three-points (1 goal, 2 assist) against the Iowa Wild on February 10. Jan Jenik is second on the team with seven points (2 goals, 5 assists) and Ben McCartney is third with six points (6 assists) versus the Central Division.

What’s the word?

“I think it’s something that Potsy (Steve Potvin) and Slanes (John Slaney) have been preaching for a while here; just trying to get more production from the blueline and getting shots through. It was good weekday games for us to build some momentum for the weekend.”

Tucson Captain and Defenseman Steven Kampfer on the recent production from the blueline heading into the weekend versus the Stars after Wednesday’s 6-2 win.

Number to Know:

34-17-3-3 – The record the Pacific Division has versus the Central Division this season. San Diego has played the most games against the Central Division with a 9-3-2-1 record in 15 games while Colorado has played the second most with a 5-6-0-0 record in 11 games. Tucson has a 7-2-1-0 against the Central Division in 10 games. The Abbotsford Canucks and Ontario reign have not played the Central Division this season, but Abbotsford is slated to play the Manitoba Moose in March and April while the Reign have no Central Division opponents on the schedule.

Latest Transactions:

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ON THE AIR:

Tonight’s game will be broadcast live on the radio on FOX Sports 1450AM and the iHeartRadio app. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. with Roadrunners Warm-Up hosted by Jonathon Schaffer, following with “The Voice of The Roadrunners” Adrian Denny as he brings all the action from the TCC. The game can also be seen on AHLtv.