Game #66: Tucson Roadrunners (3) vs Calgary Wranglers (4)
Game #66: Tucson Roadrunners (3) vs Calgary Wranglers (4)
SOG: TUC (32) – CGY (33)
PP: TUC (0/5) – CGY (1/4)
CALGARY SCORING: Sam Morton (19, 20), Rory Kerins (30, 31)
TUCSON SCORING: Travis Barron (8), Curtis Douglas (9), Hunter Drew (14)
Roadrunners’ Rally Falls Short in 4-3 Loss to Wranglers
TUCSON, AZ – The Tucson Roadrunners (31-30-3-2) nearly pulled off a dramatic comeback but fell just short in a 4-3 loss to the Calgary Wranglers (33-26-4-3) on Wednesday night at Tucson Arena.
Tucson struck first as Travis Barron opened the scoring just over five minutes into the game. But Calgary responded with four consecutive goals, starting with Sam Morton’s pair of tallies in a 2:21 span late in the first period to put the Wranglers up 2-1. Rory Kerins added two more in the second, extending Calgary’s lead to 4-1.
Despite the uphill battle, the Roadrunners refused to go quietly. Curtis Douglas fired a wrister from the slot to cut the deficit to 4-2 late in the second. Just 27 seconds later, Hunter Drew buried a loose rebound, pulling Tucson within one heading into the final frame.
The Roadrunners nearly forced overtime in the final minute, pressing with a six-on-four advantage and multiple chances at the net. But Calgary goaltender Devin Cooley held firm, denying Tucson’s last-ditch efforts as the Wranglers escaped with the win.
The loss drops Tucson to 1-1 through the first half of its four-game homestand. The Roadrunners remain in seventh place in the Pacific Division, holding onto the final playoff spot with 67 points, one ahead of the Bakersfield Condors. Tucson now sits six points back of sixth-place Calgary in the standings.
YA GOTTA SEE IT
The juggernaut line of Douglas-Barron-Drew powered Tucson’s offense, factoring into all three of the Roadrunners’ goals. Each player found the scoresheet multiple times, with all three recording a goal and an assist.
Barron led the way with a team-high three points (1G, 2A), marking his first three-point performance of the season and third multi-point game of the campaign. Drew notched his seventh multi-point outing of the year, the third-most on the team. Meanwhile, Douglas recorded his third multi-point effort of the season—and his second in the last three home games—piling up three goals and four points in that stretch.
Douglas has been a force at Tucson Arena of late, tallying six goals and seven points in his last six home contests.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
Defenseman Max Szuber extended his home point streak to five games with an assist on Drew’s late second-period goal that pulled Tucson within one. The second-year pro has racked up seven points (1G, 6A) in that span, with all six of his assists coming in the last four home games.
Szuber has now recorded back-to-back games with a helper, continuing his strong play from the blue line.
THEY SAID IT
“It’s unbelievable. He (Travis Barron) is one of my good buddies. He plays hard every night, and does a lot of good things. He’s been waiting a long time to have a game like that and and I’m happy for him. Happy to be a small part of it.
Roadrunners forward Hunter Drew on Travis Barron’s three-point performance
THE RUNDOWN
FIRST PERIOD
For the second straight night, Calgary came out firing, but once again, Tucson struck first—scoring on just its second shot of the game. The Roadrunners flew into the offensize zone off the rush, and rookie defenseman Artem Duda drove into the slot before dishing the puck to Barron, who buried a one-timer past the outstretched glove of Cooley to give Tucson a 1-0 lead at 5:16.
Tucson nearly doubled its lead midway through the period when captain Austin Poganski broke free on a breakaway. Poganski raced in on Cooley and ripped a shot that rang off the right post and crossbar. The Roadrunners continued to push late, with Cameron Hebig circling the left faceoff dot and snapping a hard shot on net, but Cooley turned it aside with a blocker save.
Calgary answered with the equalizer moments later. Kerins sent a centering feed to Morton, who snapped a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle past Roadrunners goaltender Jaxson Stauber to even the score at 1-1 with 3:11 left. Morton struck again in the final minute, getting a piece of Ty Tullio’s shot, which trickled past Stauber to give the Wranglers their first lead of the series, 2-1, with 50 seconds remaining.
Despite allowing two late goals, Stauber stood tall between the pipes, making 18 saves in the period to keep the Roadrunners within striking distance.
SECOND PERIOD
The Roadrunners came out strong in the second and nearly found the equalizer three and a half minutes in when Sammy Walker ripped a shot off the crossbar from the right circle. The near-miss quickly turned into a chance the other way, as Calgary corralled the rebound and broke out on a three-on-two rush. Kerins got a piece of Tullio’s shot, redirecting it past Stauber to extend the Wranglers’ lead to 3-1 at 3:40.
Tucson’s offense began to heat up midway through the frame. Sam Lipkin had a quality look off the rush nine minutes in, and 90 seconds later, Poganski nearly converted on a two-on-one, but his one-timer was turned aside by Cooley.
Shortly after, rookie defenseman Maveric Lamoureux was whistled for a penalty, sending Calgary to its second power play of the night. The Wranglers wasted no time converting, as Kerins blasted a shot from the point off the ensuing faceoff to push the lead to 4-1 at 11:49.
The Roadrunners responded quickly, generating a two-on-one where Cameron Hebig drew a hooking call against Martin Frk. Tucson’s power play got to work, with Max Szuber and Egor Sokolov both testing Cooley, but the Calgary netminder stood tall to maintain the three-goal advantage.
The Roadrunners kept pushing and broke through late in the period. Douglas cut the deficit to 4-2 with 2:40 left, snapping a wrister from the slot past Cooley. Tucson struck again just 27 seconds later, as the Douglas-Barron-Drew line capitalized on another odd-man rush. Barron fired a one-timer on goal, and while Cooley made the initial stop, Drew crashed the crease and buried the rebound to make it a one-goal game at 4-3 with 2:13 remaining.
THIRD PERIOD
Poganski drew a tripping penalty on Calgary’s Jonathan Aspirot just 20 seconds into the final frame, giving the Roadrunners an early power-play opportunity. Walker generated a pair of quality chances from the right circle, but Cooley stood tall to keep Tucson off the board.
Even after the man advantage expired, the Roadrunners continued to press. Hebig set up Poganski for a one-timer, but William Strömgren got his stick in the lane to deflect it away. Five minutes into the period, Julian Lutz nearly jammed home a rebound at the doorstep, but Cooley shut the door once again.
Tucson kept pushing. With eight and a half minutes left, Hebig drove to the net and fired a backhander, but Cooley slid across his crease to make a clutch pad save.
Lamoureux was whistled for interference with five and a half minutes remaining, giving Calgary a chance to extend its lead, but the Roadrunners’ penalty kill stood strong to keep it a one-goal game and sett up a dramatic finish.
With 90 seconds left, Tucson pulled Stauber for the extra attacker and won an offensive-zone faceoff. The pressure led to a penalty on Calgary’s Yan Kuznetsov, giving the Roadrunners a six-on-four advantage for the final 54 seconds. Tucson fired everything they had on net, including a last-second one-timer from Poganski in the slot, but Cooley made a game-saving stop in the dying moments to secure the Wranglers’ 4-3 victory.
UP NEXT
The Roadrunners will continue their four-game homestand with a two-game weekend set against the Bakersfield Condors at Tucson Arena. The series kicks off on Saturday at 7 p.m. MST. Fans can watch the game live on AHLTV on FloHockey and purchase tickets using the link here.
