Game #67: Tucson Roadrunners (1) at Bakersfield Condors (2)

SOG: TUC (29) – BAK (26)

PP: TUC (0/3) – BAK (0/1)

TUCSON SCORING: J.S. Dea (22)

BAKERSFIELD SCORING: Dylan Holloway (4), Raphael Lavoie (24)

ROADRUNNERS FOUR-GAME UNBEATEN STREAK ENDS WITH 2-1 LOSS TO BAKERSFIELD CONDORS

Bakersfield, California – The Tucson Roadrunners four-game unbeaten streak to begin their current road came to an end on Saturday with a 2-1 regulation loss to the Bakersfield Condors. The Roadrunners and goaltender David Tendeck kept the Condors scoreless for the final 49:47 of regulation with 26 total saves, while J.S. Dea lit the lamp for his 22nd goal of the season with Tucson in the series finale from Bakersfield. The Roadrunners will wrap up their final road trip of the season Wednesday night in Henderson against the Silver Knights, bringing with them a 3-1-1-0 record to start the six-game stretch and a 5-2-1-0 mark over their last eight efforts overall.

YA GOTTA SEE IT

Roadrunners forward J.S. Dea put Tucson on the board with his 22nd goal of the season Saturday night, scored 9:04 into the second period from Bakersfield to bring the Roadrunners to within one of the Condors at 2-1. The goal was Dea’s second tally of the current road trip after a third-period power-play goal in the first game of the stretch on Saturday, March 25 in Colorado. Assisting on the goal were forwards Colin Theisen and Nathan Smith, as Theisen notched his sixth point (1g 5a) in his last five appearances and Smith recorded a point in his first game back with Tucson after four NHL outings with the Arizona Coyotes.

DON’T OVERLOOK IT

DAVID GOES THE DISTANCE – Goaltender David Tendeck started in net for Tucson on Saturday night against the Bakersfield Condors, marking his second outing on their current road trip. After falling behind 2-0, Tendeck held the Condors scoreless for the remaining 49:47 of the contest while stopping each of the final 22 shots faced. With the performance, the 23-year-old has allowed seven goals across three American Hockey League starts on the year for a 2.37 goals-against-average and a .931 save percentage with 94 total saves. His .932 save percentage would rank second in the AHL among qualified goaltenders, while his 2.37 goals-against-average would be tied for fifth. Tendeck also has a career save percentage of .927 in the AHL after appearing in four games with Tucson during the 2021-2022 campaign.

PHOTO OF THE GAME

Saturday’s series finale was the final meeting of the year between the Roadrunners and Bakersfield Condors, as Tucson finished the eight-game season set having earned standings points in five of the eight contests with a 4-3-1-0 record overall. Saturday also featured the most combined penalty minutes between Tucson and the AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers since both teams spent 31 minutes in the penalty box for 62 total penalty minutes in their first matchup of the season on October 22. 37 of the 43 total penalty minutes came from a series of altercations at the end of the first period, with Roadrunners players Ronald Knot and Curtis Douglas each earning ten-minute misconducts and Condors forward Noah Philp receiving a ten-minute game misconduct penalty for spearing.

THEY SAID IT

“We battled hard. These last two games were huge and both sides knew that, they felt like playoff games. We came up short, but there were a lot of positives. We can learn from our mistakes and get back at it against Henderson.”

Roadrunners Forward J.S. Dea on Tucson playing in back-to-back one-goal games against the Bakersfield Condors Friday and Saturday.

THE RUNDOWN

The Condors opened the scoring 12 seconds into the first period on Saturday with a goal by forward Dylan Holloway to take a 1-0 lead. Bakersfield extended their early advantage to 2-0 just past the midway point of the opening frame to take the first multi-goal lead of the two-game weekend series. The score came from Condors forward Raphael Lavoie who had the overtime game-winner in Friday’s series opener and marked the final goal of the first period on Saturday, sending the Roadrunners to the second period trailing 2-0. The opening 20 minutes ended with a combined 37 penalty minutes assessed between Tucson and Bakersfield, which included a ten-minute game misconduct for spearing by Bakersfield’s Noah Philp and ten-minute misconducts for Curtis Douglas and Ronald Knot on the Roadrunners side. As a result of the end of the first period, Tucson and Bakersfield began the middle frame playing four-on-four hockey for two minutes before a three-minute major power-play in favor of the Roadrunners. Tucson used the early opportunity to set the tone for the second period, recording five of the first six shots on goal before getting on the board with a goal 9:04 into the period. Forward J.S. Dea buried the puck for his 22nd goal of the season with assists from Colin Theisen and Nathan Smith, bringing the Roadrunners to within one of the Condors at 2-1. Tucson goaltender David Tendeck denied all 10 shots faced over the middle 20 minutes of play to hold Bakersfield scoreless for a stretch of 29:43 entering Saturday’s third period. Still down by a goal, the Roadrunners continued to apply pressure on offense while Tendeck turned away everything sent toward the net by the Condors in the third period while once again tallying five of the first six shots on goal to open the frame. After holding Bakersfield without a goal for 48 minutes and 11 seconds, Tendeck was pulled for an extra attacker with 1:32 left to play in regulation, as the Roadrunners went six-on-five in search of the equalizer. Condors backstop Olivier Rodrigue held firm in goal against Tucson, keeping the Roadrunners from tying the contest to record his third-straight outing with just one goal allowed in a 2-1 Bakersfield victory.

(Photo Credits: Bakersfield Condors)