Game #67 – Tucson Roadrunners at Bakersfield Condors

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7:00 p.m. MST, Mechanics Bank Arena, Bakersfield, California

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Referees: Stephen Hiff (56) Jordan Watt (83)

Linespersons: Steven Berry (43) Ben Dubow (52)

The 30-29-7-0 Tucson Roadrunners take on the Bakersfield Condors Saturday night for the second contest of a two-game set from the Mechanics Bank Arena. The series opener between the Roadrunners and Condors on Friday marked Tucson’s third-straight overtime matchup, as well as the second game to go past regulation in seven meetings on the season with Bakersfield. In games two and three of their current six-game road trip, Tucson exited with overtime wins against Colorado and San Diego before settling for Friday’s overtime point. They currently hold a 3-0-1-0 record through the first four games on the trip. The Roadrunners and Condors go into Saturday separated by a single point in the AHL Pacific Division Standings, while Tucson has a 4-2-1-0 advantage over Bakersfield through the first seven matchups of the season.

Three Things
1) With Friday’s overtime loss to Bakersfield, the Roadrunners finished the month of March with standings points in nine of their 12 total contests and an overall record of 6-3-3-0, earning the second most standings points in March in team history after Tucson went 9-3-1-0 with 19 standings points in March 2018. Their 15 standings points earned this March are the most in a single calendar month this season, and the most since December of 2019 when the Roadrunners racked up 18 standings points with a 9-2-0-0 record on their way to winning the AHL’s Pacific Division for the second time in three years.

2) Eight of Tucson’s last ten goals entering Saturday night have seen either Mike Carcone or Jan Jenik record a point on the score. The pair of forwards have combined to factor into five-straight Roadrunners tallies, with both players recording a point on four of the five goals. Carcone and Jenik are each on active streaks of four-straight games with multiple points, which represents a Roadrunners season high. The last Tucson skater to record four-straight multiple-point efforts was forward Matias Maccelli last season from January 29 to February 7 of 2022. Jenik’s six-game scoring streak entering the series finale with Bakersfield is a new AHL career high for the 22-year-old after he ended the 2021-2022 campaign on a scoring streak of five consecutive games. Jenik also closed out his 2020-2021 rookie season with points in four-straight contests and his 83 career points (30g 53a) with Tucson are the tenth most in team history.  

3) Tucson enters April with the American Hockey League leaders in shots on goal for both forwards and defensemen, as Michael Kesselring’s 178 shots are the most among AHL blue-liners and Mike Carcone’s 238 shots on goal are atop the entire league. Carcone’s 238 shots on goal are a new Roadrunners record, after he set the previous record last season with 180. The 26-year-old is also 16 shots away from the AHL’s highest total at the end of last season of 254 with six games still to play, and while averaging just over four shots per-game on the year.

What’s The Word?

“That’s how we have to do it. It’s by committee [right now], guys are pulling on the same rope and all four lines are rolling. That’s how we’re successful, when everyone is going and playing hard for each other.”

Roadrunners Forward Cam Hebig on Tucson spreading around the offense through four games on their current six-game road trip, as 10 different Roadrunners skaters have lit the lamp on the way to a 3-0-1-0 record in their last four contests.

Number to Know
8 – The number of Roadrunners skaters to score ten goals on the year, matching the number of players to reach double-digit tallies from last season. Forward Ryan McGregor was the latest to reach ten goals after he lit the lamp in the third period of Friday’s series opener against the Condors to send the contest to overtime. Five different Roadrunners are the next closest with seven goals apiece with six games remaining in the regular season: Jan Jenik, Cameron Hebig, Hudson Elynuik, Ben McCartney, and Travis Barron. In addition, Tucson has had 12 different players record 20 total points this year, matching their total from the 2019-2020 campaign when the Roadrunners finished the regular season atop the AHL Pacific Division. Jan Jenik became the 12th when he registered his 20th point of the season in his 25th appearance on Wednesday in San Diego with an assist on Steven Kampfer’s overtime game-winning goal.

We’re Doing It Live
Tonight’s game will be broadcast live on AHLtv, as well as on the radio on FOX Sports 1450AM and the iHeartRadio app. Coverage begins at 6:45 with Roadrunners Warm-Up hosted by Jimmy Peebles, before “Voice of the Roadrunners” Adrian Denny has all the action from the Mechanics Bank Arena.