Game #68 – Tucson Roadrunners at Henderson Silver Knights

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7:00 p.m. MST, The Dollar Loan Center, Henderson, Nevada

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Referees: Reid Anderson (49) Jake Rekucki (84)

Linespersons: Adam Hendren (67) Logan Wescott (91)

The Tucson Roadrunners wrap up their final road trip of the season Wednesday night against the Henderson Silver Knights with a chance to earn their fourth win on the six-game trip. The standalone matchup marks the eighth and final meeting of the year between the Roadrunners and the AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, with Tucson currently leading the season series four games to three with a 4-3-0-0 record.  Tucson is at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson for the first time since January 18 with standings points in four of their last five for a 3-1-1-0 record, while the Silver Knights host the Roadrunners in their first outing back from a winless three-game road trip that saw them take on the Coachella Valley Firebirds and Calgary Wranglers.

Three Things
1) Tucson enters Wednesday’s clash against the Silver Knights currently in position to make the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs with a five-point cushion over the next closest team, the San Jose Barracuda. The soonest the Roadrunners could clinch a playoff berth is on Friday in Tucson against the Texas Stars, which would require a combination of three Roadrunners wins or regulation losses by the Barracuda. San Jose’s schedule mirrors Tucson’s down the stretch, with a matchup on Wednesday in San Diego before returning home for a weekend set Friday and Saturday against the Colorado Eagles. The Roadrunners and Barracuda will go head-to-head for the final two games of the regular season in Tucson on Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15, with the possibility that both teams are still fighting for the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division.

2) The Roadrunners won each of their last two matchups against Henderson by final scores of 3-2 after the Silver Knights scored first in both contests February 18 and 19 at the Tucson Arena. Each of the Roadrunners last four games have been decided by one goal, matching the longest streak of the year. A one-goal result on Wednesday would be the longest streak by the Roadrunners since February of 2018 (five games) and would match their longest stretch of consecutive one-goal games with the same opponent this season. After last Wednesday’s 6-5 overtime win against the San Diego Gulls, the Roadrunners have had three-straight contests decided by one goal against San Diego, the Ontario Reign and Coachella Valley Firebirds on the year.

3) Forward J.S. Dea leads the Roadrunners in scoring against the Silver Knights with three goals and four assists for seven total points through seven matchups on the year. Dea put the Roadrunners on the board in their last outing on Saturday against the Bakersfield Condors with his 22nd goal of the year, his second most in a single season of his AHL career. The goal tied him with Captain Adam Cracknell for the second most points on the Roadrunners roster with 47 (22g 25a), trailing only the AHL’s leading scorer Mike Carcone (79 points) for the team lead. Dea and Carcone have also given Tucson their second season with multiple 20-goal scorers in franchise history, and their first since the 2017-2018 Pacific Division Champion club featured the trio of Mike Sislo (23 goals) Michael Bunting (23) and Dylan Strome (22).

Roadrunners Roster Moves
– Defenseman Noah Laaouan has been assigned to the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators from the Tucson Roadrunners.

What’s The Word?

“We need to do everything we can to win in Henderson. Every point matters at this time of the year, we need to make sure that we’re all coming together and battling for each other.”

Roadrunners Goaltender Tyler Parks on Wednesday’s matchup against the Silver Knights to close out Tucson’s six-game road trip.

Number to Know
6 – The number of points recorded by Roadrunners forward Mike Carcone this season against the Henderson Silver Knights with two goals and four assists. Carcone put Tucson on the board with a goal in their last meeting against Henderson on Sunday, February 19, which began a comeback from down 2-0 for an eventual 3-2 Roadrunners victory. The AHL’s leading scorer also leads both rosters in penalty minutes through seven meetings on the season with 14, as Roadrunners defenseman Cam Crotty (10) is the only other player with at least eight minutes spent in the box. With five games left in the regular season, Carcone is one point and three penalty minutes away from becoming the second AHL player since 2013 to register 80 points and 100 penalty minutes in the same campaign. #CarconeMVP.

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 Dollar Loan Center.