Game #72: Tucson Roadrunners (7) vs Colorado Eagles (4)
Game #72: Tucson Roadrunners (7) vs Colorado Eagles (4)
SOG: TUC (39) – COL (27)
PP: TUC (0/0) – COL (1/2)
COLORADO SCORING: Jean-Luc Foudy (5), Taylor Makar (1), Jake Wise (16), Jere Innala (17)
TUCSON SCORING: Travis Barron (11), Hunter Drew (15), Egor Sokolov (22), Cameron Hebig (25, 26), Ryan McGregor (4), Kailer Yamamoto (20)
Roadrunners Punch Playoff Ticket With 7-4 Win Over Colorado
Tucson, AZ – The Tucson Roadrunners (34-32-4-2) are officially playoff-bound for the third consecutive season after a 7-4 victory over the Pacific Division champion Colorado Eagles (43-21-5-3) on Saturday night at Tucson Arena. With Bakersfield securing a win earlier in the evening, Tucson needed two points in the regular-season finale to clinch the final spot in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs—and they delivered in dominant fashion.
The Roadrunners erupted for three goals in the first period, with tallies from Travis Barron, Hunter Drew, and Egor Sokolov to build a 3-0 lead. Sokolov’s marker was his 22nd of the season, setting a new career high in goals in a single season.
Colorado responded with two goals in the opening 5:35 of the second period, courtesy of Jean-Luc Foudy and Taylor Makar, but Cameron Hebig found the answer with his 25th goal of the season to restore a two-goal cushion. The Eagles made it a one-goal game again with Jake Wise’s tally at 16:46, but Ryan McGregor answered with a huge goal for Tucson just 22 seconds before intermission to give the Roadrunners a 5-3 edge heading into the third.
Hebig lit the lamp again early in the third period for his team-leading 26th goal of the season and fourth multi-goal performance of the year. The Eagles pushed back with a highlight-reel goal from Jere Innala, but Kailer Yamamoto sealed the win—and Tucson’s postseason spot—with an empty-net goal in the final minutes.
Goaltender Matthew Villalta turned in a steady 23-save performance to earn his 18th win of the year and fourth victory in his last six starts.
Hebig paced all Tucson skaters with two goals, while Drew added three points (1g, 2a) for his ninth multi-point effort of the season. Rookie forward Julian Lutz collected two assists for his second career multi-point game. Captain Austin Poganski chipped in two assists for his sixth multi-point outing and third multi-assist game of the year. Yamamoto’s goal and assist gave him a team-best 15th multi-point performance of the season, while his 20th goal made him the fourth Roadrunner to reach the 20-goal milestone this year.
YA GOTTA SEE IT
Villalta delivered a highlight-reel moment in Saturday’s regular season finale, sprawling out to deny Makar on a point-blank chance—instantly putting his name in the conversation for save of the year. The clutch stop was the exclamation point on a standout performance in net, and a fitting way to close out Villalta’s stellar 2024-25 regular season.
The 25-year-old finished the campaign as Tucson’s leader in wins (18), shutouts (4), and save percentage (.905). He also ranked among the AHL’s best in several key categories, placing third in both games played (43) and minutes (2,532), while finishing top five in total saves (1,214).
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
Drew wasted no time making his mark in Saturday’s regular season finale, factoring into each of Tucson’s first two goals. He picked up the primary assist on Barron’s opening tally, then followed it up with a goal of his own just four minutes later—scoring off the rush for his 15th of the season. It’s Drew’s second-highest single-season total behind his 17-goal campaign with San Diego in 2021-22. The two-point night marked his ninth multi-point performance of the year, the third-most on the team, with three of those coming in his last seven games since April 2. His goal also stood out as his team-leading fourth unassisted marker of the campaign.
THEY SAID IT
“It’s exciting. This team worked hard all season long, and it’s great to clinch. We’re super excited in there. This has been a goal of ours and we’re just looking forward to getting the first round. Great effort from the guys, all season long, and it took everyone in that room. It’s a good feeling. We’re looking forward to getting into playoffs and the exciting hockey ahead.”
Roadrunners forward Cameron Hebig on clinching a playoff spot
THE RUNDOWN
FIRST PERIOD
The Roadrunners came out flying, controlled possession, and set the tone early in front of a raucous crowd at Tucson Arena. Defensemen Robbie Russo, Kevin Connauton and Maveric Lamoureux each fired quality shots from the blue line, while Andrew Agozzino had a prime one-timer in the slot that was blocked by Colorado’s Jere Innala.
Tucson’s relentless pressure forced a turnover that led to the game’s opening goal. Drew broke in on a two-on-one and snapped a shot from the right circle. Colorado netminder Isak Posch, making his first AHL start, made the initial save, but Barron crashed the net and buried the rebound to give the Roadrunners a 1-0 lead at 5:56.
Drew continued to make an impact at both ends of the ice, helping double the lead less than four minutes later. After picking off a pass in the Tucson zone, Drew turned on the jets and carried the puck the length of the ice before wiring a wrister past Posch for his 15th of the season to make it 2-0 at 9:51.
Tucson wasn’t done. With 4:50 remaining in the frame, Lutz dished the puck to Sokolov in the high slot. Sokolov cut toward the net, deked to his backhand and lifted it over Posch’s blocker to give Tucson a commanding 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
SECOND PERIOD
Colorado opened the middle frame on the power play and quickly cut into Tucson’s lead. Just 1:11 in, Oskar Olausson fired a shot on net that was cleaned up in front by Foudy, trimming the Roadrunners’ lead to 3-1.
The Eagles continued their push and made it a one-goal game just over four minutes later. Makar buried a one-timer off a cross-slot feed from Jason Polin on a two-on-one rush to make it 3-2 at 5:35.
Tucson regrouped and started to regain momentum near the midway point of the period. Drew sparked the charge again, ringing a spinning wrister off the left post, followed by a strong drive to the net from Barron. That momentum carried into a dominant shift, with Max Szuber creating a quality chance from the point, leading to a rebound opportunity for Sammy Walker. Yamamoto also had a prime look in tight moments later.
The pressure finally paid off with 6:08 to go in the frame. Austin Poganski slid a perfect feed across the crease to Hebig, who tapped home his team-leading 25th goal of the season to put Tucson up 4-2.
Just 90 seconds later, Villalta came up with a show-stopping save, sprawling out to rob Makar on a net-front rush—one of Tucson’s most clutch stops of the season.
Still, Colorado found a way to respond. With 3:14 left, Wise snuck a low wrister through Villalta’s five-hole from the bottom of the left circle to make it 4-3.
The Roadrunners weren’t done either. With just 22 seconds left in the period, McGregor flew into the zone and snapped a wrister past Posch from the high slot, sending Tucson into the second intermission with a 5-3 lead.
THIRD PERIOD
Tucson wasted no time reigniting their offensive pressure in the final frame. Just over five minutes in, Hebig buried his second goal of the night on a textbook two-on-one rush. Poganski carried the puck into the Colorado zone and fed Hebig with a cross-ice pass, setting him up for a blistering one-timer that beat Isak Posch cleanly to make it 6-3 at 5:27. The tally marked Hebig’s 26th goal of the season and his fourth in the last five games.
Still fighting, the top-seeded Eagles showed their resilience. Innala pulled a slick move around the Tucson defense, faking a shot before going to his backhand and lifting the puck over Villalta to cut the lead to 6-4 with just over seven minutes remaining.
Colorado emptied their net in the final minutes to spark a last-minute push, but Yamamoto dashed those hopes with an empty-net goal in the final moments to seal Tucson’s 7-4 win—and their ticket to the Calder Cup Playoffs.
UP NEXT
The Roadrunners are headed to the postseason and will square off against the Abbotsford Canucks in the First Round of the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. The best-of-three series opens Wednesday night in Abbotsford, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. PT at the Abbotsford Centre. Fans can catch all the action live on AHLTV on FloHockey.
