Game #8: Tucson Roadrunners (5) @ Abbotsford Canucks (2)
Game #8: Tucson Roadrunners (5) at Abbotsford Canucks (2)
SOG: TUC (21) – ABB (40)
PP: TUC (2/6) – ABB (1/6)
ABBOTSFORD SCORING: Jonathan Lekkerimäki (2), Max Sasson (2)
TUCSON SCORING: Kevin Connauton (1), Sam Lipkin (1), Egor Sokolov (6), Josh Doan (1,2)
JOSH DOAN SCORES TWO GOALS IN ROADRUNNERS 5-2 VICTORY OVER THE CANUCKS
Abbotsford, B.C. – The Tucson Roadrunners responded to Tuesday’s tough loss with four first-period goals en route to a 5-2 victory over the Abbotsford Canucks on Wednesday. Forward Josh Doan led the Roadrunners with two goals and forward Egor Sokolov had two points with a goal and an assist.
Connauton opened the scoring 37 seconds into the game for his first goal of the season, and forward Sam Lipkin tallied his first career AHL goal to make it 2-0. Sokolov notched his fifth goal in eight games on the power play to give the Roadrunners a 3-0 lead. He now has a team-high of six goals and three game-winning goals on the season. Doan scored in the final minute of the first period and added another in the third for extra insurance.
Tucson’s fast start was too much for Abbotsford (4-3-0-1) to overcome, as Roadrunners goalie Jaxson Stauber made 38 saves to preserve the lead. With the win, Tucson (4-4-0-0) is back to .500 ahead of the team’s 10-day break.
YA GOTTA SEE IT
Doan was assigned to Tucson on Monday by the Utah Hockey Club and made his Roadrunners season debut on Tuesday. In his second AHL game of the year, Doan collected his first two AHL goals of the year. Last season’s AHL All-Star scored on the power play with 25 seconds left in the first period. He received a pass from Sokolov, then patiently stickhandled the puck between the circles. The Abbotsford penalty kill afforded Doan time and space, and his wrist shot beat Canucks goalie Nikita Tolopilo. Last season, Doan had a team-high 10 power-play goals, which also led all AHL rookies. Doan scored again midway through the third period to put the game out of reach. It was the Roadrunners’ first four-on-four goal of the year. Earlier this week, Utah coach André Tourigny said Doan’s reassignment to Tucson would help the 22-year-old rediscover his confidence with more ice time. So far, the plan seems to be working.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
There were plenty of accomplishments to celebrate between Sokolov’s latest game-winner, Doan’s two-goal game, Lipkin’s first AHL goal, and Stauber’s 38-save performance. But don’t let that distract you from the play of forwards Andrew Agozzino and Hunter Drew and defenseman Robbie Russo. The former had a team-high of two assists to give him points in seven of the first eight games. Agozzino is second on the team with eight points. Third on the team is Drew with seven points from three goals and four assists. He had an assist on Lipkin’s goal and has a point in all five games he’s played this season. Russo set up Sokolov’s decisive goal and earned an assist on the play. He drew the Abbotsford defense towards him by faking a shot and then delivered a perfect feed to Sokolov for a one-timer. Russo has an assist in every series for four points on the year to lead all Roadrunners defensemen.
THEY SAID IT
“I think it’s everything. We have a big break coming up. So this win was crucial for us. We had a great bounce back from last night.”
Roadrunners forward Sam Lipkin on the importance of Wednesday’s win over Abbotsford
THE RUNDOWN
It took the Roadrunners 37 seconds to end its scoreless drought. Connauton scored his first goal of the year from a wrist shop above the slot to put Tucson ahead 1-0 in the opening minute. Agozzino cycled the puck from the goal line up the boards and fired a pass toward the middle of the Abbotsford zone to the open veteran defenseman. Connauton took one stride and fired the puck above Tolopilo’s blocker. Tucson extended its lead to 2-0 from Lipkin’s goal at 7:14. Koch kept the puck in the Canucks zone and dumped it deep below the goal line. His pass deflected off the boards to Drew, who quickly snapped it from the side of the goal to Lipkin in front of the net for a tap-in goal. Two and a half minutes later, Connauton nearly scored again. His one-timer from the point went through the net-front traffic and between Tolopilo’s five-hole, but the puck trickled inches wide of the goal. The Roadrunners continued to dominate possession, and Sokolov scored from his favorite spot on the power play along the left faceoff circle to make it a 3-0 game at 14:37. Russo faked a shot from the point and dished a pass to Sokolov for a one-timer. The Canucks responded to the three-goal deficit and desperately tried to find the back of the net before the end of the period, and had the next six shots on goal. Stauber made his two biggest saves of the period on the penalty kill when he stopped consecutive point-blank shots from Abbotsford forwards Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Ty Mueller. The former found the back of the net with 3:26 remaining to cut the deficit to 3-1. Right before the Canucks goal, Roadrunners defenseman Montana Onyebuchi fought Abbotsford forward Dino Kambeitz. It was a quick tilt and Onyebuchi landed the majority of the blows before it was broken up. Both received game misconducts. Two-goal leads haven’t been favorable to Tucson this season, but Doan scored a power-play goal with 25 seconds left in the period to give the Roadrunners a 4-1 lead after the opening 20 minutes.
After Tucson scored four goals on 11 shots, Abbotsford replaced Tolopilo with goalie Jiří Patera after the first intermission. The goalie change gave the Canucks a spark, and forward Max Sasson scored 1:56 into the second period to make it a 4-2 game. Abbotsford controlled most of the play in the middle frame, outshooting Tucson 15-4 in the period. Stauber stood on his head during Abbotsford’s offensive, stopping 14 shots to preserve the Roadrunners’ two-goal lead. Tucson didn’t generate many scoring chances, but forward Aku Raty had a grade-A opportunity with 6:37 remaining. Patera played the puck out of his crease and lost possession. Raty intercepted the loose puck and nearly scored into the empty net. It was the only time the Roadrunners threatened the Canucks in the middle frame. Tucson had a 10-minute span without registering a shot.
The ice remained tilted in the Canucks favor through the first half of the third period. Abbotsford had the first six shots, but Stauber denied each scoring opportunity. He made 10 more stops down the stretch and finished the period with 16 saves. Eight minutes into the third, Sokolov and Canucks defenseman Elias Pettersson exchanged shoves after the whistle, and both were sent off for offsetting roughing penalties. The Roadrunners took advantage of the extra ice during four-on-four. Doan scored his second goal of the game on the next shift at 8:43 for Tucson’s first four-on-four goal of the season. He flew up the right wing boards into the Abbotsford zone and buried his shot past Patera’s glove into the top right corner. Doan nearly completed the hat trick in the final minute of the game after the Canucks pulled Patera with possession in the offensive zone. Doan broke out of Tucson’s zone, skated up ice into the Abbotsford zone, and fired a shot off the left post of the empty net with a defender barreling down on him.
The Roadrunners return to Tucson and have a 10-day break before its next game against the San Diego Gulls on Friday, Nov. 9, at Tucson Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MST. Tickets can be purchased using the link here. The game will be available to stream on AHLTV on FLO HOCKEY.
