Game Recap: Colorado (3) at Tucson (4)

Roadrunners Recap: 4/15/22

Game #62: Colorado (3) at Tucson (4)

SOG:  COL (40) – TUC (18)

PP:  COL (2/8) – TUC (2/5)

COLORADO SCORING: Kiefer Sherwood (32 PP, 33 PP), Dylan SIkura (28)

TUCSON SCORING: Cam Crotty (4), Victor Soderstrom (3 PP), Cameron Hebig (12), Terry Broadhurst (9 PP)

ROADRUNNERS KICK OFF FAN APPRECIATION WEEKEND WITH 4-3 WIN OVER COLORADO EAGLES

Tucson, Arizona – The Tucson Roadrunners hosted the Colorado Eagles Friday night for the first of back-to-back matchups at the Tucson Arena. The Roadrunners defeated the Eagles by a score of 4-3 with goals by Cam Crotty, Victor Soderstrom, Cameron Hebig, and Terry Broadhurst. Goaltender Rasmus Korhonen earned his first American Hockey League win in front of a packed Tucson crowd with 37 saves. Friday’s contest with Colorado marked the start of Fan Appreciation Weekend in the Old Pueblo, as the Roadrunners wore their fan favorite Kachina jerseys in the win.

YA GOTTA SEE IT

Watch Tucson Roadrunners forward Cameron Hebig extend Tucson’s lead to 3-1 with a second period goal Friday night against the Colorado Eagles. The score marked Hebig’s 12th time lighting the lamp this season, setting a new career high for the 25-year-old. The goal marked the only score of the middle frame, as Tucson held the Eagles scoreless for a stretch of 41:01 during Friday’s contest.

DON’T OVERLOOK IT

DEFENSE DOES IT ALL – Two of the Roadrunners four goals in Friday night’s win over the Colorado Eagles were scored by members of the defense. Tucson tallied a pair of goals in the first period by blue-liners Cam Crotty and Victor Soderstrom. Soderstrom finished the night with a goal and an assist while on the man-advantage and was named the first star of the game. Also tallying an assist was defenseman Andrew Nielsen, his fifth of the season.

PHOTO OF THE GAME

Roadrunners goaltender Rasmus Korhonen made his second consecutive start in net for Tucson Friday night, after making his American Hockey League debut last Sunday in Rockford. Korhonen stopped 37 shots to earn his first win in a Roadrunners uniform. The 19-year-old is the youngest player in Tucson franchise history, a title previously held by forward Ben McCartney.

(Photo Credits: Kate Dibildox/Chris Hook)

THEY SAID IT

“It was a really good game out of all the guys on the team. It was important to get the confidence in the team back too… it was a good job by us to keep the lead and get the win. ”

Tucson defenseman Victor Soderstrom on the team’s effort to hold onto the lead late in Friday night’s 4-3 win over the Colorado Eagles.

THE RUNDOWN

The Roadrunners jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a goal by defenseman Cam Crotty. His blast from the point marked his fourth goal of the season and came with just 56 seconds gone by in the opening frame. Colorado evened the score with a goal just 19 seconds into their third power-play of the night. The next action of the contest came five seconds later with a fight between Tucson’s Cedric Lacroix and Colorado’s Dalton Smith, Lacroix’s fifth bout of the season and first against Colorado since dropping the gloves in his Roadrunners debut against the Eagles on January 8. The Roadrunners went on their first man-advantage of the contest less than 30 seconds after the fight and used it to retake the lead at 2-1. The goal was scored by Victor Soderstrom for his third of the season and second score while on the power-play, and came with 7:45 still to go in the opening frame. Still leading by a goal in the second period, the Roadrunners extended their advantage to 3-1 with 5:23 gone by in the frame. The goal was scored by Cameron Hebig for his 12th time lighting the lamp this season, a new career high. Tucson held the Eagles scoreless for the second period to lead by two entering the final 20 minutes of play. The Roadrunners pushed their advantage to 4-1 near the midway point of the third period with the second power-play strike of the contest. Forward Terry Broadhurst buried a rebound from Victor Soderstrom to give Tucson their largest lead of the night. The Eagles answered back 2:46 later to cut the Roadrunners lead to 4-2 in the back half of the third period. Colorado capitalized on a late power-play to cut Tucson’s lead to one in the final 3:03 of regulation, but the Roadrunners held on to secure a 4-3 victory in the series opener.

The Roadrunners will wrap up the season series with the Eagles Saturday night at the Tucson Arena to complete Fan Appreciation Weekend. Saturday’s series finale is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MST, with coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m. MST on Fox Sports 1450AM with Roadrunners Warm-Up hosted by Jimmy Peebles. Then, “Voice of the Roadrunners” Adrian Denny will have all the action live from the Tucson Arena.