Last Week, Today: October 28
The Rundown
Four games at Tucson Arena, four wins at Tucson Arena.
After earning two big time wins over San Antonio last weekend the Roadrunners embraced their next big test by sending a Western Conference best Iowa back out of town with just one point.
The common denominator that stemmed from the success that Tucson enjoyed through the first three games of the season was getting a good first period and after not displaying itself to the same degree against the Rampage the weekend before, Friday night’s win was yet another that could be almost directly attributed to coming out of the locker room ready to go.
A penalty to Iowa within the first minute of action allowed Michael Chaput to cash in on the power play for Tucson, a lead they’d never look back from. The captain got his second in the first and Lane Pederson added insurance in the third to summarize the scoring from the team’s 3-1 win.
Iowa entered the weekend averaging four goals per game and while they had chances to score, Adin Hill was superb in the cage for Tucson, turning away 26 of 27 for the win.
Prior to Saturday’s game it was announced that Hill was granted a personal leave of absence to attend to a family matter, thus forcing the organization to recall Erik Kallgren from Rapid City.
While Kallgren arrived in the desert just in time to backup for Saturday’s game, it was Ivan Prosvetov’s show to conclude the weekend and did he ever steal it.
Forced to kill off three penalties in the first period alone, the first-year netminder set the tone for what was a busy night for both he and the opposed Mat Robson, who combined to face 90 shots on the evening.
With Iowa getting on the board early in the second period to start the scoring, Lane Pederson provided the answer for Tucson in the latter stages of the frame for his sixth straight game with a goal, matching a franchise record.
The busiest frame of the weekend in terms of shots was Saturday’s third as the two netminders cumulatively made 31 stops, forcing overtime for the second straight weekend at Tucson Arena.
In the overtime, with less than a minute to go, Jordan Gross jumped up into a rush and snapped a wrist shot high to the glove side on Robson to push Tucson’s win streak to five in a row.
Where They Stand
Record: 6-1-0-0 (.857 Win Percentage)
Pacific Division: First Place
Western Conference: First Place
The Week That Was
Friday, October 25
Wild (1) at Roadrunners (3)
Tucson Arena
Saturday, October 26
Wild (1) at Roadrunners (2) – OT
Tucson Arena
Up & Down
Recalls (TUC -> ARI)
None
Recalls (RC -> TUC)
Saturday, October 26: Erik Kallgren Sunday, October 27: Kelly Klima
Assignments (ARI -> TUC)
None
Alumni In Action
For over two seasons Conor Garland trademarked his craft of buzzing around the offensive zone elusively and getting into primetime real estate. He did that again Thursday when the Coyotes were in New York taking on the Islanders for a goal late in regulation.
In The System
Friday afternoon forward Kelly Klima was assigned to the Rapid City Rush, the club’s ECHL affiliate to get in some game action after missing the start to the year due to an injury suffered during the organization’s Rookie Tournament.
After arriving in South Dakota, Klima showed up, scored all four of the team’s goals in their win Friday, helped the team win again Saturday and got on a flight Sunday to come back to Southern Arizona.
Additionally in Rapid City, Giovanni Fiore ranks tied for third among all ECHL scorers with four goals and six assists for ten points in seven games.
Highlight Of The Week
Few moments in a hockey game are more thrilling than an overtime winner and for the second straight weekend the group on the ice gave an entertaining finish to the fans in Tucson.
Lane Pederson, whose playmaking skills are not to be forgotten, does an excellent job of evading pressure in the neutral zone and spin play forward the attacking end. Andy Miele uses his jets to gain the zone and the offensive prowess of Jordan Gross allows him to step up into the play and go above the glove to cap the night.
