Tucson Roadrunners Road Ahead: A Venture Under The Lights
Upcoming Games (All Times MST)
Saturday, February 15 @ Henderson Silver Knights at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 16 @ Henderson Silver Knights at 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday, February 19 @ Coachella Valley Firebirds at 8:00 p.m. (Live Watch Party At Cold Beers And Cheeseburgers)
Roadrunners Record Through 45 Games: 21-21-2-1, 45 points, 8th in the Pacific Division
Turning The Luck Around:
The Tucson Roadrunners continue the season-high two-week Gem Show Trip for the final three games: with a trip towards Henderson to take on the Silver Knights for two games and back to Southern California for a single-game slate versus the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Tucson, who’s been hugging a .500 record for the last five games, has begun to slowly find its stride again, combining a 2-2-0-1 record in the last five games: including snapping an eight-game losing skid against the San Jose Barracuda in a 4-3 victory on February 7 and a crucial 3-2 win against the Bakersfield Condors on February 11. It does not get any easier for the Roadrunners, who face off a red-hot Henderson Silver Knights team who are on a four-game winning streak with an 8-2-0-0 record in the last 10 games. Henderson previously beat the Roadrunners twice in Tucson for a two-game series on January 20 and January 21. Overall, the Roadrunners have a 3-2-1-0 record against the Vegas Golden Knights Affiliate this season. However, the last time Tucson played at the Lee’s Family Forum, home of the Silver Knights, the team was 5-7-0-0 after a 6-2 loss in game one of the two-game series on November 15. The Roadrunners turned things around shortly after; going on an 11-3-0-0 run for the next 14 games before the holiday break. Though the team has scuffled with a 5-11-2-1 record in the last 19 games, the team once again has the chance to turn the luck around in Henderson.
Walking The Line:
Roadrunners forward Samuel Walker has been a tremendous mid-season addition for the Roadrunners on the Gem Show Trip. Acquired by the Utah Hockey Club on Monday, February 3 from the Minnesota Wild, Walker started a tear in Tucson with five points (2 goals, 3 assists) in his first four games: including three points (1 goal, 2 assists) on the power-play and one game-winning goal. The game-winning goal came in his Roadrunners debut on February 7 in the 4-3 win in San Jose; where Walker overall put up four points (2 goals, 2 assists) to become the one and only Roadrunner this season to score four points in a game: all in his debut with the team. Walker joins the list of 34 total players to be acquired by Tucson in its nine-year franchise during the middle of the season: including recent names of Steven Kampfer (2022-23), Michael Kesselring (2022-23) and Curtis Douglas (2022-23). Curtis Douglas, Michael Kesselring and Samuel Walker are the only three players still in the Utah Hockey Club/Tucson Roadrunners organizations after their trades.
Russo Rockets:
Roadrunners defenseman Robbie Russo has found the back of the net in three of his last four games for his first three goals of the 2024-25 season with the Roadrunners: including two of them coming on the power-play. With four points (3 goals, 1 assist) overall in his last four games, Russo has helped the Tucson blue-line provide needed scoring on the Gem Show Trip. Russo has applied offense for Tucson all season, with three goals and 17 assists for 20 points that leads all defensemen in points. His 17 assists are also second most on the team: with nearly half of them coming on the power-play at nine. Overall, Russo is in a tie with Egor Sokolov for the team lead in power-play points at 11 with two goals and nine assists, while Sokolov has five goals and six assists on the power-play.
Spectacular Special Teams:
The Roadrunners special teams have begun to ramp up play, paving the way for Tucson to find its groove again in the recent stretch. In the last six games, the Roadrunners power-play has gone 7-for-27 (25%) including power-play goals in six of the last seven games. Robbie Russo (2 goals, 1 assist) and Samuel Walker (1 goal, 2 assist) have led the way for Tucson in the recent power-play stretch. On the penalty kill side of things, the unit has been successful in 28 of the last 31 tests for a 90.3 percent kill rate. To put it forward, the Roadrunners win games when the special teams click: gaining a 14-6-0-1 record when scoring a power-play goal, a 5-0-0-0 record when scoring two power-play goals and a 10-12-1-1 record when allowing a power-play goal.
Scrunching Down:
With 27 games left on the docket, the Roadrunners will soon be in late season crunch time as the team looks to gain ground on the Bakersfield Condors for the final seed of the AHL’s Pacific Division Playoff Picture. Tucson is just two points behind Bakersfield’s 47 points in the standings with a 3-0-0-0 record against the Edmonton Oilers Affiliate. The Condors play the Barracuda (Feb 15), Firebirds (Feb 16) and Silver Knights (Feb 19) for the next three matchups as they begin to become a team to watch as the Roadrunners start a tight battle for the seventh seed of the 2024-25 playoffs in the division.
We Are Live:
Tucson Roadrunners Happy Hour airs every Tuesday at 5 p.m. on FOX Sports 1450AM and the iHeartRadio app, with a podcast version also available after each episode on the iHeartRadio app and Apple Podcast. This week, “Voice of the Roadrunners” Jonathon Schaffer and Co-Host Kim Cota-Robles were joined by Roadrunners goaltender Jaxson Stauber. Listen live each week HERE and the podcast version after HERE.
