Tucson Roadrunners Road Ahead: Closing Out The Home Stand

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Upcoming Games (All time MST)

Friday, November 3: Chicago at Tucson, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 4: Chicago at Tucson, 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, November 8: Tucson at Ontario, 8:00 p.m.

Friday, November 10: Tucson at Ontario, 8:00 p.m.

Home Stand Finale:

The Roadrunners close out their 6-game home stand against the Central Division Chicago Wolves. The Wolves only have one win in six matchups to begin the season and are in last place in their division with a record of 1-3-1-1. Tucson swept Chicago in their lone two games last season at the TCC and went 3-1 overall outscoring them 16-6 in the season series. Roadrunner forward Cameron Hebig had four points (3 goals, 1 assist) in the four games played. The Roadrunners are already 2-0 against Central Division Opponents after sweeping the Texas Stars in the opening weekend.

Guenther-Smith Combo:

In the last three games, Dylan Guenther and Nathan Smith both contributed to a goal playing together on the same line. Smith has three primary assists with two on the power-play, and Guenther has a goal and two assists. The two have been rotated with Jan Jenik, John Leonard and Josh Doan but have stayed together on the same line.

Special Teams Dominance:

Tucson’s penalty-kill went 10-for-12 in its series against the Bakersfield Condors including a 7-for-8 effort in Friday’s game. Currently the Roadrunners stand at 85.7% (24-for-28) on the PK which is 10th in the AHL, but 5th in the Western Conference. The power-play came to life as well with two power-play goals over the weekend from Josh Doan and Jan Jenik. Doan leads the team with two goals on the man advantage.

Standing On His Head:

Despite both losses to Bakersfield, goaltender Matthew Villalta continued his dominance with a 33 save effort on Friday. He now sits on top with the most starts (6) and minutes played (355:35) in the AHL including two back-to back games against both the Stars and Condors. Villalta has a 2.36 goals against average and .920 save percentage entering the week.

Pacific Division Heating Up:

The Pacific Division has begun to heat up in the early stages of the season. Six of the 10 total teams already have a winning percentage over .600 and seven of the top 10 teams in the Western Conference are from the Pacific Division. Out of the entire league, Henderson Abbotsford, Calgary and Ontario are in the top seven with five or more wins each.

Carcone Career Game:

Former Roadrunner and AHL leading scorer Michael Carcone had the game of his career against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. He had his first NHL hat-trick, and four points on the night (3 goals and 1 assist). Carcone is now up to six points (4 goals, 2 assists) in seven games played with the Coyotes this season.

Weekly Roster Moves:

Sunday, October 29

  • Ben McCartney returned on loan from Arizona (NHL)

Tuesday, October 31

  • Colin Theisen loaned to Toledo (ECHL)

Lights, Camera Action!

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. This week “Voice of the Roadrunners” Adrian Denny, with co-hosts Kim Cota Robles and Brett Fera, are joined by Roadrunners netminder Matthew Villalta as they discuss his first month as a Roadrunner. In addition, a new episode of the Tucson Roadrunners Insider Podcast released on Sunday, as Adrian Denny and Jonathon Schaffer preview the upcoming series against Chicago and their favorite concession items at the TCC.