Tucson Roadrunners Road Ahead: It’s The Gem Show Trip

Upcoming Games on Gem Show Trip (All time MST)

Wednesday, January 31: Tucson @ Bakersfield, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, February 2, Tucson @ San Diego, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 3, Tucson @ Coachella Valley, 7:00 p.m.

Record Through 40 Games: 25-13-1-1 (52 points)

Making History:

The Roadrunners are off to their second-best start through 40 games in franchise history with their 25-13-1-1 record. This mark lies behind Tucson’s 2019-2020 team, that was 28-11-1-0 through the first 40 games of the season and ahead of the 2017-2018 team who were 24-13-2-1. Both previous squads were Pacific Division champions by the end of their respective seasons.

Gem Show Trip:

While the Roadrunners begin their road trip in Bakersfield this week, Tucson’s 2024 Gem Show will commence to buy, sell, and trade rare and enchanting gems. Speaking of gems, Tucson has shined on the road this season with a record of 13-6-1-0 averaging 3.15 goals per game. The last time the Roadrunners had a three-game road trip all against different teams they went 3-for-3; defeating San Jose, Bakersfield and San Diego December 20-23; also in a three-game in four-night scenario. Bakersfield and San Diego are on the schedule for the upcoming trip with the difference of Coachella Valley on Saturday February 3. The Roadrunners are a combined 6-4-0-1 against these three teams and look to even the season series against both Bakersfield and Coachella Valley while staying undefeated against San Diego. Tucson is just a point behind Coachella Valley in the Pacific Division at 52 points with a game in hand. The Roadrunners do though carry the best winning percentage in the Pacific Division at .650. The Firebirds play the Calgary Wranglers for a two-game series on Wednesday and Thursday before seeing the Roadrunners on Saturday.

Big Rig Hebig:

Forward Cameron Hebig has been nothing short of a contributor for the Roadrunners when in the lineup this season. After coming off last Saturday’s game against the Ontario Reign with a goal and assist in the first period, Hebig tied Josh Doan with multiple point games (6). That is until Doan took back the first spot for his seventh multiple-point game with a goal and assist evening. However, Hebig has played 10 less games than Doan and just one more game than Dylan Guenther, who is tied for third on the team in multiple point games (4) and is still Tucson’s leading scorer despite his callup to the Coyotes on December 6. In his last nine games, Hebig has six points (1 goal, 5 assists) including two multiple-point nights and 15 total points (7 goals, 8 assists) in 30 games played this season.

Brawlers of Tucson:

The Roadrunners have been involved in 24 total fights this season which has compiled 120 of Tucson’s 677 total penalty minutes and ranking first in the Western Conference. In the last 11 games in January alone, a Roadrunner has dropped the mitts nine times. This stretch includes Ben McCartney who has fought three times with Curtis Douglas and Hunter Drew both fighting twice. The Roadrunners are also coming off of their most penalized game this season with 62 minutes against the Ontario Reign where Milos Kelemen, Austin Poganski, Montana Onyebuchi and Hunter Drew were called for 10-minute misconducts at the conclusion of the game. Patrik Koch was also called for a game misconduct and as a result, both he and Milos Kelemen are suspended for Wednesday’s tilt against the Condors.  

FIGHT TOTALS FOR THE ROADRUNNERS THIS SEASON:

Curtis Douglas-6

Montana Onyebuchi-6

Ben McCartney-3

Hunter Drew-2

Travis Barron-2

Milos Kelemen-1

Jan Jenik-1

Cam Crotty-1

Michael Kesselring (Now with the Coyotes) -1

Zach Sanford (Now with the Blackhawks) -1

We Want Moore:

With injuries and callups coming to the Roadrunners defensive core, Lleyton Moore has stepped up nicely in his current role as a depth piece for the defense as the unit gets healthy. In the recent homestand, the 21-year-old snatched two points in five games with a goal and assist. With his offensive style of play, Moore’s +5 in the nine games he’s played exemplifies his skillset at the blue-line for the squad. In total, Moore has three points (2 goals, 1 assists) in nine games this season.   

On The Mic:

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 Kim Cota Robles Brett Fera are joined by a Roadrunners forward Curtis Douglas after just arriving in Bakersfield. In addition, this week’s Insider Podcast released on Sunday as Adrian Denny and Jonathon Schaffer had their Gem Show Conversion Special as they recorded the podcast in front of the TCC workers who began the conversion of the arena for the upcoming Gem Show where they also heard from Cameron Hebig, Montana Onyebuchi and Head Coach Steve Potvin.