Tucson Roadrunners Road Ahead: Just Stars Here In Tucson

Upcoming Games (All time MST)

Friday, February 9, Tucson @ Iowa, 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 10, Tucson @ Iowa, 5:00 p.m.

Friday, February 10, Tucson vs. Ontario, 7:00 p.m.

Kachinas At The All-Star:

Forward Josh Doan and goaltender Matthew Villalta concluded their All-Star Break having helped the Western Conference win the skills competition on Sunday, February 4 and the Pacific Division win the 3-on-3 tournament on Monday, February 5. It was the second year in a row the Pacific Division won the AHL All-Star Challenge. Doan helped the Division win with a goal, assist and shootout goal all coming at crucial moments in the tournament. Read Here for the full recap.

The Best Ever?

Leaving the All-Star Break, the Roadrunners are in first place in the Pacific Division at 28-13-1-1 (58 points) which is also the second-best record in the Western Conference behind the Milwaukee Admirals. Tucson’s record is the exact same through 43 games of the 2019-20 season in which that team was also 28-13-1-1 through 43 games. That team’s season was cut short due to the COVID19 pandemic and was crowned Pacific Division Champions. This 2023-24 team is on pace to finish with 98 points; which would make the best season in team history. In addition, the Roadrunners are on pace to finish as the most improved team in the Pacific Division. Last season’s team through 43 games was 20-19-4-0 with 44 points, 14 less points than this year’s squad.

Down To The Wire:

In Tucson’s recent three-game road trip, the Roadrunners won by a one-goal margin in all three games, extending their overall record to 17-2-0-1 in that category this season. Only the Hershey Bears, who are first place in the entire AHL at 36-18-0-2, have 17 wins as well with a 17-1-0-2 record in one-goal games. The recent road trip included: a 2-1 third period deficit in which Tucson scored the game-tying and game-winning goals within a 66 second span to win 3-2 in Bakersfield Wednesday, a late third period goal to break a 1-1 tie to win 2-1 Friday in San Diego and a 4-3 shootout win in Coachella Valley where Tucson came back to tie the game six different times to eventually win. In total to these tight games, the Roadrunners only led for 34 minutes and 54 seconds out of 185 total minutes of the trip; which is less than 20 percent of gametime; this includes the 4-3 shootout win where Tucson never led at all.

Jan For The Win:

Roadrunners forward Jan Jenik has been a viable part of the recent success of the team when in the lineup. Despite missing six games from January 15 to January 27, Jenik has scored 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) in his last 11 games; including a game-tying primary assist and game winning goal in the 66 second span against Bakersfield Wednesday and the game-winning goal to end the shootout against Coachella Valley. Though the shootout goal did not count as a game-winning to his stats, Jenik scored the game-winner in two of Tucson’s last three games. In addition, the team is 7-2-0-0 when he scores this season.

Here To Get Wild:

The Roadrunners travel to Des Moines to take on Iowa Wild, AHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild for a two-game series on Friday and Saturday. The Roadrunners are 7-1-0-0 against the Central Division this season; including 2-0-0-0 against the Iowa Wild, outscoring them 7-2 in two games in Tucson January 15 and 17. In total, the Roadrunners have outscored Central Division Opponents 25-14 while owning a 233-206 shot margin.

Back Home:

The Roadrunners return to the TCC on Friday, February 16 and Saturday, February 17. -Rudy’s Texas B-B-Q Family Packs that include four tickets and a $25 Gift Card to Rudy’s return on the February 16, CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets. $10 College Night Tickets are also available on February 16 in the team’s online offer. CLICK HERE for College Night Tickets for students at the University of Arizona and Pima Community College. On February 17, the Roadrunners are having a Youth Jersey Giveaway presented by DentalPros where kids under 12 can receive a Roadrunners Youth Jersey while supplies last.

We’ll Do It 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. This week “Voice of the Roadrunners” Adrian Denny, with Kim Cota Robles Brett Fera are joined by Roadrunners defenseman Patrick Koch. In addition, a Bus Stop Overaction Special released on Saturday after Tucson’s 4-3 shootout win over Coachella Valley followed by the full edition of this week’s Insider Podcast on Tuesday. On Tuesday’s episode, Adrian and Johnny recapped the All-Star games Matthew Villalta and Josh Doan attended with correspondent and Flo Hockey Associate Content Creator Lizz Child; who got an exclusive interview with Villalta after the Skills Challenge that we hear on the show.