Tucson Roadrunners Road Ahead: Sweet Home Tucson

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Upcoming Games (All Times MST)

Saturday, February 22 vs. Abbotsford Canucks at 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, February 23 vs. Abbotsford Canucks at 7:00 p.m.

Friday, Feb 28 vs. Rockford Icehogs at 7:00 p.m.

Roadrunners Record Through 48 Games: 22-22-2-2, 48 points, 7th in the Pacific Division

Back In The Home Barn:

The Tucson Roadrunners return home to the Tucson Arena after a two week seven-game road trip known as the “Gem Show Trip,” in which the team finished at 3-3-0-1 with earning a point in four of the seven contests. On the trip, Tucson averaged 3.42 goals-per-game and 4.00 goals against-per-game; including 11 total goals against the Henderson Silver Knights from Feb 15-to-Feb 16; which is the most goals the Roadrunners have scored against an opponent this season in a two-game series. Forwards Kailer Yamamoto, Samuel Walker and defenseman Robbie Russo were the most notable players on the trip. Yamamoto notched a goal and six assists for seven points on the trip; while Russo and Walker had 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists) each. In addition, Walker’s six points have all come in his first seven games as a Roadrunner after being acquired by the Utah Hockey Club on Monday, February 3 from the Iowa Wild. In addition, forward Josh Doan was reassigned to the Roadrunners by the Utah Hockey Club during the Four Nations Faceoff. Doan lit the lamp in three games with three goals and two assists for five points. He was recalled to the Utah Hockey Club on February 18.

Finding The Groove:

The Roadrunners saw plenty of depth scoring on the Gem Show Trip, helping the team begin to rebound after the past eight-game losing streak going into the All-Star Break. Forward Ryan McGregor notched one goal and two assists on the trip: including his second multiple-point game of the season on February 15 versus the Henderson Silver Knights. His linemates, Aku Raty and rookie Julian Lutz delivered as well; with Raty scoring two goals and one assist and Lutz adding a goal and assist. The other line of Travis Barron, Curtis Douglas and Egor Sokolov also added scoring; with Barron and Sokolov scoring two goals and an assist and Douglas adding four assists. In addition, Roadrunners defensemen added 16 total points (4 goals, 12 assists) on the seven-game road trip. Russo led the way with his six points (3 goals, 3 assists); while Maveric Lamoureux (3 assists), Lleyton Moore (1 goal, 2 assists) had three points. Kevin Connauton, Maksymilian Szuber each had two assists and Montana Onyebuchi had one assist. Forward Hunter Drew also had a nice road trip with three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in just three games played on the trip.

Seeing An Old Foe:

The Roadrunners start off the four-game homestand with a two-game slate against the Abbotsford Canucks on Saturday, February 22 and Sunday, February 23. The season series is tied up 3-3 with three of the matches ending within a two-goal deficit. The Roadrunners then face against the Rockford Icehogs in games number three and four in the four-game homestand Friday, February 28 and Saturday, February 29. The Roadrunners have not played the Icehogs since the 2021-22 season. Tucson has an all-time record of 2-5-1-0 in just eight matches against the Icehogs all-time. Tucson is 1-3-0-0 this season against Central Division teams all coming against the Texas Stars.

Hanging On To The Seventh Seed:

The Roadrunners enter the weekend within the seventh seed barring the results of the Bakersfield Condors game against the San Diego Gulls on Friday. Tucson and Bakersfield head into Friday tied at 48 points with Tucson taking the tiebreaker with more regulation wins at 22. Tucson is also inching closer with the Abbotsford Canucks and San Jose Barracuda in the standings as well; with seven points behind the Barracuda and eight behind the Canucks.


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 forward and Assistant Captain Andrew Agozzino. Listen live each week HERE and the podcast version after HERE.