Tucson’s Mike Carcone Wins AHL Scoring Race

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … Tucson Roadrunners forward Michael Carcone has won the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the leading point-getter in the AHL for the 2022-2023 season.

A seventh-year pro from Ajax, Ont., Carcone established career highs across the board with 31 goals, 54 assists and a league-best 85 points in 65 games for Tucson this season; all Roadrunners team records. Carcone had more multiple-point games (25) than scoreless games (18), and he had the longest scoring streak in the league this season when he compiled 30 points over a 15-game span from Dec. 17 to Jan. 31. Carcone was voted a First Team AHL All-Star for 2022-23, and was selected as the AHL Player of the Month for December. He participated in his first AHL All-Star Classic this season, and also recorded two goals and one assist in nine NHL games with Arizona.

In 398 career AHL games with Tucson, Belleville, Toronto and Utica, Carcone has collected 123 goals and 144 assists for 267 points. He signed as a free agent with the Coyotes on July 29, 2021, and has totaled six goals and three assists in 30 career NHL contests; including three goals in nine NHL games this season for Arizona.

The AHL’s leading-scorer trophy was originally named after Wally Kilrea, who held the AHL’s single-season scoring record when the award was instituted in 1947-48. That year, Carl Liscombe broke Kilrea’s record, and the award was renamed in his honor. In 1955, the AHL Board of Governors voted to name the trophy after John B. Sollenberger, a long-time contributor to the league as manager and president of the Hershey Bears and former Chairman of the AHL Board of Governors. Previous winners of the John B. Sollenberger Trophy include Fred Glover (1957, ’60), Willie Marshall (1958), Bill Sweeney (1961, ’62, ’63), Don Blackburn (1972), Paul Gardner (1985, ’86), Bruce Boudreau (1988), Peter White (1995, ’97, ’98), Derek Armstrong (2001), Jason Spezza (2005), Alexandre Giroux (2009), Keith Aucoin (2010), Brandon Pirri (2013), Travis Morin (2014), Chris Bourque (2016), Chris Terry (2018), Carter Verhaeghe (2019), Sam Anas (2020) and Andrew Poturalski (2021, 2022).

In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for all 32 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of all players competing in the NHL are AHL graduates, and through the years the American Hockey League has been home to more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Earlier this month, the Roadrunners launched #CarconeMVP, in an effort to recognize Roadrunners forward and the AHL’s leading scorer as the 2022-2023 AHL’s Les Cunningham Award Winner. The Les Cunningham Award is given to the league’s Most Valuable Player as voted on by AHL media and players. Mike Carcone highlights posted on TucsonRoadrunners.com and on the team’s social media accounts for the remainder of the season will feature the hashtag #CarconeMVP, with fans encouraged to use the tag in support of Carcone. For more on #CarconeMVP, CLICK HERE.

The Tucson Roadrunners will take on the Coachella Valley Firebirds in a best-of-three series to open the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs. All three games will take place on the road at the Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California, where Tucson previously became the first team to defeat the Firebirds in their new Arena on December 20, 2022.

Game One of the best-of-three series will take place on Wednesday, April 19, at 7:00 p.m. MST, marking the Roadrunners first trip to Palm Desert since February 15. Game Two is scheduled for Friday, April 21, at 7:00 p.m. MST, and a decisive Game Three if necessary will be Sunday, April 23 at 3:00 p.m. MST.