As the old sports saying goes: “You can’t tell the players without a program!”
While fans have smart phones now and can look up the Tucson Roadrunners’ roster online, it was hard to keep track of who was who this past weekend as the Roadrunners settled for two points in their weekend series against the San Diego Gulls.
Despite a rush of new faces following the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes being active at the league’s trade deadline — moves that included a number of now-former and some incoming Roadrunners — Tucson had virtually the same result in both games against the Gulls at Tucson Arena: a 3-2 overtime loss Friday, followed by a 2-1 OT defeat Saturday.
“You give up two points out a of a possible four, it’s obviously upsetting,” Tucson head coach Steve Potvin said. “You gotta look at the positive that we got two points this weekend. Obviously that’s not what we set out to do but at the end of the day you gotta take the positives.”
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Brand new to the Tucson roster this weekend, forward Michal Mrazik, left, (recently called up from the ECHL's Atlanta Gladiators) and defenseman Michael Kesselring (right, assigned to Tucson after the Arizona Coyotes' acquired him from the Edmonton Oilers' organization in a deal that included long-time Roadrunner Cam Dineen) line up for a face-off during the Roadrunners' 2-1 overtime loss to the San Diego Gulls Saturday at Tucson Arena.
Friday night, Tucson played without longtime defenseman Cam Dineen — Dineen was dealt ahead of the NHL deadline as part of a swap of players and picks by the Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers — as well as a number of other Roadrunners regulars who were called up to the NHL. On Saturday, four new faces arrived to take their place, continuing the roster shuffle through the weekend.
“Our guys left everything out on the table. They really battled hard for the two games here,” Potvin said.
Up next for Tucson another trip to the Midwest — the Roadrunners were in Chicago just a week ago — to face the Milwaukee Admirals (32-17-3-2) on Friday night. The Admirals sit in second place on the Central Division and swept the Roadrunners in Tucson in January.
Tucson’s next home game is St. Patrick’s Day when the Roadrunners host the Calgary Wranglers, currently in first place in the AHL’s Pacific Division.
On Saturday, after San Diego (17-39-1-0) took a lead in the first period, Tucson forward Colin Theisen scored on a breakaway 17:09 in the second after a couple near goals on Friday. It’s his first AHL goal of the calendar year.
Tucson Roadrunners forward Colin Theisen scores on a breakaway late int he second period to tie Tucson's home matchup with the San Diego Gulls at one apiece. The Roadrunners would fall in overtime, 2-1 — the second day in a row Tucson would lose in OT to the Gulls at Tucson Arena. Video courtesy Tucson Roadrunners
“If you get those chances you know you’re gonna capitalize on one and you just gotta stick with it, stay positive and keep working hard,” Theisen said.
Even though the Roadrunners outshot the Gulls 40-27 Saturday and, not unlike Friday, killed all of San Diego’s power plays, the angry birds scored the game winner with 15 seconds left in overtime. Inversely, the Gulls scored just 15 seconds into Friday’s overtime.
Defensemen Vlad Kolyachonok and forwards Laurent Dauphin, Jean-Sébastien Dea and Miloš Kelemen moved up to Arizona since Tucson’s series in Chicago the previous week.
The Roadrunners had only three full lines and only two full defensive pairings on Friday. However on Saturday the Coyotes sent Kelemen and Kolyachonok back to Tucson and defenseman Michael Kesselring, who was acquired in the deal that sent Dineen to Edmonton’s organization, to the Roadrunners. All three played for the Coyotes Friday and the Roadrunners Saturday.
“I know the guys are on edge,” Potvin said after Friday’s loss. “They want to know what’s going on. They care about their futures. There’s always the fear of the unknown at this time of year so of course it weighed on everybody’s minds
“We know that we’re sellers so obviously there’s a lot of distractions and a lot to consider this time of year.”
Off the faceoff win by Adam Cracknell, Tucson Roadrunners forward Michael Carcone walked in before firing the puck into the San Diego net to tie the Roadrunners' Friday, March 3, 2023 home matchup with the Gulls at one apiece in the middle of the first period. The Roadrunners would ultimately fall in overtime, 3-2. Video courtesy Tucson RoadrunnersVideo courtesy Tucson Roadrunners
Tucson also moved up forward Michal Mrazik from the Atlanta Gladiators.
In game one of the series, Tucson struck first with a goal from forward Michael Carcone, assisted by forward Adam Cracknell. Carcone’s 26th goal, extending his single-season team record in that category, moved him one point away from the Roadrunners’ record for points in a season.
After the Gulls scored two, Theisen hit the inner post with 11:31 left in the second. But, less than a minute later, right wing Cameron Hebig forced the puck with assists from defenseman Cameron Crotty and forward Ryan McGregor.
“It would have been nice to get the two points there,” Hebig said. “Under the circumstances we battled hard and down some bodies and grinned away there.”
With the Tucson Roadrunners trailing 2-1 in the second period of their Friday, March 3, 2023 matchup with the San Diego Gulls at Tucson Arena, Cameron Hebig would not be denied, scoring a goal after multiple Roadrunners' chances deep to knot the game at 2-2. The Roadrunners would fall in overtime, 3-2. Video courtesy Tucson Roadrunners
Slap shots
Dineen, a fifth-year Roadrunner who played in the third most games of any player in team history, was assigned by Edmonton to Bakersfield after the trade last week, and made his debut for the Condors Friday night.
“There’s no doubt he’s the type of role model we look for for younger guys,” Potvin said, “and he’s a good example of a player that was patient, trusted the process and was committed to his plan and getting up to another level. I was happy to see him get the opportunity last season to play in the NHL.”
With Tucson’s overtime losses, Bakersfield slipped past them into sixth place in the Pacific Division. Seven Pacific Division teams will earn postseason berths.
Tucson’s record against San Diego dropped to 3-2-2-0 as they try to reclaim the I-8 Border Cup. The Roadrunners/Gulls regular season finale is Mar. 29 in San Diego.
