After seven years in professional hockey, playing for 11 teams in four different countries, Tucson Roadrunners goalie Tyler Parks wasn’t going to turn down a chance to start another AHL game.
On Friday, Parks faced 28 shots from the league-leading Calgary Wranglers, making 24 saves. So on Saturday morning, Parks and the Roadrunners’ staff had a decision to make.
“I’ve been battling just some minor aches and pains,” Parks said. “We had a conversation with the trainer and ... they thought it would be best for me to kinda just take (Saturday) off, get ready for Ontario.”
Parks had a different idea.
“I said I wanted it,” he said. “I wanted to go. I wanted this game. I was gonna be ready no matter what.”
Parks responded stopping 24 of 26 shots against before turning away two more in the shootout in Tucson’s 3-2 win over the Wranglers — a victory that kept the Roadrunners ahead of the San Jose Barracuda for the last playoff spot in the Pacific Division with 12 games to play.
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“I thought he was great. He was up for the challenge,” Tucson coach Steve Potvin said. “(Saturday) morning we weren’t sure if he was going to go or not, and he looked at us and said, ‘Hey, I’m ready to go.’
Tucson Roadrunners goaltender Tyler Parks celebrates after his game-saving stop on Matthew Phillips of the Calgary Wranglers Saturday, March 18, 2023, at Tucson Arena. Parks stopped Phillips in the final shootout attempt for Calgary, preserving the 3-2 Tucson win over the Wranglers, who own the AHL’s best record to date this season.
“You really like hearing that as a coach.”
Saturday’s game also was sort of a milestone for Parks. His fourth straight start for the Roadrunners was his 12th AHL game of the year. Before this season, he had played a total of six AHL games — one for the Belleville Senators in 2021-22 and five for Tucson in 2019-20 — in the second-highest North American pro hockey circuit.
“It’s awesome,” Parks said. “I’m grateful for Potsie giving me this opportunity, for management giving me this opportunity and letting me stay here and prove what I can do. So I just want to make sure I take the most of the opportunity and I do what I can to keep us in every game and during that playoff hunt too.”
The Roadrunners look to carry over that momentum when they host Ontario on Tuesday night to start a two-game series.
This season the 30-year-old netminder has a goals against average of 3.05 and a save percentage of 0.888 for the Roadrunners. While playing for the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL, Parks went 13-6-1-0-0 with a GAA of 2.48 and a 0.926 save percentage.
Parks (5-6) has learned to be stoic in net after all that professional experience.
“I try to be level, not get too high or too low,” Parks said. “Just make sure that the guys see that I’m competing out there, battling, and obviously this game was holding all that emotion inside. (It) kinda came out when we got that shootout win.”
Parks admitted he “kinda blacked out” when he celebrated his walk-off save in the win over the Wranglers with a sliding fist bump reminiscent of a slick goal scorer’s celly.
Tucson Roadrunners goaltender Tyler Parks stops Matthew Phillips of the first-place Calgary Wranglers in a shootout Saturday, March 18, 2023 at Tucson Arena. The stop secured the 3-2 victory for Tucson over the Wranglers, who own the AHL's best record heading down the stretch of the 2023 season. Video courtesy Tucson Roadrunners
“He was amped, absolutely. He was pumped,” Potvin said. “This is the No. 1 team in the league, so obviously this is huge for him; it’s huge for our team.
“He wants to help us win, and it’s hard to take on the load that he has coming from the league that he’s been in. ... I can imagine there’s a big weight off his shoulders right now.”
Part of that load has come from the Arizona Coyotes calling up Tucson’s No. 1 goalie for multiple seasons. Ivan Prosvetov has won all three of his starts since his early March NHL recall, posting a 1.67 GAA and a .952 save percentage.
Prosvetov’s extended call-up has opened the door for his close friend Parks to ascend into that No. 1 position with the Roadrunners.
“He knows that he beat a real top team and quality team, and I think that’s gonna really help his confidence,” Potvin said. “I think it helps boost our team in front of him also.”
As for Tuesday’s game, the St. Louis native said of course he’ll be ready to go.
“Yeah, yeah, for sure, two days to get ready, lots of recovery with the trainers and stuff to do to get the body ready to go,” Parks said of having Sunday and Monday to prep for the two-game series against Ontario, which sits two spots above Tucson in the Pacific Division race.
“I just gotta make sure that I’m ready for that game, and if I’m called upon — I don’t know what they’re thinking — but if I’m called upon, I wanna be ready to go and give our team the best chance to win.”
Tyler Parks, a well-traveled goaltender who has changed teams 15 times (playing for 13 teams in four countries on two continents), was recalled to action by the Tucson Roadrunners Friday, Jan. 20 for the first time since the 2019-20. Parks was tested early against the Bakersfield Condors, and ultimately finished with 23 saves on 25 shots against in a 6-2 Tucson win. Video courtesy Tucson Roadrunners/American Hockey League
Slap shots
Tucson improved to 3-0 in shootouts this season and handed the Wranglers their first shootout loss of the year. In the AHL, only the Roadrunners and San Diego Gulls (1-0) are undefeated in shootouts this year.
The race for to the AHL’s postseason is tight with 12 games to go for Tucson. The seventh-place Roadrunners are seven points back of fifth-place Ontario (Tucson can gain up to four points on the Reign this week alone), four back of the sixth-place Bakersfield Condors, one up on the eighth-place San Jose Barracuda and seven up on the ninth-place Henderson Silver Knights.
