Game 1: Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. AZT, Tucson Arena
Game 2: Sunday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. AZT, Tucson Arena
Tucson, AZ – The wait is finally over. After five long months without hockey in the Old Pueblo, Tucson Arena will host four AHL teams this weekend for the inaugural Southwest Showdown, an AHL preseason fiesta featuring the Roadrunners, Pacific Division rivals the Colorado Eagles and Henderson Silver Knights, and the Central Division’s Texas Stars.
Tucson will kick off the preseason the way it ended last season, facing Henderson at 7 p.m. on Saturday before wrapping up its preseason schedule against Texas at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Both matchups cap a preseason doubleheader, with Colorado opening each day against Texas on Saturday and Henderson on Sunday at 3 p.m.
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As we approach the time of year when we’re nearly a quarter of the way through the college football season and start trading in our summer gear for a few more layers ahead of fall, hockey season is officially here. Plenty has happened around the Roadrunners during those long summer months, so the Roadrunners Preseason Tune-Up, presented by Semper Fi Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, has you covered with some of Tucson’s key storylines to watch heading into this weekend.
Roadrunners General Manager John Ferguson had a busy offseason, bringing back six players from last season’s squad while adding four new faces to round out Tucson’s free-agent class.
Three things to know
Guess who’s back, back again
Roadrunners fans were able to exhale after seeing a number of fan favorites re-sign with the club over the offseason.
Austin Poganski, who has worn the “C” for back-to-back seasons, re-upped for two more tours in the desert on the eve of July 1. The Roadrunners captain is coming off a career year, setting personal bests in every major offensive category while leading Tucson with 56 points in 2025-26.
Fellow centerman Kevin Rooney also returns for a second season in Tucson after signing a one-year AHL contract on July 2. Rooney was limited to 44 games with the Roadrunners last season while bouncing between Tucson and the Mammoth, but the veteran forward is set to make an even bigger impact in 2026-27 with a full season on an AHL contract.
Sammy Walker returns for his third season in Tucson after leading the Roadrunners with three overtime goals last season, tied for the second-most in the AHL. Fellow forwards Ty Tullio and Jack Ricketts are back for their second straight seasons in the desert, while veteran defenseman Robbie Russo returns for his third consecutive season with the Roadrunners and fifth overall.
The 33-year-old Russo will once again be counted on to provide leadership for Tucson’s young blueliners, with assistant coach John Slaney looking for the veteran to continue serving as a steady presence on the back end.
Beasts from the East
The Utah Mammoth kicked off free agency by adding a pair of AHL All-Stars, bringing plenty of potential firepower to Tucson.
Utah signed defenseman Zac Jones, 25, to a two-year, two-way contract. Jones earned First Team AHL All-Star honors last season after leading the league in assists and all AHL defensemen in scoring with the Rochester Americans.
The Mammoth also acquired restricted free-agent forward Joshua Roy from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for prospect and former Roadrunners defenseman Max Szuber before signing Roy, 23, to a one-year, two-way contract. The Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, Quebec, native recorded 45 points in 57 games with the Laval Rocket, Montreal’s AHL affiliate, last season after earning AHL All-Star honors in 2025.
If neither player opens the season in the NHL with Utah, or another club if they’re claimed off waivers, the two newcomers could provide Tucson with a significant boost and potentially rank among the Roadrunners’ offensive leaders in 2026-27.
The kids are alright
Utah’s deep prospect pipeline is firing on all cylinders, as Tucson’s rookie class could see nearly 10 players make their professional debuts in North America this season.
While Utah has until Monday to finalize its opening-night roster, with a number of rookies still in the mix and expected to play in the Mammoth’s final preseason game Saturday, defenseman Gregor Biber, 20, and forward Vadim Moroz, 22, were assigned to Tucson earlier this week.
The two are coming off strong professional seasons in Europe. Biber spent the last two seasons in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) with Rögle BK, while Moroz brings more than 200 career games of Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) experience with Dinamo Minsk over the last four seasons.
Joining them are fellow rookie defensemen Cal Thomas, 23, and Brandon Holt, 25, who are coming off standout collegiate careers at Minnesota and Maine, respectively. Holt also appeared in five AHL games with Tucson down the stretch last season after joining the team on an amateur tryout.
Numbers to know
2 – The Southwest Showdown marks just the second time in franchise history the Roadrunners have hosted preseason games at Tucson Arena, and the first since 2021.
