Living up to their Roadrunners name, Tucson’s professional hockey team has run up the AHL standings thanks to their prowess on the road.
On Tuesday night, the Roadrunners held on to beat the Ontario Reign 3-2 and improve their road record to 7-2-1-0. Tucson’s 15 road points is tied with the Cleveland Monsters for best in the league.
“Great trip for us. I think overall I think we should be very happy with it,” Tucson goalie Matthew Villalta told Jonathan Schaffer with the team's communications staff postgame.
The Roadrunners finished their five-game, eight-day trip 3-1-1-0. Tucson moved up to fourth place in the Pacific Division, seventh in the AHL.
Tucson has won seven games by one goal and won three on the most recent road trip by that margin.
“We work well as a group and everybody’s a good teammate, we help each other, we block shots and I would say that’s most important and what helps us get those close wins,” Tucson forward Jan Jenik told Schaffer.
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The Roadrunners went 7-3-1-1 in November.
"We’re relentless and we don’t give up, even when the going gets tough,” Villalta said. “Everyone just kinda steps it up a notch and they battle for each other and I think that’s a special part of our team. We’re very close. I would call it a brotherhood and we just go into battle every night for each other and when the going gets tight we just pull through.”
Forward Dylan Guenther leads the way for Tucson with 16 points, including six goals.
Tucson hosts (10-6-1-1) the San Jose Barracuda (4-8-4-0) for a two-game series on Friday and Saturday, both at 7 p.m.
“We know the TCC’s gonna be on fire and so are we so it’s gonna be definitely fun,” Jenik said.
Tucson Roadrunners' forward Dylan Guenther (11) uses all his stick to try to poke the puck away from a Coachella Valley Firebirds player near center ice in the second period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena on Oct. 21.
Matthew Vill-“wall”-ta
Villalta, a former Reign player, still seems to enjoy Toyota Arena in Southern California.
Villalta (9-5-1-0) is 2-0-0 at his former stomping grounds this season.
“Ontario has great fans here and it’s always a treat playing in front of them and it’s just a good feeling,” Villalta said. “I played here for four years so it’s a pretty familiar feeling to be playing in this rink. I’m used to it and to do it as a Roadrunner and get two wins here is icing on the cake, that’s for sure.”
Villalta leads the league at just shy of 889 minutes played. That's almost an hour more than second place Jiri Patera of Henderson. He’s also first in wins and saves, eighth in save percentage (.924) and 16th in goals against (2.43).
Arizona Coyotes left wing Lawson Crouse reacts after scoring against the St. Louis Blues in the second period during a game in Tempe on Nov. 22.
Ex-Roadrunner watch
With one game to go in the month, Arizona Coyotes' forward Lawson Crouse led the Roadrunners' NHL affiliate in goals in November with 10, one shy of the franchise’s record for the 11th month.
Crouse played for Tucson in 2017-18.
Elsewhere, former Roadrunners' goalie Ivan Prosvetov (2-0) has played in five games for Colorado and has a 2.35 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
Prosvetov’s previous best GAA in the NHL was 3.98 last year for Arizona and his previous best save percentage was .880 last season. He played for Tucson from 2019-20 to 2022-23.
Live from Tucson, it’s Friday night
Postgame Friday, the Roadrunners will host their first "Laugh Night" at Tucson Arena. A game ticket includes admission to the comedy show.
Comedians scheduled to appear are: Chris Quinn, Holly Hilton, Omar Tarango, Allana Lopez, Jen Blanco and Dom DiTolla.
Also on Friday, the Roadrunners and Impact of Southern Arizona are collecting pasta, veggie cans, tuna cans, peanut butter, tomato cans, soup and cereal.
On Saturday, the Roadrunners will have their first ever Anime Night. They will have local Anime vendors, themed art and Anime entertainment.
The team is encouraging fans to come dressed as their favorite Anime character.
VIDEO: Tucson Roadrunners forward Dylan Guenther scores during the Roadrunners’ 3-2 shootout loss to the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Nov. 17, 2023 at Tucson Arena. (Video courtesy Tucson Roadrunners/AHL)
VIDEO: Tucson Roadrunners forward Dylan Guenther scores during the Roadrunners’ 2-1 road loss to the Ontario Reign on Nov. 10, 2023. (Video courtesy Tucson Roadrunners/AHL)
VIDEO: Tucson Roadrunners forward Dylan Guenther scores during the Roadrunners’ 5-4 home loss to the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Nov. 18, 2023, at Tucson Arena. (Video courtesy Tucson Roadrunners/AHL)
