As playoffs near, Tucson Roadrunners yet again rolling into next road trip

Tucson earned all eight possible points in their last four games, with two four-goal wins and two three-goal wins. The Roadrunners entered the homestand in fourth place in the Pacific Division but finished it in second, just five points out of first.

“It’s huge obviously. There was a point where we were four points out of first and six points out of being out of the playoffs a couple weeks ago so it’s been a hunt,” Tucson forward Josh Doan said. “It’s a division that’s always gonna be competitive. It has great cities and great locations so guys are gonna want to flock to these locations and this homestand was huge, obviously, getting eight points ... something that you gotta take pride in and something you gotta take moving forward.”

The top seven teams in the 10-team Pacific Division make the playoffs with the regular season champion getting a bye and the top four teams hosting best-of-three first-round series.

As of press time, nine points separates second from seventh in the Pacific and three points separates fourth to seventh. Division-leading Coachella Valley has 80 points, second most in the league.

“I think all the guys know where we are,” Tucson forward Aku Räty said. “Our division is super close — like, I remember a couple weeks ago somebody said that we’re one win from first place and three losses from seventh or something like that.”

The Roadrunners’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot (number of points needed) is down to 10 with 13 games to go. Their magic number to win the division is 36 and Coachella Valley does have two games in hand on Tucson.

“We understand the standings and we understand the guys behind us and the teams that we’re trying to chase. There’s no doubt, but really we’re trying to keep an eye on what’s in front of us,” Tucson head coach Steve Potvin said. “(On Saturday) Texas was our priority and we handled our business and it’s good to see us get the points and be rewarded.”

The second-place Tucson Roadrunners (35-19-3-2) face the fourth place Ontario Reign (31-21-3-4) Wednesday night in Southern California to start a three-game road trip.

Tucson is also starting a stretch of eight games in a row against Golden State foes. Tucson is 9-4-0-0 against California teams this season.

The Roadrunners’ 75 points are the sixth most in the league. They have also collected 37 points on the road, tied for fifth-best in the AHL.

They are also six points ahead of the Reign, who sit in the last home ice advantage in the first round slot. Tucson is 4-3-0-0 against the Reign this season.

“I think there’s a little bit or a rivalry between us and Ontario at times where they’re right next door and they’re a team that’s always competitive,” Doan said. “We take pride in winning on the road, so it’s something where it’s hard to get points on the road this time of year but when you get a chance like this you’ve got to take advantage of it.”

Slap shots

Saturday’s First Responder’s Night crowd at of 5,967 was the Roadrunners’ largest Tucson Arena attendance of year.

Tucson won its final two games against the Central Division to improve to 9-2-1-0 against the Western Conference’s other division. Through the playoffs, the final team standing from the Pacific and Central divisions face off in the conference finals.

Tucson also went 4-0-0-0 again Texas this season; in 2018, it was the the Stars who eliminated the Roadrunners in that year’s conference finals.

On Monday the Coyotes recalled center Nathan Smith. He’s the 15th Roadrunner to get called up this season.

The record for Roadrunners “call-ups” in one season is 16, set in 2021-22.