The Tucson Roadrunners picked a good time of year to have their biggest win, at least in terms of goal differential, of the season.
Thanks to goaltender Tyler Parks stopping 40 of 41 shots against, and offensive production from seven different goal scorers, the Roadrunners blew out the Colorado Eagles Saturday night in Loveland, Colorado, 7-1. The win allows the Roadrunners (28-29-6-0) to gain a little bit of ground on the teams ahead of them in the AHL’s Pacific Division, as Tucson still holds on to the division’s final playoff position with nine games to play in the 2022-23 regular season.
Steven Kampfer, Ronald Knot, Ryan McGregor, Adam Cracknell, Jan Jenik, Jean-Sebastien Dea and Curtis Douglas all tallied a goal apiece for Tucson, while Parks stopped the final 37 shots he faced in after Colorado’s only goal, by Charles Hudon, came seven minutes in to the first period.
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Thanks to goals from seven different players — Steven Kampfer, Ronald Knot, Ryan McGregor, Adam Cracknell, Jan Jenik, Jean-Sebastien Dea and Curtis Douglas — the Tucson Roadrunners had their biggest win of the year in terms of margin of victory, defeating the Colorado Eagles 7-1 in Loveland, Colorado on March 25, 2023. Tucson remains in postseason position, and inched closer to sixth-place Bakersfield (Tucson is now two points back of the Condors) with the win. Video courtesy Tucson Roadrunners
Cracknell, Jenik and Colin Theisen each had three-point nights; Cracknell and Jenik both carded a goal and two assists, while Theisen had three assists, giving him eight points in his last six games.
Michale Carcone had two assists, pushing him back into a tie atop the AHL’s scoring charts. He has 72 points this season, tying him with T.J. Tynan of the Ontario Reign atop the AHL leaderboard. Carcone has played in 56 games this season, while Tynan has skated in 63.
Carcone, who already set the Roadrunners’ record for goals (now at 27) and points in a single season this year, is staring down the club’s single-season assists record two. His two helpers Saturday gives him 45 on the year, the fourth-highest total in the AHL this season, and three back of the club record.
In net, Parks is 3-1 in his last four starts, allowing one goal twice and two goals once in those three victories.
A Colorado win could have put the Eagles (35-23-2-4) alone in third place in the top-heavy Pacific Division, but instead keeps them tied with the Abbotsford Canucks at 76 points.
Tucson, with 62 points, sits two points behind the sixth-place Bakersfield Condors, and seven back of the Ontario Reign in fifth. The top seven teams from the Pacific Division earn postseason berths.
The Roadrunners and Eagles conclude a two-game series Sunday at 2 p.m. Tucson then heads to a one-off meeting Wednesday at the San Diego Gulls, before two seemingly vital games in the Pacific Division race at Bakersfield Friday and Saturday.
