Despite the return of forward Michael Carcone and a flurry of goals, a slow start doomed the Tucson Roadrunners Tuesday night at home against the Milwaukee Admirals.
Milwaukee handed the Roadrunners (14-15-4-0) their sixth straight loss, 7-5, after the Admirals (20-11-0-2) scored thee goals in first three minutes of action Tuesday in Tucson Arena against goaltender Ivan Prosvetov.
Prosvetov was in net for the start after a quick one-game call-up to the NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
“It’s unfortunate that we come out and we’re down 3-0 before the game even starts,” said Tucson head coach Steve Potvin. “Ivan knows that he’s gotta be sharper in those situations.
"He expects a lot out of himself and I know he’s not feeling great about those but you gotta have those early on," Potvin added.
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The Roadrunners close out the series with Milwaukee and the home stand on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. The Ads are the AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators; it’s Milwaukee last game in Tucson this season, but the pair will face off again in Wisconsin in early March.
The Admirals struck first Tuesday when right wing Luke Evangelista scored 1:36 into the first. Then Admiral center Zach Sanford scored 23 seconds later.
Milwaukee added a third goal before some fans had settled in when Evangelista scored a power play goal about three minutes in.
At 12:48 in the first forward Adam Cracknell scored to get Tucson on the board, with the goal assisted by forwards Hudson Elynuik and Carcone. Carcone, the top point producer in the American Hockey League so far this season, was back from his own six-game NHL stint these past few weeks.
“I thought we played well, there was some circumstances there that we couldn’t control,” Carcone said. “(laughs) I’m not gonna get into that but as a team I though we played well.”
After Evangelista’s second goal Tucson center Curtis Douglas got in the first fight of the night.
The game featured four fighting penalties. The battle between Tucson forward Travis Barron and Admirals left wing Tim Schaller was so intense they sent the teams to the locker rooms to start the second intermission with 17 seconds left in the second period as the blood was being cleaned up.
“I loved their response. Honestly Dougie responded right away with a fight, he asked if he can go out right away and looked for a response and did his job,” Potvin said of 6-foot-9 Tucson forward Curtis Douglas. “He’s a big boy. He started the frenzy there and then I’m really proud of Barron. He took six unanswered shots in the face before we even got our gloves off and honestly the guys rallied behind that effort as well and couldn’t be prouder of those two guys.”
At 15:30 in the second Carcone scored a power play goal assisted by defensemen Cam Dineen and Victor Soderstrom.
It was Carcone’s first game for the Roadrunners since Dec. 23. His three-point night increases his AHL-best scoring total 45 points. He's now also third in goals with 18 and fourth in assists with 27.
“He’s a guy that our guys in the room are pushing for him and I think he brings guys out there with him and he was a pretty damn good version of himself tonight,” Potvin said.
But Milwaukee defenseman Jordan Gross responded with a goal 49 seconds after Carcone’s goal. Gross played for seasons for the Roadrunners starting in 2017-18 and led AHL defensemen in scoring last year when he was with Colorado.
At 7:32 in the second, Tucson forward Miloš Kelemen scored a short handed goal with an assist from defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok.
However, Milwaukee responded with a goal by defenseman Keaton Thompson a little over a minute later.
The Admirals outshot Tucson 39-29. Milwaukee was 2-for-6 on the power play, with the Roadrunners finishing 1-for-3.
Carcone scored his second goal a little over a minute after that, assisted by Cracknell.
In December 2020 the Nashville Predators, the Admirals NHL affiliate, traded for Carcone. But when the Admirals opted out of the 2021 season due to Covid-19 a few weeks later, Nashville loaned him to Tucson so he never dressed for Milwaukee.
“I don’t really care about them, so it’s whatever. But, no, it’s definitely cool. It’s obviously a part of my career that I won’t forget,” Carcone said about getting three points against an organization that had his rights.
About five and half minutes into the third, Douglas got a goal, assisted by Kelemen.
Milwaukee's Evangelista got the hat trick when he scored on a 5-on-3 power play at 15:40 in the third.
Slap shots
- Goalie David Tendeck, who played for four games for the Roadrunners last season, served as back up for the Roadrunners on Tuesday after moving up from Atlanta of the ECHL on Monday.
- Kids 12 and under with a paid adult can get free tickets to Wednesday’s game at the Tucson Arena box office.
- Tuesday was Tucson’s first ever regular-season game against the Admirals.
The Tucson Roadrunners, the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Arizona Coyotes, wore their new white 'Kachina' jerseys for the first time during their Saturday, Nov. 11 game against the San Jose Barracuda in Tucson Arena. The Coyotes' own white Kachina look, which includes green, red, purple, sand and orange accent colors, has been immensely popular among fans since it was reintroduced in recent seasons after a decade-plus hiatus. The Roadrunners, who have used a black version of the Kachina jersey as its alternate since the 2019-20 season, put their own twist on the white version, moving purple in the primary accent position. Video by Brett Fera/Arizona Daily Star
