The Tucson Roadrunners went into this weekend's two-game series with a chance to leapfrog the Bakersfield Condors in the AHL's Pacific Division playoff race.
But after a 2-1 loss Saturday night — that coming a day after a 3-2 defeat in overtime the night before — in Bakersfield, its the sixth-place Condors who leave the weekend with a little bit of separation over seventh-place Tucson.
A pair of first-period goals, one by Dylan Holloway 12 seconds into the game before Raphael Lavoie added another roughly 10 minutes into the opening frame, gave Bakersfield a 2-0 lead on Tucson it wouldn't relinquish Saturday.
Jean-Sebastien Dea scored the Roadrunners' only goal, this one midway through the second period with Colin Theissen and Nathan Smith carding assists.
Tucson goaltender David Tendeck stopped 24 of 26 Bakersfield shots on goal in defeat, while Olivier Rodrigue got the win for the Condors, turning away 28 of 29.
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Tucson, which came into the weekend having won five of six, got one of a possible four points by sending Saturday, while Bakersfield left with all four standings points.
The Pacific Division race after Saturday:
- Calgary Wranglers (6 games to go, 98 points)
- Coachella Valley Firebirds (7 games to go, 96 points)
- Abbotsford Canucks (5 games to go, 81 points)
- Colorado Eagles (6 games to go, 80 points)
- Ontario Reign (6 games to go, 71 points
- Bakersfield Condors (6 games to go, 70 points)
- Tucson Roadrunners (5 games to go, 67 points)
- San Jose Barracuda (6 games to go, 61 points)
- Henderson Silver Knights (6 games to go, 53 points)
- San Diego Gulls (6 games to go, 41 points)
The top seven teams make the playoffs, with San Diego and Henderson have been eliminated from contention; at the top of the standings, Calgary, Coachella Valley, Abbotsford and Colorado have secured postseason berths, yet the jockeying for playoff positioning will continue down the stretch.
At this moment, the Roadrunners would play a first-round, best-of-three series at Coachella Valley, since the eventual division champion receives a bye leaving the second-place team to face the seventh-place club.
On an individual note, Tucson forward Michael Carcone, the AHL's leading scorer with 79 points, came in to Saturday's matchup with four-straight multi-point games, and at least two points in five of six, was held scoreless Saturday. A four-point game clear across the country Saturday by Alex Barre-Boulet of the Syracuse Crunch all but eliminated the separation Carcone had created over the last two weeks in the AHL's scoring race. With five games left on the Roadrunners schedule, Carcone's point total sits three ahead of Barre-Boulet's 76 and six ahead of Ontario's TJ Tynan, who has 73.
Syracuse has seven games remaining, while Ontario has six to go, including one Sunday afternoon.
The NHL may cancel LGBTQ+ Pride Nights as an increasing number of players are refusing to wear the rainbow uniforms.
