The Tucson Roadrunners get something they haven’t had in a long stretch: a home opener to start the regular season. Tucson opens its 2026-27 campaign at Tucson Arena this weekend with a two-game set against the Colorado Eagles, with Saturday’s game set for 7 p.m.
AZT and Sunday’s rematch slated for 4 p.m. AZT.
It’s the first time in seven seasons the Roadrunners have begun the regular season at home, and it comes after Tucson hosted the Southwest Showdown last weekend. That preseason event brought in the Eagles, Henderson Silver Knights and Texas Stars, and the Roadrunners came out of it with a split. Tucson dropped a 4-1 decision to Henderson, then bounced back with a 3-2 comeback win over Texas.
Colorado arrives after a pair of preseason losses to Henderson and Texas, so both teams are trying to find their footing right away as the 2026-27 season begins. This weekend also kicks off the first of eight regular-season meetings between Tucson and Colorado.
Last season, Tucson finished seventh in the Pacific Division with a 34-28-10 record and 78 points. The Roadrunners went 2-3-1-0 against the Eagles, who ended up second in the division. Their most recent meetings were a 5-2 Tucson win followed by a 3-2 overtime loss last April.
There are a few key names worth watching as the Roadrunners settle into a new season. Tucson brings back 16 players from last year’s roster, including Julian Lutz, who scored in Tucson’s second preseason game and was one of two returning Roadrunners to score during the preseason. Lutz also tied for fifth on the team in game-opening goals during the 2025-26 season.
Behind the bench, Andrew Agozzino is starting a new chapter. After a 15-season professional playing career across the NHL and AHL, including two seasons as an assistant captain with the Roadrunners, he is now Tucson’s assistant coach.
Agozzino spent 10 AHL seasons as an assistant captain and sits 26th in league history in goals. This weekend will be his first official AHL appearance behind the bench, working alongside head coach Steven Potvin.
Tucson also got a late preseason jolt from rookie defenseman Cal Thomas, No. 42, who scored the game-winner with 56 seconds left against Texas. Thomas was selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the sixth round, No. 171 overall, of the 2021 NHL Draft and spent the past four seasons at the University of Minnesota, where he put up 30 points (3g, 27a) and 30 penalty minutes in 136 games.
There’s more rookie intrigue on the blue line and up front. Tomas Lavoie, Utah’s third-round pick, No. 89 overall, in the 2024 NHL Draft, picked up his first unofficial point as a Roadrunner with an assist on Lutz’s goal in his first game with Tucson. Last season, Lavoie faced off in the QMJHL Finals against fellow Tucson rookies Caleb Desnoyers and Gabe Smith, with Lavoie’s Chicoutimi Saguenéens beating Desnoyers and Smith’s Moncton Wildcats, 4-2.
Smith, drafted by Utah in the fourth round, No. 103 overall, in the 2024 NHL Draft, was named the 2026 QMJHL Playoff MVP after leading the league with 19 postseason goals. He recorded his first unofficial professional assist in his Roadrunners debut.
Desnoyers, selected fourth overall by the Utah Mammoth in the 2025 NHL Draft, was Tucson’s second star of the final preseason game after scoring his first unofficial professional power-play goal to tie the contest during his debut. He is Tucson’s only 19-year-old player coming from the QMJHL and is reunited with his former junior teammate, Smith.
In Other News...
Utah Opens With One Big Test In Front Of Coyotes Fans
Utahs first game of the 2026-27 season comes with a spotlight matchup right away, and there should be no shortage of curiosity around how the Mammoth handle opening night at home against the Chicago Blackhawks. The team is leaning into a simple approach, built around work ethic and keeping things clean in the first game, while also introducing several new faces in regular-season action for the first time.
For Coyotes fans watching from afar, the setup is the kind that can tell you a lot early about a new-look roster. Utah will be trying to settle in quickly after a summer of change, and Chicago arrives with its own issues after opening the season with a loss and entering the night without its captain because of offseason shoulder surgery. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Just Sent Arizona Fans An Early Warning In The Division
The first night of the season offered a pretty loud reminder of what Utah can look like when it gets rolling. In a 6-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, the Mammoth controlled the opener from start to finish, got the first goal of the season from Dylan Guenther for the third straight year, and saw early contributions from newcomers Vincent Trocheck and Anders Lee. Head coach Andre Tourigny liked the way his group kept its approach steady and translated that into a dominant performance.
For Arizona fans, the takeaway is hard to miss. Utah looks like a division rival that can pressure teams in a lot of different ways, and even one game in, the lineup already has the kind of depth and balance that can make a long season complicated for everybody else in the standings. The opener did not settle anything about the race ahead, but it did give the rest of the division an immediate look at the standard Utah wants to set. [Read more 🡒]