The Tucson Roadrunners head into Friday and Saturday’s back-to-back against the Ontario Reign with momentum, confidence and a road record that has turned heads across the AHL.
Tucson wraps up its five-game road swing at Toyota Arena, with the series opener set for 7 p.m. MST on Friday and the Halloween finale scheduled for 3 p.m.
MST on Saturday. The Roadrunners are 5-2-2-0 overall and have won two straight after Wednesday’s 5-1 result at Coachella Valley.
That victory extended Tucson’s point streak to seven consecutive games, dating back to Oct. 9 at San Jose. Over that stretch, the Roadrunners are 5-0-2-0 and have found success in every area of the ice. In their last two games alone, they’ve outscored opponents 9-2 and gone 3-for-9 on the power play, good for 33.3 percent.
Ontario enters the weekend on the other side of a short skid. The Reign have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season after Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat to the Henderson Silver Knights. At 5-4-0-0, Ontario sits sixth in the Pacific Division with 10 points, while Tucson is third with 12.
This series also opens the season between the Pacific Division rivals. The two clubs will meet eight times in the regular season, and Tucson will be eager to set the tone after going 2-6-0-0 against Ontario last year.
One of the biggest reasons for Tucson’s strong start has been what it’s done away from home. The Roadrunners are 4-0-1-0 on the road and are one of only five AHL teams yet to lose in regulation away from home.
Their four road wins are tied for the league lead, and their +12 goal differential tops the AHL. Special teams have been a major part of that success as well.
Tucson has scored at least one power-play goal in each of its first five road games and is 7-for-23 on the man advantage in those contests, a 30.4 percent clip that ranks third in the league. Ontario’s penalty kill enters the weekend ranked 22nd.
Tucson’s recent offensive surge has also been fueled by a new-look line. Since Cameron Hebig, Ben McCartney and Austin Poganski were placed together last Saturday at Henderson, all three have delivered back-to-back multi-point performances.
The trio has combined for six goals and 12 points over the last two games. Poganski has posted a goal and an assist in each contest, while Hebig and McCartney have each turned in a two-goal game and a two-assist game.
Hebig is now on a season-high three-game point streak with five points - three goals and two assists - and his five goals lead the Roadrunners. McCartney remains Tucson’s top point producer with 13 points, including four goals and nine assists, which ties him for third in the AHL.
Rookie Tij Iginla has also kept adding to his early-season resume. He has three points - one goal and two assists - over his last two games, including his first career AHL goal in Wednesday’s win at Coachella Valley.
A game earlier, he recorded his first career multi-point outing and finished with a team-season-high seven shots on goal at Henderson. Iginla now shares the Roadrunners’ rookie scoring lead with four others at five points apiece.
Defensively, Tucson has given itself a chance every night. The Roadrunners rank fourth in the AHL in goals against per game at 2.11, and over their last six games they’ve been even sharper, allowing just 1.33 goals per game dating back to Oct. 10 at San Jose.
They haven’t given up more than three goals in that stretch and have held opponents to two or fewer in five of those six outings. Ontario, by contrast, is 29th in the league in goals against per game at 3.78 and has allowed at least three goals in four of its last five games.
There’s also a simple trend that favors Tucson coming in: Ontario has given up the first goal in eight straight games, and the Reign have scored first only once this season, in their Oct. 2 opener at Coachella Valley. Tucson has opened the scoring in four of its nine games, including each of its last two, and the Roadrunners are unbeaten when they strike first at 4-0-0-0.
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Tij Iginla Just Gave Tucson Another Reason To Believe
Tij Iginla gave Tucson a timely lift in an AHL win over Coachella Valley, scoring his first professional goal for the Roadrunners in a game that had plenty of young talent pulling in the same direction. The second-period finish came during a sequence that started with Montana Onyebuchi and ended with Joshua Roy getting the puck into the right spot, a glimpse of the kind of connection Tucson has been trying to build around its rookies and depth players.
For a club sitting third in the Pacific Division, production from a first-round pick is the sort of development that matters beyond one box score. Iginlas breakthrough adds another encouraging note to a Roadrunners group that keeps finding contributions from up and down the lineup, and it gives the organization a little more reason to pay attention every time Tucson hits the ice. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Needs A Response Fast After A Frustrating Step Back
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The bigger concern is not just the result, but the way Utah has had to chase games instead of dictating them. They will need more from their offense to take advantage of a Penguins team that does not project as sturdy on either side of the puck, and the expectation is that Utahs stronger overall game should give it a real chance to bounce back. [Read more 🡒]