The Tucson Roadrunners’ 2026-27 season opener started with energy, chances and a packed list of debuts. It ended with Colorado’s Ilya Nabokov standing in the way of everything.
The Roadrunners dropped a 2-0 decision to the Colorado Eagles on Saturday at Tucson Arena, with Nikita Prishchepov and Jake Wise scoring in a 2:54 stretch during the second period. Nabokov stopped all 32 shots he faced, turning Tucson’s home opener into a shutout loss.
Tucson dressed eight players for their AHL debuts: forwards Tij Iginla, Caleb Desnoyers, Yegor Borikov, Gabe Smith and Vadim Moroz, plus defensemen Gregor Biber, Tomas Lavoie and Cal Thomas. Rookie Michael Hrabal got the start in net and finished with 18 saves on 20 shots. Joshua Roy paced all skaters with four shots on goal.
It was a rough bit of history for the Roadrunners, too. Saturday marked the first time the franchise was shut out in a season opener, and only the second time Tucson has been blanked in a home opener. The other came in 2023-24 against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
Tucson came out with bite in the first period, even if the scoreboard never moved. The teams traded early power-play chances in the opening five minutes, but neither side cashed in. After the Roadrunners killed off Kevin Rooney’s hooking penalty, Vadim Moroz drove hard to the net from the left circle and tried to finish to the far side, only to be denied by Nabokov’s pad.
Cameron Hebig later nearly broke through after circling behind the Colorado net and firing a hard wrist shot, but Nabokov got a shoulder on it with just over seven minutes left in the period. A minute after that, Tomas Lavoie ripped a shot from the blue line through traffic that beat the goaltender cleanly - only to clang off the left post.
Tucson actually carried an 11-9 edge in shots through the opening 20 minutes and controlled a lot of the puck, but the game went to the first intermission tied 0-0.
The second period changed everything. Tucson killed an early Ben McCartney holding penalty, then got its own power play after Yanick Turcotte was called for tripping. Joshua Roy had a prime chance to open the scoring after a slick toe drag into space in the slot, but Nabokov turned aside the point-blank wrist shot eight minutes into the frame.
Colorado finally broke through just before the midway point. Prishchepov got loose on a breakaway and beat Hrabal five-hole at 9:20 to make it 1-0. Less than three minutes later, Wise added another, wiring a wrist shot from the top of the right circle past Hrabal at 12:17.
The Roadrunners pushed back, outshooting Colorado 7-2 the rest of the period, and Lavoie had another close-range chance from the slot. Still, Tucson went into the second intermission down 2-0 despite holding a 10-6 shot edge in the period and a 21-15 advantage overall.
The third period brought more pressure, more saves and no payoff. Colorado started the final frame on the power play and spent the early minutes in control, holding Tucson to just one shot on goal in the first 10 minutes. McCartney created one of Tucson’s better chances when he beat a pair of Colorado defenders to a loose puck in the Eagles’ zone, but the puck slid just beyond his reach before he could turn it into a breakaway.
Tucson got another power play after Tristen Nielsen was called for slashing and generated a few looks, but the chance was wiped away when Hebig went to the box for tripping with nine minutes left. Hrabal then delivered one of his best stops of the night, using the paddle to deny Christian Wolanin’s wraparound fake and short-side try.
Nabokov answered at the other end by robbing Austin Poganski on a Tucson shorthanded rush. Poganski had a second chance at his own rebound, but Nabokov sprawled out to keep him off the board.
With 3:30 left, Tucson pulled Hrabal for the extra attacker and tried to make one final push. Tij Iginla had a good look from just outside the crease with three minutes remaining, and Artem Duda fired a wrist shot from the right circle with 1:30 left, but Nabokov turned both away to finish the shutout.
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