The Tucson Roadrunners are bringing a franchise-best point streak into the weekend and they’ll try to keep it moving when the Texas Stars come to Tucson Arena for a two-game set Saturday and Sunday.
Tucson is 9-2-2-0 and has been perfect so far on its current four-game homestand, taking both games from the Coachella Valley Firebirds last weekend. The finish came in dramatic fashion Saturday, when Zac Jones scored in overtime to seal a 3-2 win.
Jones was recalled to the Utah Mammoth on Monday, and at the time of that move he led Tucson defensemen in goals (3), assists (8) and points (11), while also pacing the team in power-play assists with five. He was tied for sixth among AHL defensemen in scoring.
That overtime win also pushed Tucson into the record book. The Roadrunners have now collected points in 11 straight games, going 9-0-2-0 since Oct. 9 at San Jose.
It’s the longest point streak any AHL team has put together this season, and it has also fueled a six-game winning streak that matches the longest active run in the league. If Tucson sweeps Texas, both streaks grow longer, and the club would move within one win of matching its franchise-best eight-game winning streak from Dec.
3-21, 2019. Three of Tucson’s last four games have been decided by a single goal, a sign of how tight things have been lately.
Texas arrives still hunting its first road win of the year at 0-6-1. The Stars opened the season 2-7-1-1, but they’ve steadied a bit since then, splitting their last four games and coming off a 2-1 win over the Manitoba Moose on Wednesday.
The two teams sit on opposite ends of their division standings. Tucson leads the Pacific Division, while Texas is at the bottom of the Central Division.
This weekend’s series is the first two of four meetings between the clubs and the first of eight games Tucson will play this season against opponents from outside the Pacific Division. The teams will finish their season series in just 10 days, when the Roadrunners head to the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park for games Nov.
24-25. It also marks Texas’ first trip to Tucson Arena since 2024.
Tucson’s offense has been humming all season, and the numbers back it up. The Roadrunners are averaging 3.31 goals per game, good for fourth in the Western Conference and seventh in the AHL.
They’ve also been piling up chances, ranking second in the West and sixth in the league with 30.85 shots per game. Tucson has put at least 30 shots on goal in eight straight games, a stretch that began Oct. 17 against San Diego.
The challenge for Texas gets even steeper when you look at Tucson’s work on the other end. The Roadrunners are tied for fourth in the AHL in goals allowed per game at 2.15, and they’ve been even tighter over the last seven games, allowing just 1.85 goals per game since Oct. 23 at Henderson. In that span, Tucson has given up two goals or fewer six times.
Cameron Hebig has been at the center of plenty of that momentum. The assistant captain enters the weekend tied for second in the AHL with a team-high 10 goals. Over his last seven games dating back to Oct. 23 at Henderson, he has scored eight goals and totaled 11 points, tying for the second-most goals and ranking third in points in the league during that stretch.
There’s more than just scoring behind Tucson’s start. Jaxson Stauber and Michael Hrabal have combined for a .922 save percentage, which ranks third in the AHL.
Only the Manitoba Moose at .923 and Henderson Silver Knights at .934 are higher. The Roadrunners’ home penalty kill is also clicking at 92.0%, second-best in the league, while their overall penalty kill sits 10th at 85.0%.
A couple of milestones are also within reach. Kevin Rooney is one game away from his 300th career AHL appearance, and Hebig is two goals shy of 100 in a Roadrunners sweater.
In Other News...
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Former Coyotes Core Suddenly Leaves Utah With A Top Six Problem
Utahs forward depth took another hit this week, and the ripple effect matters for anyone still tracking the old Coyotes core now wearing Mammoth sweaters. Dylan Guenther was moved to injured reserve with an upper-body injury, while Nate Schmidt also landed on IR and Kailer Yamamoto was activated after getting past his own upper-body issue. It is the kind of roster shuffle that can quickly change the look of a lineup, especially for a team still trying to find its rhythm after a busy stretch of personnel moves.
Logan Cooley adds to the concern, as he is currently day-to-day with an upper-body injury, leaving Utah to patch together its top six in the short term. To help cover the gaps, the club recalled Danil But from the AHL, giving the Mammoth another option while they wait for bodies to return. For a group that has leaned on young skill up front, the timing is less than ideal and the next few games could force some different combinations than Utah likely envisioned. [Read more 🡒]