Game Preview- Tucson Roadrunners at Ontario Reign
Published on February 3, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release
Ontario, CA - The Tucson Roadrunners (19-15-8-0) kick off a five-game road trip with a midweek matchup against the Ontario Reign (28-14-1-1) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. AZT at Toyota Arena.
Wednesday marks the third meeting of the season between the Pacific Division rivals and the first since the Roadrunners earned a series split in Ontario during the opening weekend of the season. In the opener on Oct. 10, Kevin Rooney tied the game with 22 seconds remaining before Sammy Walker scored the game-winner in overtime to lift Tucson to a 5-4 victory. The Reign responded two nights later, scoring three unanswered goals to erase an early deficit in a 4-2 win on Oct. 12.
Ontario will visit Tucson Arena for the first time this season on Feb. 21-22, marking the Roadrunners' lone two home games in February.
Both teams enter Wednesday looking to snap two-game losing streaks. The Reign are coming off back-to-back losses to Southern California rivals, falling 4-3 to the San Diego Gulls on Saturday and 5-1 to the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Sunday. The Roadrunners are looking to rebound from a pair of one-goal losses at home against the Colorado Eagles, including a 2-1 overtime defeat in Saturday's series finale.
Despite the setbacks, Tucson holds the final playoff spot in the Pacific, sitting seventh with 46 points, three points ahead of the eighth-place Henderson Silver Knights. Ontario is second in the division with 58 points, two points behind first-place Colorado.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
ROAD WARRIORS
Wednesday's matchup at Ontario opens not only a five-game road trip, but also a road-heavy stretch of Tucson's schedule. Seven of the Roadrunners' nine games in February will be played away from home, and 20 of the team's final 30 regular-season contests will come on the road. Tucson has found success away from Tucson Arena, going 4-1-0-0 in its last five road games and 8-6-2-0 overall this season. The Roadrunners are also 1-1-0-0 at Toyota Arena so far in 2025-26.
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Assistant captains Ben McCartney and Andrew Agozzino scored Tucson's lone goals in the series finale against Colorado, extending both veterans' recent hot streaks
McCartney has scored in back-to-back games and has four goals and eight points over his last seven contests. Agozzino has five goals and six points in his last seven games and is nearing a pair of career milestones, needing two goals to reach 275 and 10 points to reach 650.
McCartney is also closing in on notable career and franchise marks. With a team-high 18 goals, he is one goal shy of setting a new career high for goals in a season and needs two power-play goals to tie Michael Bunting for second all-time in franchise history (23).
SECOND PERIOD SCORING
Tucson has controlled the middle frame, outscoring opponents 9-1 in the second period over its last six games dating back to Jan. 21 against San Diego. The Roadrunners have scored in the second period in four consecutive games.
On the season, Tucson has totaled 46 second-period goals, the third-most in the Pacific Division and one behind Ontario (47) and San Jose (47). The Roadrunners' plus-10 goal differential in the second period ranks second in the division, trailing only Ontario (+13).
NUMBERS TO KNOW:
.6538 - Tucson went 7-3-3-0 in January, posting a .6538 winning percentage that ranked third in the Pacific Division behind Bakersfield (.7857) and Ontario (.7692). The Roadrunners have earned at least one point in 13 of their last 16 games (9-3-4-0) dating back to Dec. 27 against Calgary.
WE'RE DOING IT LIVE
Wednesday's game will be streamed on AHLtv on FloHockey. Fans can also listen live on FOX Sports 1450 AM and the iHeartRadio app. Coverage begins at 7:45 p.m. AZT with Roadrunners Warm-Up hosted by David Mooradian.
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