Game Preview- Tucson Roadrunners at San Diego Gulls
AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Game Preview- Tucson Roadrunners at San Diego Gulls

Published on February 24, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


San Diego, CA - The Tucson Roadrunners (22-19-8-0) open a six-game road trip on Wednesday against the San Diego Gulls (23-16-6-4) at Pechanga Arena.

The matchup marks the sixth of eight meetings between the I-8 rivals this season and just the second in San Diego. Tucson won the most recent meeting 4-3 in a shootout on Jan. 28 in San Diego, as goaltender Matthew Villalta stopped nine of the Gulls' 10 shootout attempts. The win snapped a four-game losing streak against the Gulls and improved the Roadrunners' season-series record to 1-2-2-0.

Wednesday presents an opportunity for both clubs to regain momentum, as each has dropped three of its last four games. Tucson enters the game following back-to-back losses to Pacific Division-leading Ontario over the weekend, while San Diego is coming off a road series split at Rockford.

The game carries significant playoff implications, with sixth-place San Diego sitting four points ahead of seventh-place Tucson. A regulation win would cut the Gulls' lead in half and pull the Roadrunners within striking distance with 22 games remaining for both clubs.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

ROAD WARRIORS

After a home-heavy first half of the season, Tucson begins its longest road trip of the year and continues a road-dominant stretch to close the regular season. Twenty of the Roadrunners' final 30 games will be played away from home, including seven of the team's nine February contests, and 15 of their final 25 overall.

Tucson has embraced the road, winning three of its last four away games dating back to Feb. 6 at Calgary and five of its last seven since Jan. 25 at Henderson. The Roadrunners are also 7-3-0-0 in their last 10 road games, dating back to Jan. 2 at Calgary.

CAPTAIN & CREW

Captain Austin Poganski and defenseman Scott Perunovich both enter the night with goals in back-to-back games.

Perunovich, who leads Roadrunners defensemen in points (31) and the team in assists (27), also carries a season-best four-game point streak dating back to Jan. 31 vs. Colorado, totaling four points (2g, 2a) during the stretch.

Poganski, meanwhile, sits one goal shy of matching his career high for goals in a season (15, set in 2024-25) and has six points (3g, 3a) in his last six games dating back to Feb. 6 at Calgary.

ROONEY ROLLING

Another veteran driving Tucson's offense is forward Kevin Rooney, who has scored in every other game dating back to Jan. 10 vs. Iowa, totaling five goals and eight points over his last nine games.

Rooney also found the net in Tucson's most recent game on Sunday, scoring his first short-handed goal of the season. He now has six points (3g, 3a) in his last five games dating back to Feb. 7 at Calgary. With the short-handed tally, Rooney joined Ben McCartney as the only Roadrunners to record a short-handed goal this season, with McCartney leading the team with two.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

24.2% - Tucson's road power play ranks 3rd in the Pacific and 7th in the AHL, slightly above the team's season average of 20.8% (5th in the Pacific, 10th in the AHL).

The Roadrunners will look to get their special teams back on track after going scoreless on the power play in their last two road games, snapping a streak of five consecutive road games with a power-play goal from Jan. 25 - Feb. 7, during which Tucson tallied eight power-play goals and ranked third in the league (26.7%).

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.

Check out the Tucson Roadrunners Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from February 24, 2026


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