Preview - Game #3: Tucson Roadrunners (1-1-0-0) vs Texas Stars (1-1-0-0)

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AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Preview - Game #3: Tucson Roadrunners (1-1-0-0) vs Texas Stars (1-1-0-0)

October 19, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Game #3: Tucson Roadrunners (1-1-0-0) vs Texas Stars (1-1-0-0)

Time: 7:00 p.m. MST, Tucson Arena, Tucson, AZ

Join us at 4 p.m. for our Player Red Carpet Walk and Tailgate Party on the plaza, which will include music with food and drinks available.

Referees: #44 Alex Lepkowski, #70 Ben Betker

Linespersons: #62 Mitch Hunt, #54 Anthony Caruso

Hockey is back in the desert. The Tucson Roadrunners host the Texas Stars for its home opener of the 2024-25 season on Saturday, October 19 at 7 p.m. MST. The Roadrunners look to win its second game in a row after its 4-2 victory over the Colorado Eagles last Saturday. Forward Aku Raty scored two goals in the game, and forwards Andrew Agozzino and Egor Sokolov contributed with one goal and one assist in the team's opening series.

The Texas Stars also split its first series of the year against the Henderson Silver Knights and look to avoid a second-consecutive loss after a 5-4 defeat in game two. Tucson swept all four games against the Stars last season and has not lost to Texas since its 5-4 overtime loss on April 8, 2023.

Three things: Six different Roadrunners registered two points in their first two games against Colorado. In addition to the aforementioned Raty, Agozzino, and Sokolov, forward Milos Kelemen and rookies Julian Lutz and Artem Duda each had two assists. Lutz earned the second star of the game in Saturday's victory after he set up forward Ben McCartney's first-period goal and Agozzino's third-period goal, which put Tucson ahead 3-1. Duda recorded an assist in both games and displayed even more confidence in game two. After having no shots on Friday, the Russian defenseman had four shots on goal on Saturday, which was the second-highest on the team behind Assistant Captain Travis Barron. Both rookies are off to a strong start, averaging a point per game in their first season of professional hockey in North America.

Tucson was expected to have one of the deeper goaltending tandems in the AHL coming into the season with the return of Matthew Villalta and the addition of Jaxson Stauber from the Rockford IceHogs. Roadrunners coach Steve Potvin started both goalies in the Colorado series, with Villalta taking the net on Friday and Stauber on Saturday. Despite taking the loss in game one, Villalta made several acrobatic saves, including his robbery of Colorado captain Jayson Megna on an odd-man rush to start the second period. His 22 stops kept Tucson in the game. The Roadrunners had fewer giveaways in game two, so Stauber didn't have to make as many breakaways or two-on-one saves. But he faced a higher volume of shots and made 33 saves, including 19 in the third period, to earn his first win as a Roadrunner.

Texas dropped its last game on Saturday despite scoring four goals on 47 shots. The Stars also scored four goals on just 22 shots in its 4-3 victory over Henderson on Friday. That gives Texas eight goals for the season, which have been scored by eight different goal scorers. Forward Justin Hryckowian leads the team in points with three from one goal and two assists. He has already matched his regular season points total from last season (three points in 12 games) in just the first two games. The former Northeastern University captain joined the Stars last Spring after the end of the college season and played in 12 regular season games down the stretch for the Stars and seven games in the Calder Cup Playoffs. The 5-foot-10, 194-pound rookie excelled in the postseason, tallying four points on two goals and two assists.

What's the word?

"Potzi (Roadrunners coach Steve Potvin) said we're a group, but we want to come together as a team. It's important to have everyone pulling on the same rope and gelling together. That's how you're going to have a successful season."

Tucson forward Cameron Hebig on the importance of team bonding

Number to Know:

33.3 - Tucson's 33.3% success rate on the power play is the best percentage in the Pacific Division and is tied for the third-highest in the AHL behind the Toronto Marlies (60%) and Lehigh Valley Phantoms (37.5%). Four of the Roadrunners' five goals this season were scored on the man advantage, which is tied for the most power-play goals in the AHL with the Hershey Bears. After going 1-for-7 on the power play in the season opener, Tucson went 3-for-5 on Saturday. The penalty kill unit has also been a strength, killing 12-of-14 power plays (85.7%) through the first two games.

We're Doing It Live

Saturday's game will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1450AM and the iHeartRadio app. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. with Roadrunners Warm-Up, hosted by "Voice of the Roadrunners" Jonathon Schaffer, who has all of the action from Tucson Arena. The game can also be seen on AHLtv now on Flo Hockey.

Check out the Tucson Roadrunners Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from October 19, 2024


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