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Tucson Roadrunners

Roadrunners Roll 3-2 Past Ontario

February 18, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Tucson Roadrunners on game night
Tucson Roadrunners on game night
(Tucson Roadrunners, Credit: Lucas Ault, Tucson Roadrunners)

TUCSON, AZ - Fortunately, it was a hockey game and not a golf tournament as the Tucson Roadrunners defeated the Ontario Reign 3-2 on Saturday night to improve to 29-15-2-1 on the year from the Tucson Arena.

Saturday night was a lot more favorable for the home Roadrunners, wearing their black Kachina jerseys, as they defeated the Ontario Reign 3-2 despite getting outshot 38-32 on the night. The 0-0 tie was broken up at the 7:26 mark of the first frame as John Leonard would rip one past the Ontario goalie and score on the power-play for the Roadrunners. Leonard picked up his 10th goal of the season and was assisted by Josh Doan and Steven Kampfer. Tucson netminder Dylan Wells was fantastic in the first period, and throughout the night, making 10 saves in the first, 13 in the second and 13 in the third.

Another power-play goal for the Roadrunners would come in the first minute of the second period. This time it was team points leader Josh Doan scoring for the good guys and tallying his 21st goal of the year. Doan was assisted by Steven Kampfer and Austin Poganski on the play. Steven Kampfer, Captain of the Roadrunners, picked up his second point on the night on Doan's power-play goal. Tucson would keep the two-goal lead for most of the second period until the 17:29 mark. At that point it was Nathan Smith who would light the lamp for the Roadrunners, extending the lead to three. Smith was assisted by Josh Doan and Patrik Koch. Doan recorded his first three-point night of the season.

Tucson would maintain the three-goal lead for the first 14 and a half minutes of the third before Ontario would show some offense and score their first of the night on a 5-on-3 power-play. With the one-man advantage, just over a minute later, Ontario would cut the Tucson lead to one making it a 3-2 game. The final four and half minutes would be nerve racking for the Tucson faithful, but the team, fueled by the crowd, would hold off the Reign and secure the 3-2 victory.

"It was a good bounce back; it was not what we wanted to see yesterday, and the bounce back today shows the character of our group. I thought we did a really good job after the game (Friday night) turning the page and preparing for tonight. Our special teams are so important in this league and getting two goals against a team like this was huge," said Forward Austin Poganski following Tucson's 3-2 win on Saturday night.

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Images from this story

Tucson Roadrunners on game night
Tucson Roadrunners on game night
(Lucas Ault, Tucson Roadrunners)		   

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