Rooney Scores Twice, But Roadrunners Fall 5-3 to San Diego
AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Rooney Scores Twice, But Roadrunners Fall 5-3 to San Diego

Published on November 27, 2025 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Tucson, AZ - The Roadrunners (7-8-2-0) erased an early two-goal deficit and tied the game in the third period, but Tucson's comeback bid came up short in a 5-3 loss to the San Diego Gulls (7-5-5-0) on Wednesday at Tucson Arena.

San Diego opened the scoring and led 2-0 after the first period before Tucson's Kevin Rooney struck twice in a 7:03 span to even the score midway through the second. Sam Colangelo restored the Gulls' lead with five minutes left in the frame to send San Diego into the third ahead 3-2.

The Roadrunners responded once again, and assistant captain Ben McCartney made it 3-3 with 7:36 remaining in regulation.

The game seemed destined for overtime, but Stian Solberg's go-ahead goal with 1:26 left put the Gulls back in front, and Tim Washe sealed the win with an empty-net tally in the final seconds.

NOTABLES

Roadrunners rookie Terrell Goldsmith made his AHL debut and recorded two shots on goal and a plus-one rating.

Kevin Rooney skated in his 250th career AHL games and is now one point shy from 100 career AHL points.

With his goal, Ben McCartney tied Lane Pederson for 4th all-time in franchise history (124).

With his assist, Cameron Hebig inched closer to a pair of franchise milestones. He now needs three assists to tie Robbie Russo for 4th all-time in franchise history (80) and three points to tie Michael Carcone for 2nd all-time in franchise history (151).

With an assit on Kevin Rooney's first goal, rookie Daniil But has a team-high 10 points (5g, 5a) in his last nine games dating back to 11/1 at Iowa.

The Roadrunners set a new season high in shots on goal for the second straight game with 42. In the team's previous outing, Tucson had a then-season-high 37 shots on goal against Colorado on 11/23.

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST PERIOD

Defense ruled the opening half of the period, with each team registering just one shot on goal through the first 7:40. Tucson generated the first quality chance shortly after when Andrew Agozzino found Michal Kunc alone in the slot, but Kunc's bid sailed just wide.

San Diego capitalized on its first look of the night at 12:11, as Tristan Luneau beat Jaxson Stauber with a wrist shot to put the Gulls ahead 1-0. On the ensuing shift, Cameron Hebig carried the puck through the neutral zone and into the left circle, but goaltender Vyacheslav Buteyets turned aside his attempt with a glove save.

Hebig threatened again with just over three minutes remaining, bursting into the Gulls' zone with speed and gaining a step on a defender, but his shot rolled wide as he was tripped up while releasing it.

San Diego doubled its lead in the final minute when Sasha Pastujov fed Jan Myšák for a backdoor tap-in on a two-on-one to give the Gulls a 2-0 advantage at the break.

SECOND PERIOD

Tucson controlled possession early in the frame, and Kevin Rooney put the Roadrunners on the board with a quick wrister from the slot to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 6:54.

Just over a minute later, Sammy Walker was whistled for tripping, giving San Diego the game's first power play. Stauber was Tucson's biggest penalty killer and turned away back-to-back chances from Matthew Phillips and a point-blank slap shot from Yegor Sidorov to kill off the man advantage and keep the Roadrunners within one.

Stauber's strong play provided a spark, and Rooney delivered again with his second of the period -another wrister, this time from the right circle - to tie the game 2-2 at 13:57.

San Diego answered quickly. On the next shift, Sam Colangelo broke free on a breakaway and slipped the puck past Stauber to put the Gulls back in front 3-2 at 15:01, a lead they carried into the second intermission.

THIRD PERIOD

Tucson controlled the opening half of the third and outshot San Diego 9-3 through the first 12 minutes.

The pressure paid off when Ben McCartney evened the score 3-3 with a wrister from the high slot at 12:24.

However, with just 1:26 remaining, Stian Solberg broke the tie with a shot into the top-left corner to put San Diego back in front 4-3.

UP NEXT

Tucson's homestand continues with a Black Friday matchup against the Abbotsford Canucks at 3 p.m. AZT at Tucson Arena. Fans can listen live on FOX Sports 1450 AM and the iHeartRadio app and watch on AHLtv on FloHockey.

Check out the Tucson Roadrunners Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from November 27, 2025


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