Series Preview- Tucson Roadrunners vs Calgary Wranglers
AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Series Preview- Tucson Roadrunners vs Calgary Wranglers

Published on October 17, 2025 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 18 at 7:00 p.m. AZT, Tucson Arena, Tucson, Arizona

Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 19 at 4:00 p.m. AZT, Tucson Arena, Tucson, Arizona

Broadcast Info

Saturday: LISTEN LIVE HERE or on Fox Sports 1450AM | WATCH on AHLtv on Flo Hockey

Sunday: LISTEN LIVE HERE or on Tejano 1600 AM | WATCH on AHLtv on Flo Hockey

Officials

Friday - Referees: #41 Graedy Hamilton, #13 Taylor Burzminski | Linespeople: #32 Robert Fay, #35 Andrew Leonardo

Sunday - Referees: #41 Graedy Hamilton, #13 Taylor Burzminski | Linespeople: #54 Anthony Caruso, #76 Gabe Lomen

Tucson, AZ - The puck dropped on the Tucson Roadrunners' 10th Anniversary season last weekend against Pacific Division rival Ontario Reign. Tucson split the season-opening two-game series with a thrilling 5-4 overtime comeback win Friday, followed by a 4-2 loss in Game 2 on Sunday.

Now back home, the Roadrunners will face off in front of their fans for the first time in 2025-26 against another Pacific Division foe, the Calgary Wranglers, to open a six-game homestand at Tucson Arena. This weekend's two-game set marks the first of eight meetings between the clubs this season. Calgary held the upper hand in 2024-25 with a 5-3-0 record across eight matchups, but Tucson defended home ice by winning three of four contests against the Wranglers in the desert. The Roadrunners look to continue that trend starting with Saturday's home opener.

The two teams enter the weekend matchup coming off a loss. Tucson earned an early-season split against Ontario, while Calgary was swept by the reigning Pacific Division Champion Colorado Eagles, falling 7-4 and 1-0.

Last season, Roadrunners forward Kailer Yamamoto led the team in scoring versus Calgary with seven points (1g, 6a). Just behind him were captain Austin Poganski, who tallied six points (2g, 4a), and assistant captain Cameron Hebig, who also recorded six points and a team-high five goals against the Wranglers.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

Sizzling Starts

For the fourth time in franchise history, the Tucson Roadrunners opened the scoring in back-to-back games to start a season - the first time since the 2023-24 campaign against Texas. Roadrunners assistant captain Ben McCartney found the net just 35 seconds into Friday night's opener, while offseason acquisition Kevin Rooney added a backdoor goal midway through the first period on Sunday. Last season, Tucson ranked first in the Western Conference and second in the AHL in first-period goals (80), trailing only the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (91).

A Familiar face

Calgary Wranglers goaltender Ivan Prosvetov returns to Tucson Arena this weekend to face his former team. The 26-year-old from Moskva, Russia, was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft and spent four seasons between Arizona and Tucson from 2019 to 2023.

Prosvetov was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Avalanche on October 9, 2023, and split last season between the Avalanche and their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. He then returned to Russia to join CSKA Moskva of the KHL before signing a one-year contract with the Calgary Flames on July 1, 2025. After being placed on waivers by Calgary on October 2, he cleared and reported to the Wranglers.

In 147 career AHL games with Tucson, Colorado, and Calgary, Prosvetov owns a 65-62-12 record with a 3.18 goals-against average, a .898 save percentage, and six shutouts. Current Roadrunners Matthew Villalta, McCartney and Hebig were teammates with Prosvetov during his final season in Tucson in 2022-23.

Paying Off

Tucson's free-agent acquisition of forward Kevin Rooney from the Calgary Flames and last season's pickup Sammy Walker (who resigned this summer) have already proven to be key additions - a fact that showed in the Roadrunners' come-from-behind win Friday night against Ontario.

Rooney tied the game at 4-4 with a clutch power-play goal, beating goaltender Erik Portillo on the blocker side with just 38 seconds remaining in regulation. Then it was "Mr. Minnesota" Sammy Walker who sealed the victory, scoring the overtime winner off his own rebound to give Tucson its first win of the season.

Walker leads the team in points (4) through two games and is tied with Rooney for the team lead in goals (2).

Numbers to Know:

39 - Tucson's No. 39, Cameron Hebig, is closing in on several career milestones that could be reached this weekend or during the Roadrunners' six-game homestand. "The Mayor of Tucson" needs two assists to tie Jan Jeník for fifth all-time in franchise history (74) and is six helpers shy of 100 career AHL assists. Hebig also sits six goals away from tying Michael Carcone for second all-time in team history (70). A double hat trick this weekend?

WE'RE DOING IT LIVE

Both games this weekend will be streamed on AHLtv on FloHockey. Fans can listen to Saturday's games live on FOX Sports 1450 AM and the iHeartRadio app and Sunday's matchup will be broadcast on KXEW 1600 AM and the iHeartRadio app.

Saturday's coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. with Roadrunners Warm-Up hosted by David Mooradian. Sunday's broadcast starts at 3:45 p.m. ahead of puck drop.

Check out the Tucson Roadrunners Statistics

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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