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AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Tucson Roadrunners Road Ahead: Roadrunning to the Windy City

February 21, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Upcoming Games (All times MST)

Saturday, February 25: Tucson at Chicago, 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, February 26: Tucson at Chicago, 2:00 p.m.

Who's On The Schedule

The Tucson Roadrunners head back out on the road for a two-game weekend series Saturday and Sunday against the Chicago Wolves, AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes. The Roadrunners previously hosted the defending Calder Cup Champions at the Tucson Arena January 24 and 25, as they won both games on their home ice by multiple goals. The weekend set represents the final two meetings between Tucson and Chicago on the year, and the first of three season series against AHL Central Division opponents (Milwaukee Admirals, Texas Stars) to conclude for the Roadrunners.

Home Ice Advantage

The Roadrunners are coming off of a two-game series sweep of the Henderson Silver Knights at the Tucson Arena Saturday and Sunday with back-to-back 3-2 victories. The Roadrunners lit the lamp in all six periods of play with six different goal scorers, while overcoming deficits of 1-0 on Saturday and 2-0 on Sunday. Ivan Prosvetov started in goal both nights for Tucson and earned his 14th and 15th wins of the season with an overall save percentage of .932 (55/59) and just four total goals allowed. The Roadrunners also took a four to three lead in the season series against the AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, with their eighth and final meeting of the season scheduled for Wednesday, April 5 in Henderson.

Fun Weekend For The Kids

The two-game series from the Tucson Arena saw the Roadrunners celebrate Kids Weekend with a pair of 3-2 wins. Saturday's series opener with 5,071 fans in attendance featured a White Kachina Youth Jersey Giveaway courtesy of DentalPros for the first 1,000 Kids 12 and under, while Sunday saw all Kids 12 and under admitted for free with a paying adult at the Tucson Arena Box Office. Kids also received free Roadrunners Workbooks courtesy of Stantec, with Tucson Captain Adam Cracknell delivering hints and tips for completing items in the workbook through in-game video messages. The weekend was capped off by a Postgame Open Skate featuring several Roadrunners players including forward Hudson Elynuik who scored the game-winning goal on Sunday late in regulation, as well as Devante Stephens (1g), Adam Cracknell (1g 2a), Ben McCartney (1g) and Curtis Douglas.

See You Next Month

The Roadrunners will be back home at the Tucson Arena to open the month of March with a pair of games against the San Diego Gulls Friday, March 3 and Saturday, March 4. The series marks the final trip to Tucson for the AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, with the Roadrunners currently ahead in the season series three games to two. The series opener is the second El Lazo de Tucson Night of 2022-2023, with the Roadrunners set to wear their alternate El Lazo jerseys. The game will also feature Dusty's Cheering Section, which includes one ticket, a Roadrunners Rally Towel, and a pregame edition of Roadrunners Hockey Rules for the first time hockey fan. The following night is Tucson's Hockey Is For Everyone Game Presented by O'Rielly Chevrolet, featuring the second pregame Hockey and Hops event of the season. In addition, the first 250 kids in attendance who arrive wearing a hockey jersey of their favorite team (real like the Roadrunners or Arizona Coyotes, fictional like the Mighty Ducks, or even their JR Roadrunners jersey) will receive a pair of Kids tickets to a future Roadrunners game in partnership with 96.1 KLPX, 94.9 MIX FM, and 102.1 KFMA. For more information on the weekend and to purchase tickets, visit TucsonRoadrunners.com/Fun.

Carcone Catches Himself

Forward Mike Carcone matched his own Roadrunners franchise record on Sunday against the Henderson Silver Knights when he lit the lamp for the 24th time this season. Carcone previously set the team record in 2021-2022 with 24 goals in 48 outings and is on pace to lead the Roadrunners in goals for the third-straight season since joining the organization prior to the 2020-2021 campaign. His score on Sunday came while on the man-advantage for his league-leading 12th power-play goal of year, bringing him to within one of matching the Roadrunners single-season franchise mark of 13, which was set by Brayden Burke in 2019-2020.

Cracknell Loves The Crowd

Roadrunners Captain Adam Cracknell notched a goal and two assists over the weekend at the Tucson Arena, extending his active scoring streak on home ice to six games. Cracknell fired in the eventual game-winning goal in Saturday's series opener and recorded the primary assist on Sunday's game-winning score by linemate Hudson Elynuik. The 37-year-old and first-year Roadrunner has amassed ten points (3g 7a) over his last six home outings and is currently fourth on the team in total scoring with 37 points (16g 21a) in 45 appearances. He also appeared in video messages for fans during Sunday's Kids Day Presented by Stantec and participated in the Postgame Open Skate.

Special-Teams Showcase

Tucson kept up an impressive stretch of special-teams play over the weekend against Henderson, highlighted by a pair of power-play goals against the eighth-best penalty-kill in the AHL. The Roadrunners were two-for-five overall on the man-advantage for a power-play percentage of 40%, with the goals coming from Ben McCartney on Saturday and Mike Carcone on Sunday. Tucson also allowed just one power-play goal by the Silver Knights to improve to 57-for-63 on the penalty-kill over their last 19 games for a penalty-kill percentage of 90.4%, which would lead the league by over four percent. After the weekend, the Roadrunners have netted five power-play goals in their last five home contests, with six in their last seven games at the Tucson Arena overall.

Did You Know?

Five of the six total goals netted by the Roadrunners in the weekend series against Henderson featured at least one Tucson defenseman factoring into the score. Devante Stephens was the first Roadrunner to light the lamp in Saturday's series opener when his second goal of the season tied the contest at 1-1 midway through the first period. Second-year blue-liner Vlad Kolyachonok assisted on Tucson's final two goals Saturday and finished the weekend with three assists, which was tied with forward Adam Cracknell for the team lead in scoring. Ronald Knot (1a) and Cam Dineen (1a) also contributed to the Roadrunners offense as they swept the Silver Knights at the Tucson Arena.

On The Air

Tucson Roadrunners Happy Hour airs every Tuesday at 5 p.m. on FOX Sports 1450AM and the iHeartRadio app, with a podcast version also available after each episode on the iHeartRadio app. This week, co-hosts Adrian Denny, Brett Fera and Kim Cota-Robles will be joined by forward Milos Kelemen during the Roadrunners practice week before heading back on the road Saturday. In addition, a new episode of the Tucson Roadrunners Insider Podcast released on Sunday night, as "Voice of the Roadrunners" Adrian Denny and TucsonRoadrunners.com's Jimmy Peebles broke down the weekend series with the Henderson Silver Knights and checked in on the Arizona Coyotes. The podcast, which includes clips from forward Mike Carcone and goaltender Ivan Prosvetov, can be found on the iHeartRadio App.

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