Tucson Sweeps Manitoba, Wins Fourth Straight Behind Poganski's Two Goals
AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Tucson Sweeps Manitoba, Wins Fourth Straight Behind Poganski's Two Goals

Published on March 24, 2026 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Winnipeg, MB - The Tucson Roadrunners (29-23-9-0) extended its winning streak to four games and completed the series sweep over the Manitoba Moose (29-24-5-1) with a 4-1 win on Monday at Canada Life Centre.

Tucson overcame an early deficit with four unanswered goals, led by a two-goal performance from Austin Poganski. He tied the game just three minutes after Manitoba opened the scoring, then netted the eventual game-winner on the power play 53 seconds into the second period.

Scott Perunovich doubled Tucson's lead midway through the second period, and finished with a goal and an assist for a two-point night. Andrew Agozzino also recorded a multi-point night with two assists, both coming on Poganski's goals.

Six Roadrunners recorded at least one point in the victory. Julian Lutz scored his fifth goal of the season at 5:48 of the third period to extend the lead to 4-1. The rookie trio of Daniil But, Owen Allard and Dmitri Simashev each tallied an assist, while Robbie Russo and Michal Kunc also contributed helpers.

Goaltender Matthew Villalta stopped 20 of 21 shots to earn his second consecutive win and 16th of the season.

With the win, Tucson remains in eighth place in the Pacific Division with 67 points, now three points behind San Diego for the final playoff spot.

Monday's victory marked the final meeting of the season between the two teams, with Tucson and Manitoba splitting the series 2-2-0-0 - each winning both games on the road.

TEAM NOTES

For the second game in a row, the Roadrunners scored its fastest goal of the season to begin a second or third period this season after Austin Poganski scored on the power play at 0:53 of the second period. The previous fastest was Daniil But's power-play goal at 0:59 of the second period at Manitoba on Mar. 21.

Tucson has scored four or more goals in each of its last five games, dating back to March 11 vs. Henderson, totaling 25 goals (5.00 per game) over that span.

The Roadrunners are now 12-6-0-0 in their last 18 road games, dating back to 1/2 at CGY, and 16-11-2-0 overall this season.

Tucson is 9-0-0-0 when leading after two periods on the road (15-0-3-0 overall).

The Roadrunners are 10-0-1-0 when scoring four or more goals on the road (20-0-3-0 overall).

Tucson is 8-3-1-0 in Game 2's on the road.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Monday's victory was Matthew Villalta's 65th as a Roadrunner, one shy of tying Adin Hill for first all-time in franchise history (66). It also marked his 125th game with Tucson, tying Ivan Prosvetov for second all-time in franchise history.

Austin Poganski recorded his second multi-goal game of the season and team-high 13th multi-point game after scoring his 19th and 20th goal of the season. He also tallied the game-winning goal for the second game in a row and now leads Tucson with four.

Monday's pair of goals extended Poganski's point streak to a season-high five games, dating back to Mar. 11 vs HSK, tallying nine points (6g, 3a) in that span. He has both found the back of the net and recorded a multi-point game in four of his last five games.

Poganski's second-period power-play goal marked his fifth power-play tally of the season, tying his career high of five in a season (2023-24 Tucson; 2018-19 San Antonio).

Scott Perunovich recorded his 10th multi-point game of the season with a goal and an assist after tallying his team-high 33rd assist of the season on Austin Poganski's first-period goal, and his eighth goal of the season in the second period to put Tucson ahead 3-1.

Perunovich now sits two assists shy of tying Jamie McBain for the most in a single season by a Roadrunners defenseman (35 in 2016-2017) and two points shy of tying Kyle Wood and Jamie McBain for the most points by a Roadrunners defenseman in a single season (43).

Wednesday's performance also extended Perunovich's assist and point streak to three games, dating back to Mar. 15 vs SJ, tallying five points (1g, 4a) in that span.

Among all AHL defensemen, Perunovuch now ranks tied for fourth in assists (33) and fifth in points (41).

Andrew Agozzino recorded his 17th and 18th assist of the season on both of Austin Poganski's goals. His first helper marked the 375th assist of his AHL career.

Monday also marked Agozzino's eighth multi-point game and fourth multi-assist game of the season.

Agozzino also extended his point streak to a season-high five games, dating back to Mar. 11 vs HSK, tallying 11 points (5g, 6a) in that span. He has recorded a multi-point game in four of his last five games.

Daniil But recorded his 17th assist of the season after collecting the primary assist on Austin Poganski's second-period power-play goal. Monday's helper extended But's point streak to four games, dating back to Mar. 14 vs SJ, tied for his longest of the season, tallying nine points (4g, 5a) in that span.

With 16-17-33 in 34 games, But ranks third among qualifying AHL rookies in points-per-game (.97).

Dmitri Simashev tallied his 26th assist of the season on Julian Lutz's third-period goal to extend his assist streak to a team season-high five games, dating back to Mar. 11 vs HSK, tallying six assists in that span.

Among AHL rookie defensemen, Simashev ranks first in points-per-game (0.94), tied for second in assists (26) and third in points (34).

Robbie Russo recorded an assist for the second-straight game after tallying his ninth of the season on Scott Perunovich's second-period goal. He now has four assists in his last four games, dating back to Mar. 11 vs HSK.

(From left to right) Scott Perunovich, Austin Poganski, Dmitri Simashev, Andrew Agozzino and Daniil But combined for three goals and five assists for eight points in Tucson's 4-1 win over Manitoba on Monday. (Photo: Manitoba Moose)

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST PERIOD

Tucson fell behind 7:15 into the contest as Jaret Anderson-Dolan set up Danny Zhilkin with a dazzling backhand pass. Zhilkin fired a one-timer from inside the right faceoff circle that beat Matthew Villalta glove side to give Manitoba a 1-0 lead.

The goal capped a 5-1 shot advantage for the Moose through the opening five minutes. Despite the early pressure, Tucson responded with a strong penalty kill shortly after, not allowing a shot on Manitoba's power play.

The successful penalty kill gave Tucson a spark and Austin Poganski tied the game at 1-1 three minutes later, deflecting home a low shot-pass from Andrew Agozzino that beat Moose goaltender Domenic DiVincentiis high on the glove side.

Tucson returned to the penalty kill at 14:30 and successfully weathered the man advantage, allowing four shots but keeping the game even with help from Villalta.

The Roadrunners earned a power play at 19:06 and generated a pair of shots, both from Poganski, but DiVincentiis stood tall to keep it tied 1-1 after 20 minutes, with Manitoba holding a 13-8 edge in shots.

SECOND PERIOD

Tucson's late man advantage in the first period carried over into the second and Poganski scored his second goal of the game on the power play just 53 seconds into the middle frame. Poganski redirected Daniil But's slap shot from the top of the crease to give Tucson a 2-1 lead.

Tucson's penalty kill remained strong, denying Manitoba on another power play at 5:30 and holding the Moose without a shot for the second time in the game.

Following Poganski's goal, the Roadrunners controlled the pace, holding a 6-2 shot advantage early in the period and generating multiple Grade-A chances, though they were unable to extend the lead through the midway point.

However, Tucson's sustain pressured was too much for Manitoba and Scott Perunovich pushed the lead to 3-1 at 12:23. Robbie Russo and Owen Allard helped free a loose puck that found Perunovich, whose shot from along the goal line slipped through the pads of DiVincentiis.

Tucson continued to dictate play in the latter half of the period, outshooting Manitoba 9-4 in the period. The Moose were given another power-play opportunity, but the Roadrunners once again held them without a shot and carried a 3-1 lead into the third period.

THIRD PERIOD

The Roadrunners were unable to convert on the power play early in the final frame, but Julian Lutz extended Tucson's lead to 4-1 shortly after at 5:48. Lutz deflected Dmitri Simashev's shot from the left point past DiVincentiis to give the Roadrunners a three-goal cushion.

Tucson locked things down defensively from then on, allowing just three shots over the final 14 minutes to secure the 4-1 victory.

UP NEXT

The Roadrunners will return home to host the Ontario Reign in a two-game set on Friday and Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. AZT.

Fans can listen live on FOX Sports 1450 AM and the iHeartRadio app, watch on AHLtv on FloHockey and secure their seats online at Ticketmaster.com.

Check out the Tucson Roadrunners Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from March 24, 2026


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.

OurSports Central