Villalta Shines with 49 Saves as Roadrunners Fall 2-0 to Manitoba
AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Villalta Shines with 49 Saves as Roadrunners Fall 2-0 to Manitoba

Published on October 29, 2025 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Tucson, AZ - The Tucson Roadrunners opened the final series of their six-game homestand Tuesday night, falling 2-0 to the Manitoba Moose at Tucson Arena.

Goaltender Matthew Villalta was outstanding in net, stopping a career-high 49 shots-just one shy of the franchise record set by Marek Langhamer in 2017-and setting a new AHL season high for saves in a game.

After a scoreless first, Manitoba broke through in the second period when Samuel Fagemo capitalized on a power-play opportunity at 5:56 to make it 1-0. The Moose sealed the win late in regulation, as Jaret Anderson-Dolan found the empty net with just seconds remaining to give Manitoba a 2-0 victory.

Despite the result, Villalta's effort stood out as one of the top individual performances of the AHL season, surpassing Coachella Valley's Nikke Kokko for the league's single-game high in saves.

NOTABLES

Matthew Villalta Finished with 49 saves, the most by any AHL goaltender in a game this season.

He fell one save shy of tying the franchise record held by Marek Langhamer (50) vs. Ontario on March 11, 2017.

His 22 saves in the third period were the most by any AHL goaltender in a single period this season.

Villalta's 18 saves in the second period were the second-most by any AHL goaltender in a second period this year, trailing only Rockford's Stanislav Berezhnoy (19, Oct. 18).

Those 18 saves also rank as the fifth-most in any period by an AHL goaltender this season, behind his 22 in the final frame, Rockford's Stanislav Berezhnoy (19), Rochester's Alexandar Georgiev (20), and Calgary's Ivan Prosvetov (20).

THE RUNDOWN

FIRST PERIOD

Manitoba had most of the early possession with a few prime scoring opportunities from Di Giuseppe and Chase Yoder that were denied by the left and right pad of Villalta.

A couple of shifts later, Tucson's Sam Lipkin almost potted in the first goal of the game, but was robbed by the paddle of Moose goaltender Thomas Milic and the game remained scoreless.

On the other side of the ice, Maniboa's Walker Duher was denied the game's first goal by the glove hand of Villalta just before the midway mark of the first.

The Roadrunners penalty kill went to work late in the period and kept the Moose off the board on their lone power-play opportunity, aided by a shot that rang off the post.

Late in the frame, Anderson-Dolan broke in alone on a breakaway but was again stopped by Villalta.

Veteran defenseman Scott Perunovich capped the period with a key defensive block, dropping to his knees to thwart a chance from Brayden Yager in the final minute.

The teams headed to the first intermission knotted at 0-0, with Tucson set to open the second period on the power play.

SECOND PERIOD

Tucson started the middle frame on the power play, carrying over time from the first period. Rookie Daniil But had the best look on the man advantage, firing a one-timer that Milic swallowed up in the chest. Despite the early pressure, the Roadrunners couldn't convert.

Moments later, Manitoba generated a quality chance of their own when Fagemo broke in and tried a backhander, but Villalta kicked it away with the left pad to keep the game scoreless.

The Moose broke through on their next power play, however, when Fagemo finished a cross-ice feed from Elias Salomonsson with a one-timer that beat Villalta glove side to give Manitoba a 1-0 lead at 5:56.

Tucson responded and tilted the ice late in the period, sustaining offensive pressure and peppering Milic with shots in search of the equalizer.

Villalta also remained sharp down the stretch and finished the period with a season-high 18 saves.

THIRD PERIOD

Tucson opened the third period with sustained offensive pressure, as chances from Artem Duda and Maveric Lamoureux couldn't find the back of the net.

Just over a minute into the frame, Villalta came up big again with a highlight-reel save, stretching into the splits to deny a breakaway attempt from Duehr.

Later, Yager had a prime opportunity to extend the Moose lead on their fourth power play of the night, but Villalta flashed the glove once more to keep it a one-goal game.

Tucson pushed hard for the equalizer, pinning Manitoba in their own zone with chances from Robbie Russo, Kevin Connauton, Zachary Poganski, and Tyler Hebig midway through the period.

On a late Roadrunners power play, Villalta turned hero again, making back-to-back right pad saves on a shorthanded rush by Danny Zhilkin to preserve the one-goal deficit.

With just under two minutes to play, Mason Shaw nearly doubled Manitoba's lead but rang a shot off the right post. Villalta added another sprawling stop on Zhilkin moments later, inching closer to the franchise record of 50 saves set by Marek Langhamer in 2017.

Despite the effort, Manitoba sealed the game when Anderson-Dolan scored into the empty net with 8.1 seconds remaining, giving the Moose a 2-0 win.

UP NEXT

The Roadrunners wrap up their six-game homestand Wednesday night with the series finale against the Moose at 6:30 p.m. MST. Tickets can be purchased using the link here. Fans can listen to the games 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 October 29, 2025


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