The Roadrunners will finish out their six-game road trip this weekend looking for three big wins as they try to find their way back to the top of the AHL’s Pacific division.
The Roadrunners have lost the first three of six on the road trip and have lost nine of their last ten.
Last week was a rough one for the Roadrunners as they lost the first two games of their road trip to the Texas Stars. Former Roadrunner Justin Peters started against his former team in both of the Stars’ victories.
Goaltenders Adin Hill and Marek Langhamer combined to allow nine goals on 54 shots. The power play for the Roadrunners registered zero goals on eight attempts, while the Stars scored five goals on the power play in only nine attempts. The Roadrunners started the back half of their long road trip on Tuesday night in San Jose.
Roadrunners 1, San Jose Barracuda 4
The Roadrunners lost their fourth straight game on Tuesday night when they hosted the first-place San Jose Barracudas. Roadrunner goaltender Marek Langhamer allowed four goals on 39 shots, and Tucson fell 4-1. Left winger Michael Bunting was able to get a power play goal in the first period with Anthony Duclair registering the only assist of the night for the Roadrunners. Tucson went 1-6 on the power play while giving up three goals on the penalty kill on five attempts for the Barracudas. Nikolay Goldobin of the San Jose Barracuda earned the first star of the game scoring one goal and collecting two assists.
Tucson Roadrunners @ Ontario Reign, Friday 8 p.m. MST
Ontario is currently in third place in the Pacific division and has a record of 24-12-8 going 5-3-2 in their last ten. The Reign are led in points by center T.J. Hensick who has 36 points in 44 games played. Right winger Jonny Brodzinski leads the team in goals scored with 18 in 44 games.
Tucson Roadrunners @ San Diego Gulls, Saturday 8 p.m. MST
The Roadrunners will continue their road trip with a game against the Gulls who are currently in second place in the Pacific Division with a 26-13-4 record. The Gulls have been hot lately going 8-1-1 in their last ten games including three wins over the Roadrunners during that period. Offense has not been a problem for the Gulls over their last ten games as they have outscored their opponents by 26 goals. San Diego shutout the Roadrunners the last time these two met and won another game in that series 8-1. The Roadrunners are 1-5 against the Gulls this season and will meet four more times after Saturday. The Gulls have been led this year by right winger Corey Tropp with 37 points in 41 games played including 12 goals and 25 assists. Tropp has played very well against the Roadrunners this year scoring four goals and collecting four assists against them.
The Roadrunners have been led by center and alternate captain Chris Mueller this season. Meuller has 41 points in 42 games played and currently has 31 assists, putting him at fifth in the league. Christian Fischer has 18 goals during his rookie season tying him for tenth in the league.
The Roadrunners will wrap up their road trip on Wednesday, February 22nd against the Ontario Reign. They return to the Tucson Convention Center on February 24th and 25th when they host the first-place Barracuda.
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