The Tucson Roadrunners’ “juggernaut line” is known for things like their energy, big hits and fights, but lately they have been racking up goals, too.
Left wing Travis Barron, center Curtis Douglas and right wing Hunter Drew were key in helping the Roadrunners win three of four in their last home stand, including two against the Bakersfield Condors, the team they are competing with for the last playoff spot.
From left, right wing Hunter Drew, center Curtis Douglas and left wing Travis Barron celebrate their sweep of the Bakersfield Condors on Sunday, where Barron was named the first star.
The juggernauts scored five goals during the home stand, and Barron assisted on a goal from forward Ben McCartney in Saturday’s 4-2 win over the Condors.
“When they play together and they have one collective mindset, they can really turn the tide and really make it hard on teams,” said Tucson head coach Steve Potvin. “There isn't a line in the AHL that is as unique as they are and when they decide to play a certain way and they play from our net out defensively, they're gonna get a lot of opportunity.
“They just push the pace, they make the opposition play on their heels, they're a hard line to play against.”
The Roadrunners (33-30-3-2) travel to the Rockford IceHogs (28-30-3-6) for a two-game series starting on Friday, seeking to remain in the last playoff spot.
The three players from Ontario are friends off the ice, too.
“It's unbelievable, I think pretty like minded, so we gel pretty well together,” Drew said. “We're really good friends obviously away from the rink, too, and I’m fortunate to be able to play with those guys, they pick me up when I'm down and it’s all you can ask for.”
This season, Drew 26 has points, Douglas 22 and Barron 22 points, including 10 goals. He’s three points away from a career high and two goals away from a personal record.
“Yeah, it's fun,” Barron said about playing with Drew and Douglas. “We got good connections, we're good friends on and off the ice, so it makes it that much easier.”
Tucson Roadrunners alternate captain Travis Barron records his first multi-goal game of the season during the first period of the April 6, 2025, 5-2 victory over the Bakersfield Condors at Tucson Arena.
Barron scored two goals in Sunday’s win over Bakersfield and has six points in Tucson’s last three games.
“It was good,” Barron said. “A lot of credit to my line mates, Dougie and Drewsie, we seem to always kind of click together in April, you know, last year and this year, so hopefully we keep that going.”
Douglas is 6-foot-9, Drew 6-2 and Barron 6-1.
“Drewsie and Doug, big body presence hard to play against,” Barron said. “They open up the ice for everybody around so it's a pleasure to be a part of that.”
Barron’s penalty minutes (68) are down from 80 and 98 the last couple of years. Douglas’ have dipped to 115 from 148 last year and Drew’s are up to 130 from 107 last year.
Barron said the line doesn't talk fights, they just happen and let it happen.
“I feel like we got the horses to kind of back that up if need be and if teams want to get chippy, then we can play that way, too,” Barron said.
Tucson is second in the league in penalty minutes with 1,049, behind only the Laval Rocket with 1,055. According to hockeyfights.com, Tucson has 37 fights this year, after 42 last season.
“I feel like everyone's pulling their weight, it’s not a matter of how many fights, it’s the timing of the fights and in those big games,” Barron said. “I think we've done a good job of protecting our teammates, especially Drewsie, Dougie and Booch, (defenseman Montana) Onyebuchi.”
It’s Barron’s fourth season in Tucson after he had stints with the Colorado Eagles and San Antonio Rampage. He’s a seventh-round draft pick by the Colorado Avalanche in 2016.
“When you watch him play over the years, you start to really appreciate some of the puck touches he has in in certain areas. He has them on his hip, he protects it, he's able to pull up and hit the late guy and he does a nice job of managing pucks and keeping the puck moving forward,” Potvin said. “But it seems like he's just kind of playing free, I would say that he’s a little bit out of his mind, I think he's just letting it all loose and we're getting to see the results of what it looks like when he can play free.”
Barron does like the juggernaut line name.
“It's funny, I like it, it’s just something we can laugh at and so some guys call us,” Barron said. “We kind of know what we're expected to do, just kind of find each other, work hard and good things happen and hopefully we can continue it.”
Tucson Roadrunners forward Curtis Douglas scores in the second period, capping a two-point night in Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to the Calgary Wranglers at Tucson Arena.
Slap shots
– The Condors won on Wednesday, so they are three points behind Tucson heading into the weekend. But Tucson owns the tiebreaker against Bakersfield (regulation wins) and its maximum possible points (79-78) is higher, so the Condors don’t control their own destiny anymore.
– On Saturday night, during Utah Hockey Club’s 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets and during Tucson’s win over Bakersfield, Utah sent forward Kailer Yamamoto back to the Roadrunners.
Yamamoto made it back for Tucson’s Sunday afternoon win over the Condors, tallying two assists against his former club. Then on Monday, Utah HC recalled him.
“I had no idea. I think they told me four minutes after I got undressed,” Yamamoto said to the Salt Lake Tribune. “It’s always good to play down there. It’s a great group of guys down there.”
– On Monday, the Roadrunners added forward Noel Nordh and forward Owen Allard to the roster, both from the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. They were both in Tucson for training camp, with Nordh playing in two games before they were sent to juniors.
Nordh had 53 points in 47 games for the Greyhounds and 28 points in 31 for the Soo Greyhounds.
