The Tucson Roadrunners are hoping for some more holiday cheer.
Fresh off their consecutive wins over the fourth-place Calgary Wranglers over the weekend, the Roadrunners (12-12-4-0) host the San Diego Gulls (13-8-6-1) on Wednesday for a solo game. The Gulls are the AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks.
The Roadrunners are giving out cowbells.
Tucson beat Calgary 5-2 on Saturday, the team's Peanuts-themed night, and 3-2 on Sunday in overtime to snap its three-game winless streak and secure its first series sweep of the year over the Wranglers.
Tucson head coach Steve Potvin agreed that the team's Christmas break (it had its first practice since losing at Abbotsford on Dec. 20 on Friday) rejuvenated it.
“I think everybody had a little bit of time then to kind of absorb, reflect and they come back ready to refine their game, but I think it's a little bit more than that,” Potvin said. “I think they go home and they have time to spend with their friends and their family and a little time away, it makes you really appreciate the game that you play and I think you just come back with a little bit of juice, especially when you didn't have success on the weekend previous.”
Potvin said it was nice for the players to start the break on the road.
“I think when you're at home, you’re kind of distracted a little bit, your family's always kind of looking for what's next and you’re making travel plans, et cetera,” Potvin said, adding, “When you're on the road, you're with the boys, you're there for business and it's a business trip, you know?”
Tucson’s three-game skid included an overtime loss to Bakersfield, 8-7, followed by losses of 4-2 and 2-1 to the defending AHL champion Canucks.
Tucson forward Sammy Walker scored the game-winner on Sunday, his second walk-off goal of the season.
“Oh, it's huge, I mean obviously every point matters,” Walker said. “So that part of it is huge and obviously feels good and hopefully we can keep that momentum going.”
Walker stayed in Tucson — the first Christmas away from home for the 26-year-old from Edina, Minn. — but he said most Roadrunners went away for the break.
Tucson forward Sammy Walker scored the game-winner on Sunday, his second walk-off goal of the season.
“Yeah, it was nice to just have a few days off and reflect and just reset and obviously those games that we lost were pretty not ideal, but huge that we got these wins,” Walker said.
Over the weekend, the Roadrunners had two of their biggest crowds of the season. On Saturday, Peanuts Night, Tucson had a season-high attendance of 5,610, and on Sunday, the crowd was 4,111, the seventh-best of the year, even though Sunday games are usually less popular.
“Oh, it was it was so much fun, I mean, the guys really got up for it, they found so much enjoyment in playing in front of our fans (Saturday),” Potvin said. “You could see they had a little extra pep in their step and to be honest, I felt like the last two games really felt like a playoff series, it’s telling when the coaching staffs after the games shake each other's hands; that doesn't ever really happen during the regular season unless you're friends with the opposition.”
The Roadrunners are hoping for another big crowd on New Year’s Eve. A press release noted the game is a little earlier, at 6 p.m., so fans have plenty of time to get to the taco drop at the New Year’s Eve Downtown Bowl Bash at Jacome Plaza.
The Roadrunners had two of their biggest crowds of the season this past weekend. On Saturday, Peanuts Night, Tucson had a season-high attendance of 5,610. The team wore Peanuts-themed practice jerseys ahead of the game, as seen here on Roadrunners' goalie Jaxson Stauber.
“I hope so, I mean, it's a little tougher during the week, but when we get crowds like that, it's a game changer and it gives us energy and I'm glad that we were able to get a couple wins for them,” Walker said. “So it's big.”
Villalta gone, Wells and Välimäki back
On Monday, Tucson experienced a little roster shake-up, losing a goalie and adding a defenseman.
Utah recalled goalie Matt Villalta and placed net minder Karel Vejmelka on the IR retroactive to Dec. 23. In anticipation of the move, Tucson recalled goalie Dylan Wells on Saturday.
Wells is 7-7-2 with a 3.71 goals against average playing for the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL this season.
Wells played 10 games for Tucson last year, going 3-3-1 with a 2.89 GAA and a .900 save percentage. In his first season as a Roadrunner, he went 10-5-3 a couple of years ago, tallying a 3.28 GAA and a .898 save percentage.
Villalta is 9-5-1 this season, with a 2.94 GAA and a .903 SV%. Jaxson Stauber becomes Tucson’s No. 1 goaltender.
He is 3-7-3 this year, with a 3.39 GAA and a .873 SV%, but on Sunday, he snapped his five-game winless streak.
On Monday, defenseman Juuso Välimäki rejoined the Roadrunners, clearing waivers after Utah sent him down.
Välimäki tore his ACL in his lone game for Tucson last year. The 2017 first-round pick by Calgary played 43 games last year for the Utah HC, getting five points.
Looking ahead
Tucson travels to Calgary to face the Wranglers in a two-game set starting on Friday.
