Tucson Roadrunners forward Hudson Fasching doesn’t really know how his season turned, for the better, on a dime.
Or maybe he does?
“Yeah, my tooth just fell out. … That’s all that had to happen,” Fasching said, tongue in cheek, after the Roadrunners’ recent home win over the Colorado Eagles — a victory that saw him score a pair of goals and increase his own streak at that point to seven goals in eight games.
“I’m good to go now.”
Now, as Fasching puts it, was after the Roadrunners’ otherwise-typical practice the morning of Nov. 11. Fasching and a number of other players chased after the puck behind Tucson Arena’s north goal during a practice drill. A stick to the face — and minute or two down on the ice — and Fasching emerged, minus a front tooth and not an insignificant amount of blood.
Before that Veterans’ Day practice, Fasching had managed no goals and two assists in the club’s first 13 games.
After: not just the seven goals, but also a team-high 12 points in those next eight games.
“Seriously, I mean, I don’t really know. I think it just takes time, and it’s a game of streaks,” said Fasching, who will help the Roadrunners (18-5-0-0) aim for four-game season sweep against the Iowa Wild (12-9-2-2) Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Des Moines.
“Sometimes it just comes in waves.”
As for filling the literal gap in his teeth: Fasching said it will be after the season by the time it’s completely fixed, adding that he plans to get a high-impact implant that will, “just pop off if I ever get hit again.”
Roadrunner skaters lead league in various stats
It’s should be no surprise a team that’s flirting with the American Hockey League’s best overall record might have some individuals leading the league in certain areas.
Brayden Burke, who has emerged into a point-per-game player and now sits atop Tucson’s own point-scoring chart, leads the AHL in both power play goals (nine) and game-winning goals (five).
“I’m usually more of a passer on the power play, to be honest,” Burke said. “But I’ve been getting more opportunities from my unit so I’m just trying to shoot when I get the chance, and pucks have been going in for me.”
Fourth-year Roadrunner defenseman Dysin Mayo leads all AHL skaters in plus-minus, at +21. And forward Jeremy Gregoire’s three shorthanded goals were atop the AHL charts until just a week ago; now he’s second.
Burke’s 23 points now crack the league’s top 10, and his 11 goals are 11th overall. Fellow forward Lane Pederson’s 13 goals are sixth overall, while his 23 points are 12th.
Rookie goaltender Ivan Prosvetov would be a league-leader himself, too, with a .942 save percentage, but he’s one full game’s worth of action shy of the required minutes played to qualify.
As a team, the Roadrunners 17 wins in regulation or overtime are tops among all 31 AHL teams. Tucson is also second in goals per game at 3.89 per outing, and leads the league in power play opportunities per game at 4.91.
Colorado considered ‘rival,’ but for how long?
After posting a 3-6-2-1 mark against the Colorado Eagles in 12 meetings last season, the Roadrunners won the first two matchups this season with their league-designated rival on home ice last week.
The 12 times the clubs face each other is most either will see an opponent this season, with the teams next meeting again Dec. 28 and 29 in Tucson.
San Diego and Tucson were considered “rivals” by the AHL’s schedule-makers for the Roadrunners’ first two seasons, but expansion Colorado was penciled into that spot prior to the Eagles’ inaugural campaign last year.
It’s a wonder, come 2021-22, if that might change again.
That’s when the new Palm Springs AHL team comes on board, to match the inaugural season of the NHL’s expansion Seattle franchise.
During a visit to Tucson earlier this season, AHL president and CEO David Andrews referenced Palm Springs and Tucson becoming, if nothing else, geographic rivals at that point. In terms of driving miles — and depending on the location of a reported $250 million new arena in partnership with Southern California’s Agua Caliente tribe, Palm Springs would eclipse San Diego as the closest AHL franchise to Tucson by somewhere between about 20 and 30 miles.
“I think it’s really going to be a good link between Tucson and all of the California teams,” Andrews said during his Tucson visit.
As for scheduling, Andrews noted that Palm Springs becoming the AHL’s eighth Pacific Division team — matching the league’s other three divisions — might allow for some schedule changes not just out West, but possibly league-wide. At the moment, Pacific Division teams play 68 games, while Central, North and Atlantic teams suit up for 76.
“There will continue to be discussions. It’s up to the Pacific Division if they decide they want to get a few more games in,” Andrews said. “I think ideally we’d like to see the Pacific Division move up a few games, and the rest of the league move down a few.
“My own point of view: It would be nice have a unified schedule across the whole league, but I don’t know if we’ll get there or not.”
