If the Tucson Roadrunners were looking for yet another indication that they play in what is arguably the American Hockey League’s toughest division, they might just be staring it — or him — in the face.
The Roadrunners (23-13-3-1) conclude a six-game homestand this weekend, when they host the Colorado Eagles (20-17-3-1) for a pair of intra-division matchups Friday and Saturday at Tucson Arena. The puck drops both nights at 7:05.
Colorado goaltender Pavel Francouz has started five of the six outings against Tucson this season, posting a 3-2 record and .934 goals against average while allowing just two goals per outing.
Yet it’s fellow Eagles netminder Spencer Martin who opened eyes around the league just this past week.
Martin, who recorded a 22-save shutout in Tucson in early December, stopped a staggering 116 of 120 shots faced over two games last weekend against division foe Ontario. In a 4-0 win last Friday, he stopped all 68 shots for his second shutout of the season. His 68 saves were a franchise record.
Who starts in goal for Colorado in Tucson on Friday won’t be known publicly until just before game time, but Martin’s effort last week — let alone the success he and Francouz have had against Tucson this season — are further proof of the depth and prowess the AHL’s Pacific Division has shown this season.
For one, Colorado enters the weekend as the fifth-best team in the division, behind San Jose, Tucson, Stockton and San Diego. Those four teams have records within the AHL’s top 10.
“The league just keeps getting better and better, and certainly this division now, in its fourth year — us in our third (as part of the Pacific Division) — it just keeps getting better and better,” said Tucson captain Dakota Mermis, who’s charges will play 20 of their final 28 regular-season games against Pacific Division foes down the stretch.
The Roadrunners enter the weekend 2-2 on their current homestand and 2-4 against Colorado on the season, while a nearly three-week road trip looms as the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show takes over Tucson Arena in the coming days.
Mermis said the nature of the AHL’s schedule is a big part of the depth the division holds. The Pacific Division’s teams play each other often enough, Mermis adds, to create a postseason-like atmosphere virtually all year.
“It doesn’t make any weekend easy. … I think we play Colorado 12 total times. That’s a war. You develop a history with them,” Mermis said. “You just mentally have to be prepared for that, the toughness. It’s almost like playoffs.”
To Tucson head coach Jay Varady, there’s something to be said about having to be on your A-game each time.
“Isn’t that what you want? Don’t you want to have to be at your best every night?” Varady said this week. “I think that’s the challenge of athletics. Let’s be good. Let’s come here, be ready to play. ... We just have to be ready to be the best version of ourselves, every day.”
