Around now, the snarls are starting to form. What once was pure gamesmanship has been molded into the lightest shades of animosity for the Tucson Roadrunners, who embark on a crucial California road trip in which they’ll visit all three of their most hated new rivals.
Perhaps hate is too strong a word, but Roadrunners assistant captain Eric Selleck struggled to find a more apt one on Tuesday morning after a shoot-around.
“There’s a rivalry brewing already, if only because we’re the first-place team in the division and they’re coming to play us hard,” Selleck said. “That’s gonna bring some adversity into the ice, and that’s going to bring a little bit of … not hate, but …”
“Angst?”
“Yeah, angst. We’ll go with that.”
If other teams are going to bring it to the Roadrunners because of their play, it’s for good reason — Tucson has the best winning percentage (.769) in the AHL Pacific Division with a 9-2-2-0 record.
But this is also what the club bargained for when it moved from Springfield, Massachusetts, the chance to create some meaningful matchups that can be counted on year in, year out.
“We play each other a lot and you really get to know the other guys well,” coach Mark Lamb said. “It creates a playoff atmosphere in the division where they’re all four-point games. They’re so important to win, and that brings the competitiveness.”
Lamb is right when he calls them four-point games: that’s what’s on the line in an inter-divisional game.
And that means 12 points are up for grabs this week as Tucson travels to the San Diego Gulls on Wednesday, the Ontario Reign on Friday and the Bakersfield Condors on Saturday.
Each team, which is affiliated with an NHL squad, is a potential rival.
“As a coach my attention is on my team and the standings, but from a business standpoint it’s huge,” Lamb said.
From a hockey standpoint, it’s not so bad either.
“In hockey, you’ve got a lot of respect for the other team, but you learn quickly not to like them,” he added.
Before you can form an opinion, though, you’ve got to do your homework, and Tucson is starting to learn both what it has within and what the divisional opponents have to offer.
“We’ve got a good feel, but every game is a little different,” Lamb said. “But that’s part of coaching; you see what works, you try some things that don’t work and you figure it out.”
