The Tucson Roadrunners wore custom jerseys for Superhero Night on Saturday, but sorely lacked any heroic performances in a 4-1 loss to Grand Rapids.
Tucson never found its footing on either side of the ice on a night when a motivated Grand Rapids group clinched a playoff berth.
“Tough team to back against if you give them four goals,” Roadrunners head coach Mike Van Ryn said. “We didn’t generate a whole lot tonight. Scoring chances were down.”
Grand Rapids got on the board early with a goal four minutes into the first period by Eric Tangradi.
Tangradi added a second goal midway through the period to bring the score to 2-0.
The Roadrunners scored a goal a few minutes later on a goal by Lawson Crouse with an assist from Carter Camper. The goal pushed Crouse’s point streak to five straight games.
Grand Rapids regained a two-goal lead less than a minute into the second period on a goal by Turner Elson.
The Griffins expanded the lead to 4-1 when Dan Renouf scored 10 minutes into the second period.
Tucson goalie Hunter Miska allowed four goals on 19 shots before he was pulled for Adin Hill.
Tucson failed to produce any scoring opportunities down the stretch.
“It wasn’t the result we were looking for and there were some mental collapses out there,” Crouse said. “That’s stuff we can watch video on and learn and be better for next time.”
The Roadrunners are within striking distance of guaranteeing home-ice advantage through the first round of the playoffs, which should be just that, an advantage.
Tucson, however, hasn’t been able to win consistently at home this season.
With the loss Saturday, Tucson’s home record falls to 16-13-3.
The last time the Roadrunners won back-to-back home games came on November 22-24.
“We’re aware of it,” Crouse said. “Obviously we’ve just got to control what we can control. We want to win here at home. Sometimes that happens and we’ve just got to learn and put another foot forward.”
Tucson needs one more win or one loss from second-place Ontario to clinch a division title.
The Roadrunners end the regular season with three games against the San Diego Gulls. Tucson travels to San Diego on Wednesday and then will host the Gulls on Friday and Saturday at Tucson Arena.
“We’ve played them a bunch and we know what they’re capable of,” Crouse said of the Gulls. “They’re great on power play. We’ve just got to play smart and play our game.”
