The Tucson Roadrunners are heading to the postseason.
Tucson clinched a playoff spot in the American Hockey League’s 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs with a 4-3 win Saturday night on the road in Des Moines, Iowa, against the Wild.
The Roadrunners are the first team from the AHL’s Pacific Division to clinch a playoff berth. Tucson leads the division with five games to go in the regular season.
“Now we’ve got to keep that top seed and do our best to stay number one the rest of the year,” Roadrunners goalie Hunter Miska said. “Guys are playing really good in front of me. Our forwards are putting the puck in the net, which is huge.”
Tucson’s playoffs berth is the exclamation point to a transformative second season for the organization.
The Roadrunners have already surpassed their win and point totals from the inaugural season and are on track for the best record in the Western Conference.
Roadrunners forward Michael Bunting, who has been with the team both seasons, credited team chemistry .
“I think we get along really well, and this is definitely one of the closest groups I’ve been a part of in playing pro hockey,” Bunting said. “We like to see each other having success.” Bunting scored four goals over the weekend against the Wild to lead Tucson to a pair of victories.
Tucson won Friday night 6-4 in a high-scoring affair. Two third-period goals, one by Kyle Wood and the other by Lawson Crouse, gave the Roadrunners the advantage.
On Saturday, Tucson again struck late to pull out the win. Lane Pederson scored with 36 seconds left to break a 3-3 tie.
Miska recorded the win on Saturday, his fifth straight victory.
It’s fitting that the Roadrunners clinched their postseason spot on the road, as the team has played exceedingly well away from home. Tucson’s road record is 23-7-2-1.
Tucson will compete in the postseason short-handed, as the team is without top forwards Laurent Dauphin and Nick Merkley for the rest of the season due to injuries.
Tucson returns home next weekend for a pair of games against Grand Rapids. The Roadrunners will close the regular season with three games against San Diego — one on the road and the final two at home. San Diego is battling Ontario for second place in the Pacific Division.
