Tucson Roadrunners skipper Steve Potvin has coached in two school day games. Both times, he got a headache because it was so loud.
“It’s great. It’s just continuous and it’s such a fun environment,” Potvin said.
On Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., the Roadrunners will host their first school day game since 2018. Tucson (2-1-0-0) will face a San Diego Gulls side sporting the exact same record in front of an expected 4,000-4,500 kids at Tucson Arena.
Tucson president Bob Hoffman said it was so cool seeing the buses lining up Broadway Blvd. to the TCC and coming to downtown off of I-10.
“It’s so much fun,” Hoffman said while a guest on the Roadrunners Happy Hour radio show last week. “I think the guys, when they’re coming to the arena at 8:30, probably are thinking to themselves ‘What are we doing here?’ We’re playing a game in two hours’ — eggs and bacon before the game, right?
“But then once they get going and that atmosphere is so different and there’s so much energy — not that we want to see a bad game — but it’s really funny, the kids will scream as loud for a 5-0 loss as they will for a 5-0 win.”
Tucson Roadrunners goaltender Matthew Villalta (31) parries a shot from Coachella Valley’s forward Jacob Melanson (63) in the first period of the Roadrunners’ 2023-24 home opener on Oct. 21 at Tucson Arena.
Thanks to the Roadrunners and game sponsors Pima County School Superintendent’s Office, Hughes Federal Credit Union and Delta Dental, the game is free for the kids who attend with their school/class.
The Roadrunners aren’t selling any single-game tickets to the field trip game.
The kids will receive a workbook from the Roadrunners featuring hockey and team-themed education exercises, and the players will teach the students about hockey throughout the game.
First-year Roadrunner John Leonard, who played for the Milwaukee Admirals and Nashville Predators last season, didn’t play in any school day games until he joined the Ads, who played two last year, in November and March.
“It’s obviously a little different,” said Leonard, a left wing. “You got an earlier wake up than usual for a game so you gotta do a little bit extra off ice in a gym and that kind of stuff to get your body prepared and you eat a little closer to the game time and that kind of thing, so different stuff you gotta manage but at the end of the day the other team’s doing the same thing so you gotta find ways to get it done.”
Potvin said it’s nice to not have to wait until nighttime to play, and the Roadrunners usually practice in the late morning.
Roadrunners’ right wing Josh Doan (91) maneuvers past Coachella Valley Firebirds forward Ryan Winterton in the offensive zone during the second period of the teams’ AHL matchup Oct. 21 at Tucson Arena.
“The first one you definitely take a moment and just listen to the kids scream and stuff,” Leonard added. “It’s definitely a different atmosphere but we can have fun with it but at the end of the day it’s a game and we gotta find a way to get a win.”
When he retired from his professional playing career, Potvin first coached youth programs, including for the Jr. Coyotes in Scottsdale. That program included coaching current Roadrunner Josh Doan.
With happenings like the school day game returning and the new ice rink, at Mosaic Quarter, scheduled to open in 2025, youth hockey could be set to grow in Tucson.
“You’re seeing a lot of the support,” Potvin said. “Everybody’s excited about the game here, you see minor hockey numbers are going up, obviously in Phoenix and Scottsdale those numbers continue to grow so the more we can get the kids out in front of the game, the more it’s gonna grow and once the kids get out on the ice it gets into their veins and they never look back, so I’m happy to see the growth here.”
Slap shots
To help make the school day game free for kids, the Roadrunners are selling raffle tickets. The tickets are $20. Up for grabs to winners: items like signed game-worn jerseys from Roadrunners, season tickets, usage of the ice suite for a game, usage of the party nest for a game and signed memorabilia from Roadrunners and Coyotes.
The Roadrunners announced that Fox 11 (KMSB) and My 18 (KTTU) will serve as the club’s official television stations.
A date for the first live televised broadcast on My 18 hasn’t been announced yet but is likely to be in the spring. Adrian Denny, the Roadrunners’ play-by-play voice for all games locally on Fox Sports 1450-AM as well as via AHLtv.com (the league’s subscription-based live-streaming platform) will be on the call for future TV games on My 18.
In the meantime, the week of Saturday home games, Fox 11 will air a “Watch & Win” ticket giveaway during their 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. news.
Photos: Roadrunners home opener spoiled with a 4-0 loss to Coachella Valley, AHL
Roadrunners' goaltender Matthew Villalta (31) makes a kick save on a close range shot against Coachella Valley in the second period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023. The Roadrunners gave up goals in all three periods and an empty netter late in the third to lose for the first time this season 4-0 to the Firebirds.
Roadrunners' left wing Milos Kelemen (21) can’t get the wrap-around to wrap around Coachella Valley's goaltender Chris Driedger (60) in the second period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
Coachella Valley's goaltender Chris Driedger (60) stops the rush of Roadrunners' center Nathan Smith (13) in the second period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023. Driedger held Tucson at bay and notched a shutout.
Roadrunners' center Nathan Smith (13) tries to reach over Coachella Valley's forward Kole Lind (16) in pursuit of a puck in the defensive zone in the third period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
Roadrunners' defenseman Cameron Crotty (5) takes the ice under the spotlight as the players are introduced for their first home game of the season against Coachella Valley at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
Roadrunners' goaltender Matthew Villalta (31) parries a shot from Coachella Valley's forward Jacob Melanson (63) in the first period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
Roadrunners' right wing Josh Doan (91) hooks the puck from Coachella Valley's forward Andrew Poturalski (22) in the first period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
Coachella Valley's forward Marian Studenic (34) slips a shot past the shoulder of Roadrunners' goaltender Matthew Villalta (31) in the second period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
Roadrunners’ forward Colin Theisen (63) races ahead of Coachella Valley’s Shane Wright (51) while chasing down the puck during the second period of Tucson’s matchup with the Firebirds on Oct. 21 at Tucson Arena.
Roadrunners' right wing Josh Doan (91) maneuvers past Coachella Valley's forward Ryan Winterton (27) in the offensive third in the second period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
Roadrunners' right wing Josh Doan (91), left, and /cc19/ go shoulder to shoulder for the puck in the third period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
Roadrunners' forward Dylan Guenther (11) uses all his stick to try to poke the puck away from a Coachella Valley player near mid-ice in the second period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
Roadrunners' left wing Milos Kelemen (21) gets wrapped up by Coachella Valley's defenseman Ryker Evans (41) along the boards in the third period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
Coachella Valley's goaltender Chris Driedger (60) snares a Roadrunner shot in the web of his glove in the second period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
Roadrunners' center Nathan Smith (13) sprawls out to nudge the puck from Coachella Valley's forward Luke Henman (10) near the top of the crease in the second period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
Roadrunners' center Nathan Smith (13) slams into Coachella Valley's defenseman Connor Carrick (58) while chasing a puck in the third period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
Coachella Valley's forward John Hayden (15) slides the puck into a nearly empty net, after breaking out of the penalty box with the Roadrunners pushing up without a goalie searching for a score in the third period of their AHL game at Tucson Arena, Tucson, Ariz., October 21, 2023.
