The Tucson Roadrunners entered their two-game weekend set against the Colorado Eagles as the American Hockey League’s second-highest scoring team this season.
That unit was hardly its usual self on either night, as the Roadrunners followed up a 4-3 Saturday loss with a 4-1 defeat Sunday to the Colorado Eagles.
“Winning is hard. It’s not easy," Tucson forward Hudson Fasching said. "We were 23-5 before Christmas, and that’s not just going to appear in the second half of the season. We’re going to have to earn it again.
"That’s kind of the message that needs to continue to resonate throughout our team — we’re going to have to work for it.”
After falling behind 2-0 Saturday, before scratching back to tie that one at 3-3 ahead of Colorado’s eventual victory, the Roadrunners did manage to score first Sunday. But that lead — the only one Tucson would hold in either game — was short-lived.
Just 17 seconds after forward Brayden Burke scored his 13th goal of the season 2:40 into the second period Sunday, Colorado’s Michael Joly answered.
Seven minutes later, Colorado took the lead after an attempt by Tucson defenseman Robbie Russo to clear the puck out of the Roadrunners’ zone went askew.
Russo rocketed the puck up the boards to the left of Tucson goaltender Ivan Prosvetov, but instead of it clearing across center ice, the puck hit a linesman at the blueline and stopped dead in its tracks. Joly picked the puck up for the Eagles and fired it over to Jayson Megna, who put the Eagles up 2-1.
Colorado would hold on to that lead for good, tacking on third-period goals from Nick Henry and A.J. Greer to round out the scoring.
Prosvetov, the rookie phenom for the Roadrunners who entered the weekend as the AHL’s leader in both goals against average and save percentage, made his fourth consecutive start for Tucson. He stopped 28 of the 32 shots on goal he faced, a night after turning away 31 of 35.
“He’s a tough kid. He’s smart back there," Fasching said of Prosvetov, who has been thrust into virtual full-time duty with fellow netminder Adin Hill currently with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes.
"He knows how to brush goals off, not get angry. He’s a competitor. I really don’t have any worries about him. He’s been playing well. We just have to shore up our defense and stop giving up breakaways and 2-on-1s. I mean, give the guy a chance by limiting those shots to the outside a bit more.”
Former Tucson goaltender Hunter Miska stopped 32 of 33 shots for Colorado, earning the game’s “First Star” honors. Miska, who spent virtually all of the past two seasons with the Roadrunners before signing with Colorado this offseason, has been stellar in two outings on his former home ice, stopping 70 of 73 shots faced in his two outings this season at Tucson Arena.
The Roadrunners, who were passed Sunday by the Milwaukee Admirals for the American Hockey League’s best overall record, now turn their attention to Tuesday, when they play their third game in four days and fifth of a seven-game home stand.
“I don’t think we were so far out of these games — a couple bad bounces, and (the puck) was in the back of our net,” forward Michael Bunting said of Sunday’s outcome. “We’ve just got to move forward.”
On Burke’s second-period goal Saturday, Bunting recorded his 25th assist of the season. Coupled with the pair of helpers he had Saturday, Bunting’s total is tied for second in the AHL this season.
Bunting also has nine points in his last eight games to bring his season total to 29 in 30 contests. That ties Tucson’s career scoring leader with Lane Pederson for the Roadrunners’ 2019-20 season lead.
The puck drops for the Roadrunners’ New Year’s Eve matchup with the San Diego Gulls (12-12-2-1) at 6:05 p.m.
