Suffering through an eight-game winless streak, the Tucson Roadrunners come out of the All-Star break looking for a change or return to form.
However, Tucson (19-19-2-1) does so as it embarks on the annual Gem Show road trip, seven games away from home, tying a season high. Tucson begins the trip with a two-game series at San Jose Barracuda (23-13-2-3) starting Friday night.
After a wild, up-and-down first half of the season, we looked back on the Roadrunners’ start.
Tucson’s MVP
At the All-Star Challenge, Cameron Hebig had a goal and two assists in three mini games.
It’s an easy choice, as Tucson’s only All-Star currently on the roster is having a career year. Center Cameron Hebig leads the team in goals (16) and is second in points (30). In his seventh year in the AHL, Hebig is two points away from a career high. Plus, the losing skid comes despite his efforts, he had two goals in their last game, a 5-4 shootout loss to the Ontario Reign on Saturday, the second forcing overtime and getting the Roadrunners a crucial standings point. At the All-Star Challenge, he had a goal and two assists in three mini games.
Best promo
Although the Roadrunners have had other popular promotions this season, once again, Star Wars Night rules the galaxy. Attendance was 6,055, almost capacity, and since the team gave away lightsabers, when the fans cheered en masse like after a goal, the arena was glowing. After Tucson’s Gem Show trip ends, it will host Hockey Day in Southern Arizona/Dusty’s Birthday on Feb. 22 and will be giving out youth jerseys, a night that is always popular.
High point
Although the Roadrunners enter the Gem Show road trip on an eight-game winless streak, all is not lost as they went 3-4 on their January trip and 3-1-1 on the Gem Show trip last year. Plus, this season, they beat the Abbotsford Canucks 4-2 twice on the road to enter the Christmas break on a six-game winning streak. Tucson scored three straight to win Game 1 of that series and then three unanswered again to get the sweep. Hebig scored two of those six goals and also got a point on their game-winning goal that Saturday.
Low point
The Roadrunners would go on to drop two more, but those two against the Ontario Reign, a 2-1 loss and a 5-4 defeat after a shootout where Tucson rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the game right before the All-Star break, are much different, of course. On Jan. 25, the Roadrunners fell 6-2 to the same Canucks they swept on the road after a 3-2 loss the night before. Tucson gave up five goals in a row in the second and third periods and a noticeable amount of fans left during the second intermission.
Next call up
Kailer Yamamoto pictured during the Tucson Roadrunners game against the Colorado Eagles on Dec. 29, 2024.
Although Hebig is the clearcut MVP and defenseman Maveric Lamoureux impressed in his 15-game NHL stint earlier this season, forward Kailer Yamamoto makes the most sense. Recalling Yamamoto is easier than Hebig because he’s on a two-way contract, while Hebig’s is an AHL one. Lamoureux just turned 21 and Utah Hockey Club brass shows it likes to have young prospects develop in the AHL. Yamamoto leads the team in scoring with 33 points in 33 games after he started the season with Utah. He has played 306 NHL games for Edmonton, Seattle and Utah, getting 134 points.
Slap shots
– On Monday, the Utah HC traded for forward Sammy Walker from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for future considerations.
Utah then assigned the 25-year-old to Tucson. Walker had 11 points in 30 games for Minnesota’s AHL affiliate this season, 45 points in 70 games last season and 49 points in 57 games in 2022-23 for the Iowa Wild.
Walker is from Edina, Minn., and went to the University of Minnesota.
– Former Roadrunner Dylan Guenther returned to Utah’s lineup on Tuesday after missing 12 games and had three points and the game-winning goal in the 3-2 win over Philadelphia.
Utah HC called up right wing Josh Doan from Tucson when Guenther went down.
