The Tucson Roadrunners return to the playoffs to face a familiar foe.
The No. 7 seed Roadrunners (34-32-4-2) face the second-seeded Abbotsford Canucks (44-24-2-2) in a best-of-three series in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs starting Wednesday. The whole series is at Abbotsford, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks.
“We have to play our our type of style, our style is very simply going north and doing what we can to manage pucks, make sure that we initiate contact and have to try to go after their spirit,” said Tucson head coach Steve Potvin. “It’s one of our strengths, we have guys that handle themselves and the physical aspect of the game.”
The Calder Cup Playoffs consist of five rounds. Should the Roadrunners reach the second round, they will get to play at home.
During the regular season, Tucson went 5-3 against Abbotsford, including 3-1 at the Abbotsford Centre.
“Abbotsford’s a good team, they got some some good players, we did we have some success against them this season, so we'll look at the the clips from playing them and try to build off that and see how we had success and obviously they're gonna come out all ready,” said Tucson center Cameron Hebig. “They’re second place for a reason so we're looking forward to this challenge, we’re looking forward to playing them."
Abbotsford goaltender Nikita Tolopilo slides over to shut down the backhand from Roadrunner center Curtis Douglas in the second period of their AHL Pacific Division game on Jan. 24, 2025, at Tucson Arena.
The Roadrunners lost 3-0 in the first game at Abbotsford on Oct. 29 but then won the next day 5-2. Then on Dec 20-21 Tucson swept a two-game series at the Abbotsford Centre with a pair of 4-2 wins.
“I feel like that was a little bit long ago,” said Tucson forward Kailer Yamamoto. “Obviously they’re getting guys down from the NHL team so they’re gonna have a good squad and we have a good test in front of us. The guys are gonna be ready and it’s gonna be a good series.”
On April 17, the Vancouver Canucks sent seven players back to Abbotsford for the playoffs. Neither Vancouver nor Utah made the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Utah Hockey Club sent Yamamoto and goalie Matthew Villalta (18-22-3) back to Tucson for the last series and playoffs.
“Matty, he's been back home for us all year,” Hebig said. “He has a great attitude, he’s fun to be around, he's a great teammate, obviously a great goalie, so it's great to get him back and have him back there.”
Villalta has a goals-against-average of 3.03 and a save percentage of .905 in the AHL this year. In his lone NHL start this year, Villalta made 31 saves to beat the Nashville Predators last week and get his first NHL win.
A 2017 first-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers, Yamamoto has played 315 NHL games, including 12 this year. Yamamoto leads Tucson in points (56) and is tied for third with 20 goals.
“We have a lot of confidence in (Villalta) and obviously, Yamo, he's a great player, slippery, shifty, smart player, he makes great plays,” Hebig said. “Obviously he's got a ton of experience in the NHL, so I think that experience helps in the playoffs and offers up a lot of good advice and knowledge, so two big additions and we're lucky to have them.”
Yamamoto said he wasn’t disappointed to be coming back to the American League.
Roadrunner forward Kailer Yamamoto (56) slips the puck around Abbotsford defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev (59) in the third period of their AHL Pacific Division game in Tucson on Jan. 24, 2025.
“It was awesome, I love battling with these guys, I’ve been able to that so that means a lot,” Yamamoto said.
In the Oct. 29 game, Tucson defenseman Montana Onyebuchi was ejected for a hit in the third period and became a favorite target for Abbotsford fans to boo. After scoring the game-winning goal in the Roadrunners 4-3 overtime win at home over the Canucks, Tucson center Andrew Agozzino celebrated by leveling Canucks right wing Linus Karlsson.
After the game, Potvin said during pregame warm ups a Canuck shot a puck at a Roadrunner and then after he scored the game tying goal, Karlsson glared at the Tucson bench.
The Canucks go to the playoffs having won three in a row and are 8-1-0-1 in their last 10 games. Tucson is 4-5-1-0 in its last 10.
The Roadrunners held off a stiff challenge from the Bakersfield Condors for the last playoff spot. Tucson players and Potvin have said they were basically playing playoff hockey for weeks.
“I think this sets us up good, I think having those playoffs games leading up to the end of the season, it prepares us, gets us ready and going into playoffs, we've played important games all leading up to playoffs,” Hebig said.
It’s Potvin’s third season since getting named head coach and the Roadrunners’ third straight playoff appearance, but they are looking for more after two first-round exits.
"I'm looking forward to continuing the next level of our growth,” Potvin said. “I think this is a major step to be able to do it three years in a row, but also, we have to try to find a way to get the next big result, and that's what we're after.
“I mean, we didn't get here for nothing, we didn't trying to get this far to get this far, so we’re gonna do what we can to kinda take the next step."
Slapshots
– The Roadrunners will host watch parties for the first-round games at three locations: Main Event, 4700 S. Landing Way; Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers, 7315 N. Oracle Road; and Barrio Brewing Co., 800 E. 16th Street. The parties will feature prize giveaways like Roadrunners jerseys and autographed sticks.
– The Roadrunners had season-high attendance of 6,216 for Friday’s game and a crowd of 6,166 on Saturday. It’s the first time ever Tucson had over 6,000 for home games two days in a row.
– It’s Tucson’s fifth postseason appearance in the Roadrunners’ nine-year history. Tucson was also in first place in the division in March 2020 when the AHL season was halted and then canceled due to COVID-19.
