After 15 days, seven games, matchups in six cities and travel through six different airports, to boot, the Tucson Roadrunners finally make their return home from their annual “Gem Show Road Trip” with a 7:05 p.m. faceoff at Tucson Arena on Friday.
And what kind of reward awaits the once-mighty — but still slumping a bit of late — Roadrunners upon their first game action on their home ice in nearly three weeks?
A first-place-on-the-line date with one of the American Hockey League’s best teams this season, the Stockton Heat (28-14-3-3).
Some reward.
But that actually might just be what the Roadrunners (30-16-1-2) need — or even want — at this point, even as Tucson still tries to pull itself out of a slump that’s seen it go 6-9-1-2 since the calendar hit 2020.
This season, the Roadrunners are a robust 21-8-0-2 when playing against the top half — that’s 15 or so teams — in the AHL’s overall standings. That includes a 4-0-0-1 mark against Stockton.
Against the bottom half? Tucson is 9-8-1-0.
It’s not necessarily the Roadrunners play up or down to their competition — even with more than 63 percent of their schedule against the AHL’s better-performing teams this season. Defenseman Jordan Gross said it’s more about matchups and how the Roadrunners’ structure comes into play than any kind of need for motivation.
“I think one of the big things … is our playing style versus theirs. Some teams we just match up better against. That’s one of the big things against Stockton, and Iowa as well,” Gross said of both the Heat and Wild — the latter of which enters the weekend with the AHL’s third-best record, yet lost all four meetings with Tucson this season.
While they get one of the best this weekend for a pair, the Roadrunners must figure out how to play upright against the supposed bottom feeders, too. Ten of Tucson’s final 19 games are against teams in that bottom 15.
Bennett returns home
The details surrounding the Roadrunners’ annual “Gem Show Road Trip” never cease to be eye-opening.
The Roadrunners left Tucson, then traveled by airplane or bus to San Diego, Ontario, Stockton, Bakersfield, San Jose and Loveland, Colorado. They landing back in Phoenix Tuesday and practiced at the Ice Den in Chandler before finally trekking back to Tucson that night.
Living out of suitcases the entire time, those within the organization charged with putting the particulars together — that includes video coach and hockey operations assistant Brady Morgan, who handles the team’s travel arrangements — put their stamp on everything from ground transportation to practice venues.
While the club was in Colorado, the Roadrunners practiced at the University of Denver — the same campus and facility first-year Tucson forward Beau Bennett made his home during his own college days.
“The rink we practiced on was the first ever rink we practiced on when I went to DU,” Bennett said, adding that his brother just graduated from Denver, and his family still owns a house near campus. It was pretty surreal to be back there and fun to get those memories back.”
Bennett, who returned to school this past year to finish his studies via an online mass communications degree program through ASU, spent two seasons playing for Denver, making him one of six current Roadrunners with NCAA Division I experience under their belts.
That list includes defensemen Robbie Russo and Jordan Gross (both played at Notre Dame), forward Hudson Fasching (Minnesota) and goaltender Tyler Parks (St. Lawrence).
It also includes forward Andy Miele, who, in his senior season playing for Miami (Ohio), won the Hobey Baker Award — college hockey’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy.
Other Tucson ties include coach Jay Varady, who skated for Union College (New York), and Aaron Ness. Ness, back and forth between the Roadrunners and NHL’s Arizona Coyotes much of this season, was called up to Glendale earlier this week. He also played at Minnesota.
“The more college guys the better, usually,” Russo said of the NCAA presence in the Roadrunners’ locker room. “The group of college guys we have here are all good guys. …We’re lucky to have them all.”
Roadrunners on record pace
Despite the Roadrunners’ struggles of late to cushion their win total, Tucson’s offensive unit has maintained its pace this season better than any in the club’s four year Southern Arizona history.
Tucson enters this weekend still third in the AHL in scoring this season, and the Roadrunners’ 3.49 goals per game would easily eclipse the previous Tucson high of 3.15 in 2017-18.
Individual scoring is up, too.
Brayden Burke’s 49 points through 49 team games (he’s played in 47 of those, scoring a team-high 21 goals and carding 28 assists) is not only top five in the league, it’s already surpassed last year’s team-high of 47 points by forward Lane Pederson.
The Roadrunners have 19 games left on their schedule, and it’s not inconceivable, should enough skaters get hot down the stretch, to see as few as four or as many as six Roadrunners pass Pederson’s 2018-19 numbers.
Pederson himself could be one of those, if he can get healthy and stay in the lineup. He’s been in and out while nursing a lower body injury. Pederson’s 34 points in 37 games were a bit part of the Roadrunners’ hot start to the season. Entering Friday, Michael Bunting has 43 points (9 goals and 34 assists, the third highest total in the league), while Miele has 40 (15 goals, 25 assists). Fasching and Bennett — both at 31 points — could reach the mark with a hot streak, while a point per game down the stretch wouldn’t be a surprise for defenseman Kyle Capobianco, either. His .82 points per game (6 goals, 21 assists for 27 points in 33 games played) is third among AHL defensemen this season.
