Led by the youngest Roadrunner ever, Tucson snapped its six-game losing streak win a win over the Colorado Eagles on Friday night.
The Roadrunners (21-35-5-1) jumped ahead to a three-goal lead and held on to top the Eagles 4-3.
Tucson goalie, Rasmus Korhonen, who is 19, made his home debut in the win.
“Oh, great feeling,” Korhonen said. “Great game, I feel amazing.”
The Roadrunners host the Eagles Saturday at 7 p.m. to wrap up the series and homestand. It will be broadcast on CW Tucson, channel 8/58, and it’s the last TV game of the season.
Tucson had been 0-5-1-0 in its last six games and 2-7-1-0 in their last 10.
It’s the Roadrunners’ first home win since a Mar. 18 4-3 shootout victory over San Jose and their first regulation home triumph since Feb. 26, 6-5 over Ontario.
Colorado (36-21-4-3) is in third in the division and clinched a playoff spot but the Roadrunners are 3-0-0-1 in series openers against the Eagles this season.
“I thought the guys competed hard, it was nice to see Korhonen in there make some saves for us, he did a really good job as a young goaltender,” said Roadrunners coach Jay Varady. “It’s a really talented team over there and did a great job with his shot totals.”
Korhonen, had 37 saves. It’s his second game for Tucson, as he made 24 saves and gave up four goals at Rockford on Apr. 10.
“The game is faster,” Korhonen said about the AHL. “The first game was harder but this one was better.”
The Coyotes drafted Korhonen in the fourth round of 2021 draft with the 122nd pick. Unlike other Finnish players the Roadrunners have had like Matias Maccelli, who played junior hockey in North America, Korhonen came straight over from Finland and their different sized ice rinks.
Korhonen has only played in Finland until the Rockford game.
“I think it’s tough, like I’ve mentioned in the past, some of our players have played junior here, played here before,” Varady said. “As a goaltender, what’s tricky is your angles change and the game’s played a little different, so there are so adjustments for a goaltender to make to play in North America.”
Tucson defenseman Cameron Crotty scored 56 seconds into the game, assisted by forwards Travis Barron and Colin Theisen.
Halfway through the first, Colorado forward Kiefer Sherwood scored a power-play goal. He would also score the Eagles’ third goal.
At 12:15 in the first, Tucson defenseman Victor Soderstrom scored a power-play goal, assisted by forwards Jan Jenik and Hudson Fasching.
“It’s really good, we got nothing to lose now, so really good game for all the guys on the team and it’s important to get the confidence in the team back, too,” Soderstrom said.
Tucson forward Cameron Hebig scored, assisted by defenseman Andrew Nielsen at 5:23 in the second
At 8:53 in the third, Broadhurst scored Tucson’s fourth goal, assisted by Soderstrom and Jenik.
After Colorado scored a couple in the third, it pulled its goalie and had about 2:40 of an extra skater, but Tucson held on.
“I wasn’t nervous, I was just enjoying it, so fun to play,” Korhonen said about the Eagles’ empty net period of play.
The Roadrunners had a balanced offense, with eight tallying points.
“Balance through the lineup, I think that’s how we’ve had success here traditionally and we able to kinda have the same formula here today,” Varady said.
The youngest Roadrunner ever — forward Ben McCartney, who is 20 now, was the previous record holder — was all smiles after the game.
“It was amazing, great fans, thanks for the fans,” Korhonen said
Slap shots
- With the win and San Diego’s 3-0 loss at the Ontario Reign, the Roadrunners’ slim playoff hopes remained alive. The Gulls only need two points in their final seven games or for Tucson to suffer a regulation loss to clinch the division’s seventh and final playoff spot. However, Tucson has three games left against the Gulls, two at home.
- The first 2,500 fans to come to Saturday’s game will receive a team poster. The giveaway features a photo from the Roadrunners’ Jan. 29 3-2 overtime win over Bakersfield.
