Another day, another core member of the Tucson Roadrunners’ lineup called up to the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes.
And, on Saturday, despite a promising last eight days of hockey for the Roadrunners, it was another untimely Tucson loss. The Roadrunners’ 6-3 loss to the visiting Rockford IceHogs leaves Tucson’s already precarious American Hockey League playoff hopes now hanging by the thinnest of threads.
“Those were points we needed. Important points right now,” Tucson head coach Jay Varady said after Tucson managed one out of four possible points this weekend.
With the Roadrunners’ top four point producers coming in to Saturday and multiple blueline regulars already with the Glendale-based Coyotes, goaltender Ivan Prosvetov was next to get the call Saturday. Prosvetov had made an appearance in net for the Roadrunners’ in a team-record 16 straight games, including Friday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Rockford in Tucson Arena.
Prosvetov essentially traded spots with fellow netminder Josef Kořenář, who after making multiple relief appearances for the Coyotes this week, made his first start Saturday in net for Tucson since March 5.
“Next man up theory,” Varady said. “Everyone understands this time of year. College guys come in when their season ends. Junior guys come in when their season ends.
“For us this year, there’s just been a lot of injuries in the organization. You know, my first year here we had a lot and I think we got more this year,” Varady added. “There’s four defensemen, three forwards up (with the Coyotes) playing right now – maybe more that started the season with us here.”
On Saturday, while Kořenář and the Roadrunners (20-31-5-1) traded paint with Rockford through the first 38 minutes, pushing a 3-3 tie deep into the second period, the IceHogs (30-24-4-1) benefitted from goals by D.J. Busdeker inside 90 seconds to play in the middle frame and Lukas Reichel four minutes into the third to build a lead and secure the victory.
Dylan McGlaughlin would add an empty-netter late, to go along with early goals from Garrett Michael, Mike Hardman and Brett Connolly for the visiting IceHogs.
“We were in a situation where it was a 2-2 game for a period of time, and then we got sloppy,” Varady said. “The biggest thing for me is we gave up too many odd-man attacks. That’s not our style.”
Kořenář stopped 21 of 26 Rockford shots on goal. The IceHogs’ Arvid Soderblom turned away 21 of 24 from the Roadrunners.
Ben McCartney (4:14 into the first period), Stephen Harper (10:48 into the first) and Cam Crotty (17:24 into the second) scored the Roadrunners’ three goals, with assists credited to Terry Broadhurst, Tyson Empey, Cedric Lacroix and Doyle Somerby.
McCartney’s 13 goals and 29 points leads active Roadrunners this season, with Matias Maccelli (14 goals and 55 points), Mike Carcone (24 and 41), Jan Jenik (16 and 39) and Hudson Fasching (11 and 29) all in the NHL at the moment.
“It stings. It stings,” McCartney said of Saturday’s defeat. “All the guys, we worked really hard out there. But we’ve just to got to be better in the key moments.”
Tucson came into this weekend’s series after arguably its best weekend of hockey in months – a pair of road wins over the Henderson Silver Knights last Friday and Saturday to close out the Silver Knight’s era at the Orleans Arena just off the Las Vegas strip.
Henderson is struggling of late, too. But the Silver Knights still sit alone in the seventh and final playoff position from the AHL’s Pacific Division with less than a dozen games to go despite falling themselves Saturday to the Bakersfield Condors, 5-2, Saturday on opening night of Henderson’s brand-new arena, the Dollar Loan Center. Still, the Roadrunners only earning one of four possible points this weekend against Rockford leaves Tucson 10 points behind Henderson with 11 games to play on both teams’ schedules.
Next up for the Roadrunners: The Iowa Wild visit Tucson Arena on Tuesday and Wednesday, both 6:30 p.m. faceoffs, before the Roadrunners return the trip to Rockford, Illinois, next Saturday and Sunday.
