Is it better to be lucky or good?
Tucson Roadrunners forward Michael Carcone was both Saturday night.
With his second hat trick this month, Carcone paced the Roadrunners (17-23-2-1) to a 6-5 win over the visiting Ontario Reign (28-10-3-3) in the opener of a two-game series in Tucson Arena.
“I think you need a little bit of both, right?” Carcone said. “You have to play well to do the right things, but at the same time, you need a little bit of puck luck. So I was fortunate enough tonight to get that puck luck.”
Carcone was plenty good in the opening period. His two goals helped Tucson to a 3-2 lead heading into the first intermission.
In the third, it was a matter of Carcone putting himself in the right place at the right time to give Tucson a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
With the score tied 4-4, Carcone, followed an otherwise innocuous clearing of the puck deep into the Ontario zone. But Ontario goaltender Matthew Villalta misplayed it in his own crease, and Carcone was able to poke at it, jamming the puck into to the goal and giving Tucson a 5-4 advantage.
“You create your own luck. If he doesn’t work, and he doesn’t get down the ice, he doesn’t get the luck,” Tucson coach Jay Varady said. “'Carcs' has been creating his own luck in all kinds of different situations for the last 20 games. He’s had an unbelievable mindset.”
The goal helped Tucson to another much-needed win as it tries to climb back into the seventh and final playoff position out of the American Hockey League’s Pacific Division; it also marked Carcone’s second hat trick in barely three weeks, and third in his now-13-month stint with the Roadrunners. His 11 goals in nine games is tied for most in the AHL during the month of February, while his linemate, Matias Maccelli, leads all AHL skaters with 18 points this month.
But the fact Carcone or Maccelli weren’t solely responsible for Tucson’s scoring output may just be a big reason why Tucson came out victorious.
Ben McCartney added a goal and three assists, while Jan Jenik carded two goals and an assist to provide at least a little bit more balance to the Roadrunners’ offensive attack.
McCartney scored his goal in the opening frame to help Tucson to that first intermission lead. In the second, after Ontario scored a pair of goals 23 seconds a part to turn that 3-2 lead into a 4-3 Reign advantage, Jenik tied the game at four apiece midway through the middle frame. And after Carcone’s fortuitous third goal of the night came five minutes into the third put Tucson on top 5-4, it was Jenik again scoring with barely four minutes to play to give the Roadrunners a 6-4 advantage.
“Obviously they have a lot of offensive firepower on that team, and I thought we did a really good job just responding well,” McCartney said of Tucson’s ability to hang with Ontario, which boasts the AHL’s third-best overall record this season.
McCartney noted the importance of lines other than the Roadrunners’ top-scoring unit, which features Carcone, Maccelli and center Travis Barron, producing offensive results.
“'Carcs,' 'Celli' and Barron, they’ve been playing every night really consistent,” McCartney said. “I think just helping them out with a score … it makes a huge difference. Just knowing that you can put anyone on any line on the ice, it’s definitely a confidence building for the team. Just seeing a few go in, it’s really, really good to see.”
Even still, Maccelli and Carcone continue to climb toward the top of the Roadrunners’ record books.
Carcone’s 21 goals is eighth in the league this season, and is now three shy of setting a new Roadrunners’ single-season mark with 25 regular season gams remaining.
Maccelli’s two-point night moved him into second place all-time on Tucson’s single-season points list. Maccelli’s 54 points in 41 appearances trails only the 67 points scored by former Roadrunner Chris Mueller in 2016-17.
Maccelli remained third in the league in points this season after Saturday. He trails only Chicago’s Andrew Poturalski (66 points) and Ontario’s T.J. Tynan. Tynan, the reigning AHL most valuable player who was acquired by Ontario in the offseason, added a goal and three assists Saturday and now has 62 on the season.
Ontario’s Jordan Spence and Martin Frk scored first period goals, with Tynan and Rasmus Kapari adding goals in the second. With Tucson up 6-4 late, Samuel Fagemo scored on a power play, with the Reign goaltender also pulled for the 6-on-4 advantage, to pinch Tucson’s lead to just one.
Villalta stopped 27 of the 33 shots on goal from the Roadrunners. His counterpart, Tucson’s Ivan Prosvtov, turned away 36 of 41 Ontario attempts on net.
Sunday’s 3 p.m. faceoff marks the end of a four-game homestand for Tucson. The game is slated to be televised live locally on KWBA-TV which can be found on either Channel 8 or 58 on most Southern Arizona cable or satellite systems.
