There aren’t too many professional hockey players anywhere, at any level, who had the kind of three-period run Tucson Roadrunners’ right winger Mike Carcone experienced this weekend.
Following a three-goal third period Friday night, Carcone deposited two more in the first two periods Saturday, driving the Roadrunners to a 4-1 win over the San Diego Gulls at Tucson Arena.
“Maybe if I was lucky in (youth) hockey,” Carcone said of whether or not he’s had a sequence like that in his career before. “No. it’s a nice feeling but it’s not possible without (linemates Kevin Roy and Fredrik Gauthier) out there. … I’m pretty thankful to be playing with those guys right now.”
Added Tucson head coach Steve Potvin: “Obviously you can see how Michael can skate. It’s difficult to stop when he’s in motion.”
The win gave the Roadrunners (9-13-1-0) a split in the two-game weekend set with the Gulls (17-12-0-0), with Saturday’s three-goal margin of victory balancing out a wild 8-6 defeat Friday that saw Carcone net a team-record four goals in a single night.
Saturday’s two goals, in addition those four a night earlier, gives Carcone 10 on the season. That’s tied for the Tucson team-lead with Roy. The duo is also tied for seventh in the American Hockey League.
Roy didn’t drop one in himself this weekend, but the left wing did manage a feat of his own: a combined seven assists over the two games, pushing him into a tie for second in league-wide in points with 26 in 23 games played.
Potvin has stressed time and again this season how much he wants to see complete 60-minute games
“Our guys have been playing some real good hockey and I think they put it together. They’ve been doing I’ve felt the same thing for a long time. Either we weren’t’ getting the goal support, or we weren’t at some point in time getting timely saves,” Potvin said. “I think tonight we got a blend of everything.”
Just as important as playing a consistent start-to-finish outing was for the Roadrunners, so was playing fast from the jump. Prior to Saturday, the Roadrunners had given up the first goal in four straight outings, with three of those coming in the game’s first 2 1/2 minutes. Tucson scored first Saturday, with Right winger Cameron Hebig potting his second of the season – his second in two nights – roughly eight minutes into the first. Defenseman Doyle Somerby and left winger Tyler Steenbergen earned the assists, giving Steenbergen four points in his last three games after just two through the team’s first 20.
Later in the opening period, it was Carcone with his ninth of the season just outside two minutes on the clock. Helpers went to Roy and defenseman Kyle Capobianco.
Roy hooked up with Carcone again — Carcone’s 10th of the season — just a minute into the second to give Tucson some cushion.
Carcone came within inches of his second hat trick in as many nights when he jumped past San Diego’s last line of defense along the left-side boards for a breakaway with about four minutes to play. But he got too tight on San Diego goaltender Olle Ericksson Ek before he could get a real shot off.
The Roadrunners put the clamps on defensively, too, at least until the game’s waning minutes. The Gulls finished with 28 shots on net, with Tucson goaltender Chris Nell stopping 27 of them in his second start of the season.
“(Nell) played well for us, made some timely saves. They had some odd-man rushes again, and he came up big,” Carcone said.
San Diego’s lone goal, from Benoit-Olivier Groulx, came with 2:37 left in the third period, breaking what would have been Nell’s first AHL shutout.
A night after recording a season-high 52 shots on goal, the Roadrunners threw 39 at Eriksson Ek, who finished with 35 saves.
The Roadrunners, who came into the game with just one win in their seven prior matchups, have now won two of three — including a 4-2 win over the first-place Henderson Silver Knights a week ago Saturday.
That momentum could prove vital as Tucson prepare for its first-ever road trip to Southern Nevada to face the Silver Knights (18-6-0-0), the AHL Pacific Division’s newest team.
Henderson will play host to the Roadrunners Thursday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Orleans Arena, just off the Las Vegas Strip. The Silver Knights’ new home arena is still under construction some 17 miles east of downtown Las Vegas.
Just last week, Henderson took two of three over the Roadrunners at Tucson Arena. But after the Silver Knights won a pair of 3-1 decisions, the Roadrunners at Tucson Arena, the Roadrunners won the finale, 4-2.
