Jay Varady admitted that he didn’t take part in the Roadrunners’ on-ice celebration following Saturday’s 3-2, come-from-behind win over Bakersfield.
“I didn’t really see the celebration,” the Roadrunners’ coach said with a hearty laugh. “I walked off the ice.”
That was by design. It’s part of Varady’s coaching philosophy.
“It’s important for me, as a coach — I think that’s their time. That’s the players’ time. That’s what they’ve earned,” Varady added.
If that was his players’ time, Varady surely knew he’d get “his” time — that is, with his guys at practice — sooner than later. With the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show taking over Tucson Arena for the first couple weeks of February, the Roadrunners embarked on their upcoming multiple-week, six-game road trip a bit early. They skated in Chandler on Tuesday before a practice in Glendale on Wednesday. Then it was on to Southern California, where the Roadrunners (13-18-2-1) face the San Diego Gulls (13-19-2-0) on Friday night.
If the Roadrunners, now in seventh place in the American Hockey League’s Pacific Division, can plug enough holes in their boat to eventually make the AHL’s postseason, Saturday’s win over Bakersfield — and likely the results from this weekend’s back-to-back with San Diego — could be key moments.
The win over Bakersfield snapped a seven-game losing streak while keeping the Roadrunners out of Pacific Division cellar. It also marked the precise end of the first half of the season. Friday at San Diego is Game No. 35 of 68, and the first of six games in nine days spanning Southern California to Abbotsford, British Columbia, to Loveland, Colorado.
When asked about what entering the second half of the season on a high note means, Varady admitted that he’s not a “big picture guy” in that sense.
“I don’t say, ‘We need to be here. We need to do that.’ I kind of live in the moment. I live in the weekend. Deal with what we’ve got,” he said. “I think sometimes in the (AHL) things change too fast. So you just don’t know what your situation is going to be like tomorrow or the day after.”
Even still, that didn’t stop Varady and his coaching staff from seeing the impending second half of the season as a chance to start fresh.
The team on Thursday named longtime forward Hudson Fasching as captain for the remainder of the season. Fasching has done a little bit of everything this season; his 18 points in 22 games with the Roadrunners is on pace for the best production of his AHL career, while he’s also skated seven times for the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, in addition to time with the Coyotes’ taxi squad.
“‘Fasch’ has been with us for a long time now,” Varady said via a team-released video. “I think when you think Hudson Fasching, you think reliable. You think a guy who can do a little bit of everything.”
Fasching takes on a role initially held this season by defenseman Dysin Mayo, the longest-tenured player in Roadrunners’ history. But Mayo only wore the “C” on his sweater for two games before earning his first NHL call-up. He has become one of the Coyotes’ nightly leaders in time-on-ice.
Since, a combination of forward Fasching and fellow forwards Blake Speers, Michael Carcone and Bokondji Imama have rotated wearing the “A” as alternate captains.
“First time wearing the ‘C.’ It’s really an honor,” Fasching said in a team-released video. “It’s easy when you have a good group.
“I love these guys. We have a really good team culture this year and good resiliency. I think we kind of showed that over the last week, and we want to keep building on that here in San Diego.”
