The flame that powered the Tucson Roadrunners’ initial hot start to the 2019-20 season was doused Sunday afternoon with authority by the San Antonio Rampage.
The Roadrunners (1-1-0-0), who won their Friday night season opener 2-0, jumped out to another 2-0 lead in Sunday’s matinee — only to see the host Rampage (2-0-0-0) score five unanswered goals from early in the second period on to quickly bring Tucson back to earth.
“There was a change in momentum that we didn’t fight through,” Tucson coach Jay Varady said. “In a game where you come out, have a good start, you get rolling, and there’s a shift in the game, you have to ready for those shifts — and recover from those shifts and those changes in momentum.”
Roadrunner goaltenders had stopped the first 30 shots they faced on the season before San Antonio got on the board 4:20 into the second period. That includes Adin Hill, who got the start Sunday after being reassigned to the American Hockey League Roadrunners following his start to the season with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes.
But after holding the Rampage scoreless on 10 shots in the opening frame Sunday at San Antonio’s AT&T Center, the hosts peppered the longtime Tucson starter in net for five goals on 20 shots before Hill was replaced by rookie Erik Kallgren late in the third period.
Before the San Antonio onslaught, Sunday’s outing looked like it might be a replication of Friday’s opener against the Texas Stars.
Sunday at San Antonio’s AT&T Center Lane Pederson, Tucson’s leader in both points and goals last season, scored at 15:01 of the first period, off an assist from Michael Bunting. Two minutes into the second period, second-year pro Tyler Steenbergen stretched the lead when he beat Rampage netminder Ville Husso, with fellow sophomore Cam Dineen recording the assist.
San Antonio responded a little more than two minutes later with its first goal off the stick of Mike Vecchione. Nathan Walker added another for San Antonio in the second, leaving the game tied at 2-2 after two periods.
But late in the middle frame, Hill would play a puck behind the Tucson net. As he was returning to position, San Antonio’s Ryan Olsen skated across Hill’s crease, with both players’ right legs colliding. Hill would stay down for more a minute-plus, but stayed in the game for the remainder of the second period and well into the third before Kallgren entered in relief.
“There was contact and I think it shook (Hill) up,” Varady said. “But he was able to stay in there for us.”
In the final period, two goals from Zach Nastasiuk and one from Niko Mikkola rounded out the 5-2 final score.
The Roadrunners next play at the Ontario Reign on Saturday, before their home opener on Oct. 18 at Tucson Arena against the Rampage.
