Utah Hockey Club called up a third Tucson Roadrunner this season: goalie Jaxson Stauber.
Utah goalie Connor Ingram is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, so they recalled Stauber on an emergency basis on Wednesday.
Stauber is 5-2 for Tucson this season with a 2.29 goals against average and a .930 save percentage. The Wayzata, Minn., native is tied for eighth in wins and save percentage and 13th in goals against in the AHL.
“Jaxson’s been really good,” said Tucson head coach Steve Potvin. “He has just a real strong mindset. I felt like he was just in control of his skating, I felt like he always had a good angle.
“We just never felt like we were in real trouble and I think he just gives you a little bit of calm.”
Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Jaxson Stauber stops a shot during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Feb. 19, 2023, in Chicago.
The Roadrunners (6-7) host the first-place Calgary Wranglers (13-3-1-0) on Friday and Saturday night. The Wranglers are the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames.
Stauber previously played six games for the Chicago Blackhawks, going 5-1 with a 2.81 GAA and a .911 SV%. He played for the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, for two seasons before coming to Tucson.
Tucson called up goalie Dylan Wells from their ECHL affiliate, the Allen Americans.
Stauber is the third Roadrunner to be called up to the NHL this season.
Wells returns to Tucson after going 4-2 with a 4.13 GAA and a .900 SV% in Texas. Last year for the Roadrunners, Wells was 10-5-3-1 with a 3.28 GAA, and .898 SV%, setting AHL career highs in games played and wins.
Tucson goalie Matthew Villalta (1-5) moves back into the No. 1 spot after making the all-star team and making his NHL debut last season. Villalta has a 3.58 GAA and a 0.886 SV% this season.
“Matty is gonna probably benefit the most from having Staubs going up, he’s gonna be able to play a couple games during the weekend,” Potvin said. “He’s gonna get a lot more time and he’s gonna be able to get his game kind of in order and you know, I say that with a little grain salt, because I really think that his game has been in order.
“He’s had a couple of mishandles and then one shot that went in off the side.”
Roadrunners goalie Matthew Villalta is moving back into the No. 1 spot after Jaxson Stauber was called up to the NHL.
A chance for redemption
Not only does Calgary lead the division, conference and league, but it is coming to town after ending Tucson’s season last year.
During the regular season last year, the Roadrunners and Wranglers each split series in Tucson and Canada, but in the postseason, the Wranglers swept the best of three series against the Roadrunners in the Old Pueblo.
Potvin said they are focused on the Roadrunners.
“Of course it’s always gonna kinda surface, we try not to bring up the past, but of course we know what type of team they are, how disciplined they are and we’re obviously gonna prepare for that,” Potvin said. “So, for us I think it’s more about taking care of what we need to in order to take the next step in our game and in our level and a lot of it starts with the locker room and the environment and the energy going towards this Friday night.”
Roadrunners bounce back
Tucson beat the Henderson Silver Knights 2-1 on Saturday to snap their three-game losing streak after a players-only meeting.
On Friday, the Silver Knights beat Tucson 6-2 to win their first home game of the season and hand the Roadrunners their third straight defeat after they lost the first game of the road trip 4-1 to the Ontario Reign. The Silver Knights outshot Tucson 31-30, and the Roadrunners outshot HSK 11-8 in the third period, but Henderson scored three goals in the third period, including two empty net goals.
However, on Saturday, the Roadrunners came back to beat Henderson.
“Oh, it was huge to get that win,” Potvin said. “You know, I love the process of how we got that win, I don’t think anybody was satisfied with how we played versus Ontario.”
Potvin said the team’s mindset was a lot better on Friday, even though it lost.
“Of course there was a goal that we probably want back, but we see the game probably closer to a 2-1 or a 3-2 type hockey game and the results showed it was a 6-2 game,” Potvin said. “But what I like the most about that that evening was that the guys got together collectively and in the room they asked if staff could leave them alone for a little bit and we gave them the night, they sorted through some things and look, they played a real consistent game from start to finish.”
