Roadrunners drop back-to-back games against Henderson
The AHL’s Silver Knights bested Tucson in a two-game set over the weekend
The Roadrunners in action during a home game at the Tucson Convention Center Arena.
Following a two-game split with the San Diego Gulls, the Tucson Roadrunners hit the road again for two games in Nevada against the Henderson Silver Knights.
The weekend’s starter was Ivan Prosvetov, who had previously been with the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes after Carter Hutton went down with an injury. Following Scott Wedgewood’s acquisition via waivers, the Coyotes reassigned Prosvetov to their AHL affiliate down south.
Friday’s opener in Nevada was a lopsided affair. The Golden Knights’ farm routed the Roadrunners 3-0, despite Tucson’s 28 shots on goal.
Mason Primeau opened the scoring for the Knights early into the first period, netting his first this season at the 2:41 mark with an assist from Derrick Pouliot. Paul Cotter extended Henderson’s lead with a power play goal less than four minutes later, the assists this time coming from Pavel Dorofeyev and Daniil Miromanov.
Both teams traded opportunities in the second frame, but Sven Bärtschi sealed the deal in the third period, as Lucas Elvenes and Jack Dugan tallied assists to polish off the shutout victory.
The Silver Knights continued their hot streak into Saturday’s rematch. Elvenes got the opener at 9:24 of the first period, with Bärtschi recording an assist on the 22-year-old’s power play strike.
Maxim Marushev nabbed Henderson’s fifth unanswered goal 43 seconds later, with helpers from Dorofeyev and Ian McCoshen.
The Roadrunners would stop the Knights’ dominant run when Ty Emberson got on the board with 2:55 left in the period. Late in the second, Tucson rallied to tie the game with a goal from Michael Carcone, whose first goal of the 2021/22 season came with Matias Maccelli and Hudson Elynuik assists.
After a scoreless third period, the game moved to a sudden death overtime session. It went down to the wire in the final five-minute period, but Bärtschi scored the winner with 51 seconds left, making Tucson pay for a delay of game penalty on Blake Speers.
The Roadrunners fell to 3-4-1 on the young season and head home for another two-game set next weekend. They will welcome the first place Ontario Reign to the Tucson Convention Center Arena next Friday and Saturday.
