TUCSON, AZ – The Tucson Roadrunners (33-30-3-2) led wire-to-wire and completed a crucial series sweep with a 5-2 win over the Bakersfield Condors (28-28-7-3) on Sunday at Tucson Arena.
The Roadrunners struck early and often, building a 3-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the first period. Rookie defenseman Artem Duda opened the scoring 3:37 into the contest with a low shot from the left wall. Alternate captain Travis Barron followed up with back-to-back tallies just 1:43 apart to give Tucson a commanding three-goal cushion after 20 minutes.
Bakersfield’s Ethan Keppen trimmed the deficit late in the second period, but Tucson quickly responded. With 25 seconds left in the frame, Cameron Hebig buried a pass from Kailer Yamamoto to restore the Roadrunners’ three-goal advantage heading into the third.
Hebig finished with a goal and an assist for his 10th multi-point performance of the season. He was one of five Roadrunners to record multiple points in the win, joining Barron (2g), Duda (1g, 1a), Hunter Drew (2a), and Yamamoto (2a), who recorded his team-leading 14th multi-point game of the season in his return from a five-game NHL stint with the Utah Hockey Club.
Early in the third period, alternate captain Ben McCartney extended Tucson’s lead to 5-1 with his second goal in as many games and third in his last four outings. Bakersfield’s Alex Kannok Leipert scored a goal with 10 seconds remaining, cutting the deficit to 5-2.
Goaltender Dylan Wells turned in a stellar outing between the pipes, stopping 34 of 36 shots to earn his third win of the season and first since Dec. 21.
With the victory, Tucson improved to 6-2-0-0 in the season series against Bakersfield and extended its lead over the eighth-place Condors to five points in the Pacific Division standings. The Roadrunners currently hold the seventh and final playoff spot with 71 points with just four games remaining in the regular season.
YA GOTTA SEE IT
Three Roadrunners recorded multi-point performances in the first period alone to help set the tone in Sunday’s series finale. Barron led the way with two goals. Duda had a goal and an assist, and Drew added a pair of assists. All three have been red-hot throughout Tucson’s four-game homestand.
Barron has tallied three goals and six points in his last three games. Sunday marked his first multi-goal outing of the season and fourth multi-point effort overall—two of which have come over his last three contests. His recent hot streak has helped him secure his second consecutive season with at least 10 goals and 20 points.
Drew has one goal and four points over his last three games. It was his eighth multi-point performance of the season, the fourth-most on the team. It also marked his second multi-assist game of the year.
Meanwhile, Duda now has one goal and three points in his last three games. Sunday was his fourth multi-point performance and his fourth two-assist outing of the campaign.
DON’T OVERLOOK IT
Forward Curtis Douglas set up Barron’s second goal of the opening frame. He carried the puck into the offensive zone from center ice and feathered a perfect feed to Barron for a tap-in finish. The 6-foot-9 forward now has one goal and three points over his last three games and continues to be a difference-maker on home ice. Douglas has tallied six goals and eight points in his last eight games at Tucson Arena, while providing size, skill, and timely playmaking down the regular season’s home stretch.
THEY SAID IT
“Well, I thought it was a hard fought series. We did a nice job of coming back last night. And the best thing about doing it once is replicating it. Our boys were determined right from the start and they knew what was going to lead to success. I’m proud of them and this was a good game and weekend.”
Roadrunners coach Steve Potvin on sweeping Bakersfield
THE RUNDOWN
FIRST PERIOD
Making his first start of the homestand, Wells was tested early after Duda was sent to the box for slashing just 33 seconds into the game. Wells stood tall between the pipes, turning aside one-timers from Cam Dineen and Matthew Savoie to help Tucson kill off the early penalty.
Duda made an impact moments after stepping out of the box and opened the scoring at 3:37. The rookie defenseman fired a low shot through traffic from the top of the left circle that slipped past Condors netminder Brett Brochu’s right skate to make it 1-0.
Tucson continued to dominate puck possession, and Barron doubled the lead eight minutes into the period. Drew set up the play with a hard cross-ice feed from the right circle, and Barron hammered home a one-timer from the left side to beat Brochu glove-side.
Barron wasn’t done and struck again less than two minutes later to make it 3-0. Douglas carried the puck into the zone on a two-on-one rush and threaded pass across the crease to Barron, who tapped it in for his second goal of the night at 9:42.
Douglas nearly added another assist just over two minutes later, setting up Drew for a one-timer from the low left circle. Brochu made the save to keep the Condors in the game heading into the second.
SECOND PERIOD
Tucson continued to control play early in the middle frame, and forward Julian Lutz set up Ryan McGregor in the slot for a quality scoring chance, but McGregor’s one-timer clanged off the post. The Roadrunners dominated puck possession and didn’t allow a Bakersfield shot on goal until 6:46 into the period.
Shortly after, Hebig nearly extended the lead with a wraparound chance at 8:23, but Brochu slid across the crease to make a timely pad save.
Tucson’s aggressive attack continued in the second half of the frame, and the Roadrunners offense generated a series of odd-man rushes and breakaways. Sammy Walker led a two-on-one with Andrew Agozzino, and fired a shot from the low right circle that Brochu turned aside. A minute later, Barron broke in alone but was denied on a backhand deke with five minutes left.
Bakersfield responded with a two-on-one of their own and got on the board with 3:32 remaining. Keppen finished a cross-slot feed from Noah Philp, ripping a one-timer past Wells glove-side to cut Tucson’s lead to 3-1.
However, the Roadrunners answered in the final minute to restore their three-goal cushion. The trio of Yamamoto, Austin Poganski, and Hebig applied heavy pressure in the Condors’ zone, and Yamamoto found Hebig wide open on the left side. Hebig buried the Yamamoto’s pass into the open net to make it 4-1 Tucson with 25 seconds left in the period.
THIRD PERIOD
After a balanced start to the final frame, the Roadrunners seized momentum around the five-minute mark and began generating sustained pressure in the Bakersfield zone. Agozzino worked the puck behind the net and spotted McCartney open above the right circle. McCartney stepped into the slot and ripped a shot top shelf to extend Tucson’s lead to 5-1 at 6:25.
From there, goaltender Dylan Wells took care of the rest—turning aside 10 of the 11 shots he faced in the third to finish with 34 saves and secure Tucson’s second straight win and weekend sweep over the Condors.
Bakersfield generated one last attack in the final minute, and Leipert’s shot from the point found the back of the net with 10 seconds left to cut the deficit to 5-2.
UP NEXT
The Roadrunners hit the road for their final away series of the regular season, taking on the Rockford IceHogs in a two-game set at the BMO Center. The series opener is set for Friday at 5 p.m. MST, with both games available to stream live on AHLTV on FloHockey.
