Roadrunners Report: Onyebuchi’s Return, Hell in the Pacific, & More

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November has come and passed, and the American Hockey League (AHL) is now nearly a quarter of the way through the season. Similar to their NHL parent, the Utah Mammoth, it was a rough month for the Tucson Roadrunners. The team went 5-5-1 and looked super inconsistent in the second month of the season.

Once again, the Tucson Convention Center was not a place of strength for the Roadrunners, with the team playing a majority of their games there and going 3-4-0 in that time frame. Meanwhile, they went 2-1-1 on the road. The team now sits in ninth place in the Pacific Division with an 8-9-2 record. Here’s everything you need to know about the Roadrunners from November.

November’s Results

Similar to October, the Roadrunners started November on the road in Iowa, splitting the two-game series in Sammy Walker’s first return to Des Moines. They then returned home to play the Coachella Valley Firebirds, splitting that series as well.

After flying north to Colorado and splitting a series against the best team in the Pacific Division, the Colorado Eagles, the Roadrunners returned to southern Arizona and finished out November playing five games at home. Here are the results from November.

3-0 W @ Iowa, 5-4 L (OT) @ Iowa, 4-2 L vs Coachella Valley, 4-3 W (OT) vs Coachella Valley, 6-2 L @ Colorado, 3-0 W @ Colorado, 3-1 W vs Colorado, 5-2 L vs Colorado, 5-3 L vs San Diego, 4-1 W vs Abbotsford, 5-2 L vs Abbotsford

New Threads for Tucson

The 10th anniversary of the Roadrunners has coincidentally tied into the 90th anniversary of the AHL. Last month, the Roadrunners revealed a new set of home and away jerseys. This month, the team put out two new alternate jerseys.

The first one was an alternate black jersey that they put out late in October. The Roadrunners finally debuted them to kick off the month against the Firebirds. The team wore them a second time later in the month against the Eagles.

The jersey is the first in the Roadrunners’ history to have black as the primary color. It is also the only jersey this season to have the “Dusty” logo as the main crest. 

“This is a special year for our organization and community,” Roadrunners President Bob Hoffman said. “Dusty has always been a big part of our story, and introducing this new look lets us celebrate our past while introducing something exciting and fresh for our fans.”

The black jerseys might be a good luck charm for the Roadrunners. They are currently 2-0-0 while wearing the uniforms. They’ll wear them six more times throughout the season, including twice in December.

Related: Ripping Off the Band-Aid: Mammoth’s Terrell Goldsmith Makes Return to Hockey After Long Recovery

In celebration of the AHL’s 90th anniversary, the Roadrunners also put out a “vintage” alternate jersey. The jersey is paying homage to the first jerseys worn by teams in the league. Its main color is sand with maroon and copper striping. 

The main crest is a diagonal Tucson wordmark. The collar is also laced to mimic a vintage jersey.

“Being part of the AHL’s 90th Anniversary season gives us an opportunity to connect the past and present of our league,” said Hoffman. “This vintage design celebrates the roots of professional hockey while showcasing Tucson’s identity in a timeless way.”

The Roadrunners debuted them against the San Diego Gulls late in November, with the Gulls also wearing vintage jerseys. Unlike the black jerseys, the team has yet to win in them, going 0-1-0. They’ll have three more opportunities to fix that, including the next time in late January against the Eagles, who will also be wearing throwbacks.

Montana Onyebuchi Returns

After his viral fight in a game against the Calgary Wranglers last month, Montana Onyebuchi was injured, which kept him out for nearly a whole month. He finally returned in time for the Roadrunners’ home series against the Eagles.

“I wasn’t feeling good the first four games,” Onyebuchi said. “I had a little injury, and I felt good these past two games, especially against a good opponent. It’s always nice to come back and get started with a win.”

As Onyebuchi said, he returned just in time to help power the Roadrunners to a big upset win over the first-place Eagles. He then played in his 200th game in the second game of the series, a big achievement for the undrafted defenseman.

It’s rare for an undrafted player to reach 200 AHL games. Onyebuchi has managed to not just reach 200 games but also sign two NHL deals. He’s become a fan favorite for his style of play and his personality. He’s happy to get to the milestone. However, he now has his eyes set on the next goal, making the NHL.

“It takes a lot of resilience, coming from an undrafted player, and then on an AHL deal, and then sign an NHL deal, and then sign another NHL deal,” Onyebuchi said. “I think it comes with work, and those days you don’t want to get up and do it, you just have to go do it. I’m happy I’ve made it this far, and hopefully I can get to the NHL soon.”

Montana Onyebuchi Tucson Roadrunners
Montana Onyebuchi, Tucson Roadrunners (Photo credit: Bennett Silvyn)

Down 4-1 in the third period, the Roadrunners needed something to spark their offense. The puck came to Scott Perunovich near the blueline, and he quickly slid it over to Onyebuchi. The defenseman took a shot near the faceoff circle that went in for his first goal of the season.

Head coach Steve Potvin liked what he saw from Onyebuchi in the two-game series against the Eagles. Having him back in the lineup provided a spark of energy that Onyebuchi is known for. Plus, the defenseman had two points in the series, which helped the Roadrunners put up a good fight against one of the best teams in the league.

“His competitive spirit is more than welcome,” Potvin said. “He was completely tied to the results of the last two games. You could see that he was trying to do what he could to elevate the team whenever he had a chance. It was nice to see him get an assist yesterday. Tonight, he had a goal that brought us closer to our objective. He’s battled back from a layoff, and I think he was looking forward to a fresh start, and we’re happy to see him come back and really get to his game.”

For Onyebuchi, it might’ve been only a month he missed, but it was a hard couple of weeks. He stayed behind while the team was on the road. The one thing he wanted was to be back with his team, who were so supportive of him during his recovery.

“They were awesome,” Onyebuchi said. “It’s tough when they’re going on the road and stuff, and you’re at home. I just wanted to be out there with the guys. They’re always checking up and just supporting me.”

Going forward, the NHL is the next step for Onyebuchi. Until he gets his call from the Mammoth, his primary goal is to be the best teammate he can be and help the Roadrunners win. With Onyebuchi in the lineup, the Roadrunners certainly have a better chance to do so.

Andrew Agozzino and Jaxson Stauber Shine as Stars

Two Roadrunners made the AHL’s Three Stars of the Night throughout November. Both Andrew Agozzino and Jaxson Stauber managed to join some of the other stars in the league in being shoutout by the league for having great individual performances.

Stauber earned his achievement first during the Nov. 15 game against the Eagles. The goaltender recorded 32 saves and a shutout, handing the Eagles their fourth loss of the season. Stauber was named the second star of the night.

Stauber has improved since losing his first five starts of the season. He recorded back-to-back wins against the Eagles. However, he’s still been super inconsistent, losing his next two games. 

The goaltender has a .883 save percentage and a 3.17 goals against average, both very poor numbers. For those asking the Mammoth to call him up, he probably won’t fare better than either Karel Vejmelka or Vítek Vaněček. However, there’s something there. He’s a good goaltender. Stauber just needs to find consistency in the win department.

Agozzino has also struggled since being sent down from the Mammoth. Up until the Nov. 28 game against the Abbotsford Canucks, the veteran forward only had three assists in 12 games.

In the first game against the Canucks on the power play, Perunovich passed the puck to Agozzino near the blueline. The forward then slid it to Ben McCartney, who held on to it patiently while he floated into position. McCartney then threw the puck back to Agozzino, who fired it into the net to score his first goal.

The hot power play didn’t stop there. Daniil But fired the puck against the opposite wall, which got to Agozzino. He then fired it above the goaltender’s shoulder to score his second goal of the game.

With the game getting tight thanks to Jonathan Lekkerimäki scoring to make it 2-1, Agozzino came up clutch one more time. But once again came up big with a great play to knock the puck off a defender’s stick. The veteran forward carried it up ice and dropped it back to But. The Russian forward made some nice moves to get the puck to the net, which Agozzino then knocked in for the hat trick.

Thanks to the game-winning goal and the hat trick, Agozzino was named the first star of the night in the AHL. While the forward hasn’t scored in the two games since, the forward is hoping to get back on the scoresheet soon with some newfound confidence.

Kevin Rooney is Racking Up Frequent Flyer Miles

Hopefully, Kevin Rooney is earning frequent flyer miles for his flights because he’s been on a lot of airplanes in the past couple of weeks. At the end of the month, due to all the flying, Rooney played only five games in November, split between the NHL and AHL.

Rooney started November with the Mammoth. He was returned to the Roadrunners on Nov. 14. Rooney then played two games against the Eagles and was called back up to the Mammoth on Nov. 16.

The veteran forward didn’t play a game with the Mammoth and was sent back down to the Roadrunners on Nov. 22. Once again, he played two games with the team and scored twice in a game against the Gulls. Rooney was called up to the Mammoth on Nov. 27 and played his first NHL game of the season against the Dallas Stars the next day, scoring a goal.

“It’s been a little bit crazy of a season for me, but it’s been easy coming back down here,” Rooney said. “The coaching staff, management, everybody’s been so welcoming to me since the first day. Coming down here has been super easy, and I’m getting along great with the guys.”

Kevin Rooney Tucson Roadrunners
Kevin Rooney, Tucson Roadrunners (Photo credit: Kate Dibildox)

Rooney has since been sent back down to Tucson. As he mentioned, it’s been weird for him to go up and down so many times. Luckily, the two teams play the same system, but going from playing in the NHL to the AHL. Even in his most productive games, Rooney thinks he hasn’t played his best.

“There was a little rust,” Rooney said. “I didn’t really think I had a great game tonight, and then I scored two goals. Hockey’s a funny game like that sometimes. I’m going to continue to try to improve my 200-foot game, because if I get the call up there, it’s probably not going to be for scoring goals. I got to keep improving. The coaches have been awesome for me. It’s been a lot of fun.”

The veteran forward has gotten the Kailer Yamamoto treatment this season, bouncing between the two leagues. Unlike Yamamoto, Rooney has a daughter, so it’s been hard for him on that front.

However, like Yamamoto, Rooney has been in good spirits about the whole situation. He’s finally moved into his apartment, which he got towards the end of October, and his family has moved in as well. In fact, his two-goal game was the first game his family had attended this season.

“My daughter and my wife came to their first game tonight, so I was excited, excited for them to be here,” Rooney said. “It’s a little weird for them to come to their first game the night before Thanksgiving. It’s a little late in the season, but they were happy to be here, and it was exciting that they could see this one.”

Hell in the Pacific

It’s been a mediocre November for the Roadrunners. They’ve shown some great promise against some of the top teams in the Pacific Division, like the Eagles and the Firebirds. Then they’ve gone off and lost to bottom-of-the-league teams like the Canucks and the Wild.

What’s gone wrong? Well, both of their special teams have been mediocre. The power play ranks 18th in the league, with an 18.8% success rate. Meanwhile, their penalty kill has been even worse, at 78.6%, which is 22nd best in the AHL.

The offense has also slowed down. But has still been fantastic with 17 points in 19 games. However, other guys that the Roadrunners have relied on in the past still haven’t picked up the pace offensively.

As mentioned, Agozzino hasn’t been great offensively. After 43 points and 20 goals in 55 games last season, he has only six points in 15 games this season. Sammy Walker only has nine points in 20 games after playing well down the stretch with the Roadrunners last season. Despite a decent start, Miko Matikka still hasn’t adjusted well to the AHL level. Julian Lutz only has two goals.

Some of the newcomers also haven’t panned out well. Michal Kunc only has eight points in 20 games, Noel Nordh only has six points in 17 games, and Owen Allard (despite playing well defensively) has only five points.

A lot of finishing touches on goals have been missing for the Roadrunners. They’ve done well at getting shots on net and setting up good opportunities. However, they’ve been missing the final part of the equation. Case in point was the 42-shot game against the Gulls, where the Roadrunners eventually lost 5-3.

“We have to be able to fight for loose pucks that arrive on time and attack downhill,” Potvin said. “We did a lot of really good things, getting pucks to the slot area. We got rebound opportunities. Instead of being able to attack forward, we’re having to try to corral the puck, spin, and then shoot, and then a lot of times it ends up being a block…We were looking for fishing for rebounds, and weren’t able to attack downhill.”

This has all culminated in the Roadrunners failing to sweep a series this season. The team has only won back-to-back games once (funny enough, against the Eagles in two different series) and have yet to win more than two in a row. Sweeping a series is crucial to being successful in the AHL. Despite having some easy series against opponents like the Wild and Canucks, the Roadrunners didn’t win both games.

It takes a full team effort to sweep a series. Onyebuchi, who has been in the league for a while, knows it takes a lot to do that, but he knows the Roadrunners have it in them to do it.

“It takes a lot of energy, a lot of good bounces, preparation,” Onyebuchi said. “At the end of the day, when we’re prepared and ready to go every single night, I think there’s not a team in this league that can beat us.”

Potvin acknowledged that consistency is a huge part of getting a sweep as well. Coming off a win can be hard for a team, as it could give a team less motivation to win the second game. An opponent can easily capitalize on that mentality. 

That could be the exact reason why the Roadrunners have struggled to sweep a series. The team is 2-2-1 in the final game of the series, while they’re 3-2-0 in the first game. Potvin says they need to have the same energy and type of play they have in their wins across the whole series.

“The consistency aspect of it is one thing,” Potvin said. “It’s just having the real courage to stick with the basics. When you win the first night, sometimes you come off of it a little bit. You feel proud, and you feel like your game is in order, and you come back the next day, and you forget how much effort and energy and how much commitment you had to the basic stuff, the fundamentals, and the foundation of our play. I think that’s really what you need to be able to do is just have the courage to do it every night.”

The Roadrunners struggled to sweep any series last season as well. However, they had stretches of games where they won multiple games straight that helped propel them into the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division. 

They’ll have to figure out how to do that soon. They’re currently 11 points back of the Eagles for first place in the division and one point back of the Henderson Silver Knights for the final playoff spot. While there’s still plenty of hockey left, the Roadrunners really don’t want to wait until the last minute to win games. The luck they had last season might not be there again in the spring.

Goal of the Month

There weren’t a lot of highlight reel goals from the Roadrunners this month. However, the goal of the month has to be from the fourth game of the month. 

Honestly, you could’ve chosen almost any of the goals from the second game in the series against the Firebirds. It was the biggest game from the Russian rookie in his AHL career so far. But scored two goals in regulation to help send the game into overtime tied at three.

The biggest one had to be his third goal of the game to complete the hat trick. It was also the most impressive one. But had complete control of the puck as he made a giant U-turn in the neutral zone. He then stormed up the ice into the Firebirds’ zone and shot the puck above the goaltender’s shoulder to score the overtime winner and complete the hat trick.

But has still been lights out in the AHL. He currently has 17 points in 19 games, eight of which are goals. He’s adjusted well to the North American style of play and has done it pretty quickly.

“It didn’t take him very long to really adapt to the North American style, where it’s a little bit faster, and they’re on you a little bit quicker,” Potvin said. “I think his give-and-go game has improved. He’s able to get to open ice. I thought he managed the puck well tonight. What I like about him is that he takes in information, he’s coachable, he’s ready to apply, and it doesn’t take long for him to rebound from mistakes. It’s impressive to see from a young person.”

Daniil But Tucson Roadrunners
Daniil But, Tucson Roadrunners (Photo credit: Kate Dibildox)

When Rooney has been down in Tucson, he’s been mainly on a line with But. He’s seen the young forward quickly grow and flourish into the Roadrunners’ best player. He’s been spending time with him off the ice as well, and he’s enjoyed playing and getting to know him.

“He’s a great kid,” Rooney said. “I love spending time with him off the ice. We’ve gotten close pretty quickly. He’s got a bright future. He’s going to be playing in the NHL very soon. Whether it be this year, next year, or whenever he’ll be there. I’m excited to see his growth as a player and as a person.”

Turns out Rooney was correct and maybe faster than he expected. To kick off December, But was called up to the Mammoth and has already played in his first NHL game. While losing him will hurt the Roadrunners, seeing the forward achieve his dreams is something everyone in the organization is happy and proud of.

Roadrunner Records and Transactions From Tucson

A couple of achievements and records were set by Roadrunners players during November. Here are all the notable ones from the month.

  • Onyebuchi played in his 200th AHL game on Nov. 23 against the Eagles.
  • McCartney’s 67th career AHL assist passed Lane Pederson and Victor Söderström for eighth place all-time in Roadrunners franchise history. He now needs two assists to pass Cam Dineen for seventh place all-time.
  • McCartney also passed Pederson for fourth all-time in franchise history for points (124). He trails current Roadrunners forward Cameron Hebig for third all-time by 23 points.
  • Hebig passed Jan Jeník for fifth all-time in franchise history for assists. He now needs four assists to pass Robbie Russo for fourth place (80).
  • Hebig also passed Michael Carcone for second place in goals all-time in Roadrunners history. He needs four more to pass Michael Bunting for the franchise record (74).
  • Russo tied Dineen for seventh place all-time in games played with the Roadrunners. He needs to play 13 more games to pass Cameron Crotty for sixth place (219).
  • Maksymilian Szuber tied Dinnen for second all-time in franchise history in goals scored by a defenseman (18). He needs four more goals to pass Kyle Capobianco for the franchise record (21).
  • Matt Villalta passed Ivan Prosvetov for second all-time in franchise history for wins. He needs 12 more wins to pass Adin Hill for the franchise record (66).
  • Stauber passed Dylan Wells for fifth place all-time in franchise history for wins. He needs 19 more to pass Hunter Miska for fourth place all-time (32).
  • Stauber also passed Marek Langhamer for fifth place all-time in franchise history for most games started. He needs 32 more starts to pass Miska for fourth place all-time (61).
  • Terrell Goldsmith made his first AHL appearance on Nov. 26 against the Gulls.

Unlike October, there were many transactions between the Mammoth and the Roadrunners (four involving Rooney alone). Here are the transactions from November.

  • Terrell Goldsmith was officially loaned from the Mammoth.
  • Rooney was sent down to the Roadrunners twice and recalled by the Mammoth twice.

What’s Up Next?

The Roadrunners begin December on the road. The first three games of the month are all in California, where they’ll play the Bakersfield Condors once and the San Jose Barracuda twice.

The team will play a total of 10 games in the month. Five will be on the road while the other five will be at home. The biggest one arguably will be the Dec. 13 game against the Condors at home, where the Roadrunners will have their annual teddy bear toss. The teddy bear toss is when fans throw stuffed animals onto the ice after the home team scores the first goal.

The Roadrunners will also make their first appearance in Abbotsford since the 2025 playoff series against the Canucks where they were eliminated in three games. The Roadrunners will play in Western Canada on Dec. 19-20.

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