Roadrunners Upend Stars in Tucson
Mar 16, 2024
TUCSON, Arizona – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, were handed a 4-1 loss in a weekend series opener by the Tucson Roadrunners on Saturday night at Tucson Convention Center Arena.
Milos Kelemen put the Roadrunners in front first at 13:55 when he snapped a wrist shot past Remi Poirier from the right wall. Then with 1:34 left in the opening frame, Mavrik Bourque tipped in a one-timer blasted in Matthew Villalta’s direction from the right point by Derrick Pouliot.
The second period saw Montana Onyebuchi score through traffic from the right point to make it 2-1 Roadrunners at 17:02. It marked the middle frame’s only goal as Tucson carried a one-goal lead into the second break.
In the third period, Nathan Smith shelfed a close, short side shot over Poirier’s shoulder to put the Roadrunners up 3-1 with 6:42 elapsed. Justin Kirkland confirmed an eventual 4-1 victory for Tucson by scoring an empty-net goal from the neutral zone with 1:15 remaining in regulation.
Earning the win in goal, Villalta improved to 25-14-3 on the season after making 25 saves on 26 shots. Poirier came down with the loss to fall to 15-13-3 after stopping 23 shots.
The Stars take on the Roadrunners one more time in a finale on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. CT before continuing the five-game road trip with three games in California.
Photo Credit: Tucson Roadrunners
Game Info |
Shots |
Goaltenders |
3 Stars (Ubeo Business Services) |
Boxscore |
TEX: 26 |
W: Villalta (TUC) |
1: Smith (TUC) |
Photo |
TUC: 27 |
L: Poirier (TEX) |
2: Kelemen (TUC) |
Video |
|
|
3: Villalta (TUC) |