Roadrunners settle for split in Ontario | Pro Hockey News

Ontario, CA – After a promising start, the Tucson Roadrunners fell 4-2 to the Ontario Reign on Sunday to split the weekend series. Tucson built 1-0 and 2-1 leads, but the Reign scored three unanswered goals to secure the series split at Toyota Arena.

Forward Kevin Rooney scored for the second straight game on a two-on-one rush to put the Roadrunners on the board early in the first period. Rookie Daniil But scored the game’s first assist, marking his first AHL point in just his second career game. Sammy Walker added the secondary helper for his team-leading fourth point of the season.

After Ontario’s Akil Thomas tied the game late in the opening frame, assistant captain Cameron Hebig regained Tucson’s lead just over a minute into the second period with his first goal of the year on the power play. Michal Kunc recorded his first assist with Tucson during the game, while Ben McCartney also scored an assist for his third point of the season.

Ontario’s Joe Hicketts tied the game midway through the second period before Otto Salin gave the Reign their first lead of the night with two minutes remaining. Martin Chromiak’s power-play goal five minutes into the third period doubled Ontario’s lead and capped the scoring.

Roadrunners goalie Jaxson Stauber stopped 23 of 27 shots in his debut start of the season.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• Walker is one of only eight players in the AHL to record a career-high four points during the league’s opening weekend.
• Walker’s 11 shots in the first two games of the season leave him tied in the league lead with Henderson’s Lukas Cormier.
• Kevin Rooney opened the scoring for Tucson in the first period and now has two goals in his first two games as Roadrunner.
• Dating back to the end of the 2024/25 regular season, Hebig has scored in three of his last four regular season games, with four goals in that period.
• Four Roadrunners have started the season with points in each of the team’s first two games (Rooney, Walker, McCartney and Hebig).
• The Roadrunners have scored a power play goal in each of the first two games of the season and are 3 for 8 overall. Tucson’s power play ranks sixth^e in the AHL (37.5%).

THE REPORT

FIRST PERIOD

Tucson’s defensive structure prevented the Reign from getting a shot on net until just before the five-minute mark, when Stauber robbed the Reign’s Taylor Ward one-timer with his glove to keep it a scoreless game.

The standoff did not last long. For the second straight game, the Roadrunners struck early in the opening frame. During a sharp tic-tac-toe sequence entering the Ontario zone, Rooney buried a But and Walker one-timer at 6:21 to make it 1-0. Walker fed But low, and the 20-year-old rookie slid a cross-crease pass to Rooney for the tap-in finish.

But he wasn’t the only young Roadrunner to show an offensive spark early. Sophomore forward Miko Matikka generated a pair of high-risk chances, including a one-timer that fell off the post early in the period on Tucson’s first power play.

Tucson’s continued pressure helped the Roadrunners earn three power play opportunities in the first, but were unable to extend their lead on the man advantage.

On the other hand, Ontario remained scoreless due to the lone man advantage late in the frame. The Reign finally found the equalizer when Akil defeated Thomas Stauber with 3:46 left to tie the score 1-1 heading into the first intermission.

SECOND PERIOD

Last season’s top scorer Hebig wasted no time in getting on the board in 2025/26. Just over a minute into the middle frame, Hebig fought his way to the crease and scored a power-play goal to give Tucson a 2-1 lead – his first of the year and the Roadrunners’ second straight game with a power-play count.

Both teams traded chances midway through the period, with Stauber and Erik Portillo trading impressive saves at either end. Hicketts tied the game at 2-2 midway through the period with a blast past Stauber.

Stauber came up big again late in the frame, shutting down back-to-back Reign breakaways with great right pad and glove saves just 35 seconds into the game. However, Ontario broke through on their third attempt when Salin blasted a shot past Stauber’s five-hole to give the Reign a 3-2 lead with just over two minutes remaining.

The Reign carried the momentum to the horn as Tucson went into the locker room up 3-2 and started the third on the penalty kill.

THIRD PERIOD

The Roadrunners opened the final frame by ending Ontario’s carryover power play from the end of the second period. However, the Reign took advantage of their next opportunity. Chromiak buried a Joe Hicketts one-timer on the power play at the five-minute mark to extend Ontario’s lead to 4-2.

Related