Race To The Calder Cup: Tuscon Roadrunners vs Calgary Wranglers

The Calder Cup Playoffs start this week, and though the Tuscon Roadrunners finished the season on a down note, with an OT loss to the San Jose Barracuda, they have secured home ice advantage all the way through to at least the Division Final. Can they hold the Calgary Wranglers at bay?

Tuscon’s Road To The Playoffs

Last season, Tuscon snuck into the Calder Cup playoffs by the skin of their teeth, beating out 8th place San Jose due to tiebreakers (both teams had 69 points, but Tuscon had two extra regulation wins). they would end up taking 2nd seed and eventual Pacific Division Champion Coachella Valley to the full three games of the first round, but ultimately fell 2-1 in the series. This season, it’s like night and day. Tuscon finished with 92 points, second in the Division (behind only Coachella Valley), and finished with a full 13 more wins than the did in the 2022-23 season. The Roadrunners record this season, 43-23-4-2 and a pt% of .639, was their best since the 2019-20 season, where they finished first in the Pacific with a record of 36-19-1-2, good for a .647 pt%. (Note: This season was cut short due to the COVID-19 Pandemic)

Tuscon’s meteoric rise through the Pacific happened for a couple of reasons. The first was the play of their goaltender, Matthew Villalta, who did everything short of physically carrying the team on his back to the playoffs. Villalta had previously played his entire AHL career with the Ontario Reign. This was his first season in Tuscon, and it’s fair to say he made a good impression. Villalta, one of Tuscon’s chosen representatives for the 2024 AHL All Star Classic, finished first in the AHL in wins, with 31, tied for 10th in sv%, and played almost 200 more minutes than any other goalie in the league (the only goalie to finish with over 2000 minutes played this season.

The Roadrunners were also lifted by rookie Josh Doan (you might have heard of his father, Shane), who led the team in scoring with 46 points in 62 games, and joined Villalta at the All Star Classic in San Jose.

Hockey is a team sport, however. Infusion of talent and youth helps, but the Roadrunners were better this season than last in basically every conceivable metric, improving rom 20th to 15th in the league in goals for, 25th to 16th in goals against, their power play went from 30th to 24th, and perhaps most impressively, their penalty kill went from 20th to 8th in the AHL. The Roadrunners haven’t won a playoff series since 2016-17, when they defeated the San Jose Barracuda 2-1. Is this year their year to make it back to the second round?

Calgary’s Road To The Playoffs

The Calgary Wranglers season concluded with a 3-2 loss against the Abbotsford Canucks. In his first year behind Calgary’s bench, Trent Cull led his team to a 35-28-9 finish, accumulating 79 points. The Wranglers were dealing with many on and off ice changes and challenges that they would need to overcome. Dustin Wolf has been a driving force for this Wranglers team for a few seasons now. The two-time AHL Goaltender of the Year can check off another year of success. Wolf closed the season with a .922 SV% in 36 appearances tacking on four more shutouts. Wolf was named to the AHL All Star Classic with teammate Matt Coronato.

The Wranglers found new ways to generate offense in the absence of previous leading scorer Matthew Phillips who decided to sign with the Washington Capitals in free agency.

The forward group had their work cut out for them as those were some big skates to fill. Returning Wrangler, Adam Klapka led the team in scoring with 21 goals and 46 points. Klapka’s offensive explosion comes after finishing the 2022-23 campaign with 25 points. Ben Jones put up 21 goals (43 points) in a complete 72 game season. In his first season as a pro, Matt Coronato finished the season with over a point per game. The forward tallied 15 goals and 27 assists (42 points) in 41 games.

One of the scariest moments of the season came rather early on. Back in October, Jeremie Poirier, who is touted as the Wranglers’ best defenseman, suffered a serious laceration. Poirier missed 47 games after an opponent accidentally stepped down on his wrist with his skate. Poirier admitted he did not think he would play hockey again. He racked up 13 points in 23 games.

The Wranglers will face off against the Tucson Roadrunners in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Tucson holds home ice through the series. The Wranglers fought an uphill battle all season. From injuries to losing players to call-ups, the Wranglers had to find creative ways to win. Hockey fans know you don’t win without knowing how to overcome adversity. Nothing motivates a team like being an underdog or pure spite.

The Calgary Wranglers wrapped up their season with a 35-28-9 record, claiming the 12th seed in the west. It was a transitional year of sorts for the Wranglers as they moved on from their head coach Mitch Love and scoring leader Matthew Phillips.

This year Adam Klapka took over the team leading scoring title. The 6’7 forward tallied 21 goals as well as 25 assists for a career-high 46 points. Klapka also earned his first NHL goal in the final Flames game of the season. In his first professional season, Matt Coronato averaged over a point per game. Coronato finished the season with 42 points in 41 games.

Dustin Wolf’s season was another check in the success column. He finished the season with .922 SV% and a 20-12-3 record. Wolf is one of the most consistent players on the Wranglers. His success is often followed up with criticism of his size. Wolf is considered “undersized” being only 6’0 and 175 pounds. He has proven people wrong year after year

Season Series: How Do These Teams Match Up?

The Wranglers and Tucson Roadrunners are set to meet on Wednesday, April 24th in Tucson. The Wranglers were 2-2-0 this season against the Roadrunners. Wolf and Oskar Dansk split the four games at two a piece. One of Wolf’s four shutouts came against the Roadrunners back in November. Klapka put up an impressive four goals and eight points over their four meetings.

Previous Matchups This Season

Roadrunners To Watch

There are some easy answers here and some not so easy answers. The X-factor for the Roadrunners has to be their goaltending. Calgary’s Dustin Wolf is easily their MVP, so Villalta is going to have to stand up tall to match up against him. With the conclusion of the Coyotes’ regular season and their lack of playoff berth, they have also received some impressive reinforcements; the aforementioned star rookie Doan, as well as highly skilled forward Dylan Guenther, defencemen Michael Kesselring and Vladislav Kolyachonok, and winger Aku Raty, who is fresh off of his NHL debut for the Coyotes. They’re also adding blue chip prospect centre Conor Geekie on an ATO, as his WHL team has been eliminated from playoff contention. Tonight’s game will mark Geekie’s pro debut.

Wranglers To Watch

After the Calgary Flames season ended, forwards Adam Klapka, Matt Coronato, defenseman Ilya Soloyov and goaltender Dustin Wolf were immediately re-assigned to the Wranglers. The Wranglers will surely benefit from all of their returns but Wolf may be the most significant. Calgary lost five straight without their starting goaltender. There will be a weight lifted off of everyone’s shoulders when he returns between the pipes on Wednesday. Wolf has appeared in 22 postseason games, recording a .922 SV% and four shutouts.

In addition to those returning faces, recent acquisition Hunter Brzustewicz joined the group on an ATO. Brzustewicz, acquired from the Vancouver Canucks in the Elias Lindholm trade, played for the OHL Kitchener Rangers and led the league in assists with 79. He finished the season with 92 points. The defenseman brings an offensive flare to the blueline that the Wranglers could benefit from.

There are a number of players to watch this series. Wolf is taking that top spot by a landslide but I think several forwards have something to prove. Coronato looks to carry his regular season success into the postseason. 2023-24 was his first full season as a professional hockey player. Adjusting from college hockey’s season and minimal travel to a season nearly twice as long and a significant amount of travel can be a tough transition. The road is not always smooth but Coronato has seen success.

Jakob Pelletier missed a majority of the season after needing shoulder surgery at the start of the season. Pelletier is the heartbeat of the team. He brings an immense amount of positivity and support to the locker room. This season, he recorded 12 points in 18 AHL games. Last postseason he recorded four goals (10 points) in nine playoff games.

Bold Predictions

Jay’s Bold Prediction: Matthew Villalta finishes the series with a save percentage above .920 and at least one shutout.

Jess’ Bold Prediction: My bold prediction would be Dustin Wolf records one shutout.

Jay’s Series Prediction: Roadrunners in 3.

Jess’ Series Prediction: Roadrunners in 3.