AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Game 11 Preview: Tucson at San Jose

Published on November 3, 2019 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Game #11 - Tucson (7-3-0-0) at San Jose 4-3-0-1)

4 PM MST, SAP Center - San Jose, California

LISTEN LIVE Fox Sports 1450, iHeart Radio app

WATCH LIVE AHL TV

Roadrunners Current Roster: Click here

Last night was fun but following an hour-plus bus ride to further southwest California, the Roadrunners are looking to conclude their weekend with a win today again in San Jose.

San Jose enters after a shootout loss to Stockton on Friday night and an off Saturday, while the Roadrunners used an overtime tally from Brayden Burke to increase their win total to seven and earn a split of first place atop the Pacific.

The two sides have yet to see each other this season and if the early season statistics are any indicator, we could be in for a defensive battle. Although having a league-low eight games played thus far, San Jose has only allowed 21 goals, the fewest in the entire AHL at this time. Right behind them is Tucson, being beat just 22 times in their ten games.

Three Things

1) After struggling offensively through the midweek set against Chicago, it appeared Tucson burst out of their mini-rut Saturday night by scoring four times in Stockton, including three from individuals whom were still seeking their first of the year. Nick Merkley and Michael Bunting, who accounted for 29 goals last season between the two of them, are on the board. Add Jeremy Gregoire into that mix as well and some players who were held off the score sheet in October are primed for some big Novembers.

2) For the first time really all season, Head Coach Jay Varady really shuffled his deck ahead of Saturday's matchup, mixing up all four lines. So far, so good. Providing a couple different looks, including a one-two punch of Brayden Burke and Lane Pederson atop his first line on the wings, the two connected in overtime to wrap up a win for Tucson. Along with the aforementioned, Bunting and Merkley centered by Andy Miele appeared to have been a successful trio as well.

3) Kyle Capobianco looked like a man amongst boys in his return to the American Hockey League, showing another level to his already established confidence on Saturday. After six games and his first goal at the NHL level, #23 anchored the club's first power play unit and distributed the puck efficiently from all areas of the ice.

What's The Word?

Roadrunners forward Nick Merkley on Saturday's effort and how they won..

"It's nice to see us battle back like that. We had a couple of bad bounces but we got lucky in the end."

Roadrunners forward Nick Merkley on finding the back of the net for the first time this season...

"It was nice to get the first one and hopefully the floodgates have opened. I'd like to keep burying them."

Roadrunners forward Nick Merkley on the new line combinations...

"I thought our line combination [Andy Miele centering he and Michael Bunting] worked pretty well. We had good chemistry and hopefully we can continue like that."

Number to Know

134. Through four games Ivan Prosvetov has stopped 134 shots on 142 attempts, averaging over 33 shots faced per game. The workload has been there and the goaltender has shown he's capable of hanlding it.

We're Doing It Live

Catch tonight's active LIVE on AHLTV or join Roadrunners play-by-play voice Adrian Denny on Fox Sports 1450 AM and iHeart Radio as he calls the game from the Roadrunners' flagship radio station, where coverage begins at 3:45 PM.

Check out the Tucson Roadrunners Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from November 3, 2019


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