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AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Game #11: Tucson Roadrunners at Coachella Valley Firebirds

November 12, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Game 11#: Tucson Roadrunners (6-4-0-0) at Coachella Valley Firebirds (6-3-0-0)

Time: Sunday, November 11, 6:00 p.m. MST, Acrisure Arena, Palm Desert, California

Referees: #73 Stan Szczurek, #27 Jackson Kozari

Linespersons: #52 Ben Dubow, #31 Nikolaus Diehr

The Tucson Roadrunners close out their three-game road trip with a Sunday slate against the Coachella Valley Firebirds as they play the first of three-straight games against them. Tucson split two games with the Ontario Reign to open the California swing with a 4-3 overtime win Wednesday and a 2-1 loss on Friday; while the Firebirds lost 4-1 against the Calgary Wranglers on Saturday. The two teams will meet Friday and Saturday in Tucson.

Three things:

Nathan Smith and Dylan Guenther have been an unbeatable combo contributing to five of Tucson's last 13 goals in the early going of November. Overall Smith is currently on a seven-game (2+6=8) point streak while Guenther is on a three-game (1+4=5) point streak including two of the last three games with two assists. Josh Doan has also contributed as the third man on their line and has three goals and an assist in his last four games.

Out of their 10 games so far this season, the Roadrunners have outshot their opponents six total times with a total margin of 286-274. When outshooting the opposition, the team is 4-2 and have the best shooting margin in second periods at 118-93.

The Roadrunners penalty kill had a season best 6-for-6 rate on Friday's game against the Ontario Reign. They have yet to allow multiple power-play goals in a single game this season and are 14-for-17 (82%) on the penalty kill in the last four games. Overall on the road this season, Tucson is the 7th best in the 32-team AHL at killing off penalties at an 88% success rate.

What did they say?

"We talk to each other a lot; the coaches stick with us and tell us what to do to make it happen."

Defenseman Patrick Koch on his and the team's success since joining the lineup on November 3rd.

Latest Transactions:

-The Roadrunners have added defenseman Peter Diliberatore on a Professional Tryout. He was with Tucson in training camp and played the last three seasons in Henderson of the AHL. He rejoins Tucson from the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays where he had three assists in eight games.

-The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled Forward Vasily Ponomarev from Tucson.

Number to Know:

9- In the last two games, the Roadrunners have allowed the two fewest shot outputs of the season with Ontario recording 23 shots on Wednesday and 22 shots on Friday. In five of the six regulation periods against Ontario, the Roadrunners allowed nine shots or less.

We're Doing It Live

Tonight's game will be broadcasted live on the radio on FOX Sports 1450AM and the iHeartRadio app. Coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. MST with Roadrunners Warm-Up hosted by Jonathon Schaffer, before "Voice of the Roadrunners" Adrian Denny has all the action from Palm Springs. The Game can also be viewed on AHLTV.com.

Check out the Tucson Roadrunners Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from November 12, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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