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AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Game 23 Preview: Tucson at Iowa

December 7, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Game #23 - Tucson (17-5-0-0) at Iowa (12-8-2-2)

6 PM MST, Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, IA

LISTEN LIVE Fox Sports 1450, iHeart Radio app

WATCH LIVE AHL TV

Roadrunners Current Roster: Click here

Referees: Jarrod Ragusin (#2), Peter Tarnaris (#29)

Linesmen: Kyle Larson (#15), Sam Rankin (#50)

With a midweek sweep of the Colorado Eagles at Tucson Arena in the rear-view mirror, an eleven-day, four-game road trip for the Roadrunners gets underway (game-wise) for Tucson tonight as they meet the Iowa Wild for the third time already this season.

The two sides met for a weekend in Southern Arizona at the end of October with the Roadrunners taking both from the Wild, who have played well since, alternating between the top spot and second place in the Central Division.

Three Things

1) Looking at the Wild for a second, their team has been on the road since Monday, November 25. With four games in Texas against the Stars and the Rampage, Iowa then had travel Wednesday evening to get from San Antonio to Milwaukee, where they then played last night against the red-hot and division-leading Admirals and lost 7-1. Arriving back to their home territory for the first time in 13 days in the early morning hours, they then have to take on a Roadrunners club that comes in with more rest and waiting for them. Not ideal for tonight's opponent. However, two of Tucson's five losses this season have come when resting in a city the night before a game while the home team for the following day lost a disappointing road game and had to travel back home.

2) Hockey's a funny game. Despite Tuesday's 6-3 win, the coaching staff and players all seemed far more pleased with their effort in Wednesday's 2-1 victory over the Eagles in Tucson. Part of that was limiting Colorado's chances, which downgraded from 49 shots in the first game to 34 in the latter half of the back-to-back. Those numbers will be relevant because Ivan Prosvetov's 46 saves in his win over Colorado on Tuesday surpassed only the mark of 42, which he published against his start over Iowa earlier this season. Controlling possession, thus limiting the opponent's chances, will likely dictate how the team views their output again tonight.

3) Speaking of Prosvetov, tonight would be his turn once again in the rotation between he and Adin Hill following the fourth-year Roadrunners' performance in Wednesday's win, should it stick to how things have been going. Currently just one game behind the AHL's requirements to be determined a "qualified goaltender" due to his assignment to Rapid City during Eric Comrie's stint, Prosvetov's .939 save percentage would rank as the best in the entire 31-team American Hockey League, if he were eligible to rank in that category. The young man has been quite impressive and his legend continues to grow.

What's The Word?

Roadrunners goaltender Adin Hill reflecting on how he felt in Wednesday's win against Colorado...

"I felt good. I thought my game was pretty clean. Obviously the guys in front of me did a really great job, we limited their odd-man rushes and kept most of the shots to the outside."

Roadrunners goaltender Adin Hill on if he feels as if teams are starting to put a bit more juice into games against his club with their current 17-5 standing...

"Definitely. Especially when you go into other buildings, they see your record and they see how many points you guys have. When you're at the top of your division, they put a bit of a bullseye on you. At the same time, it's every game. We have to take it game-by-game, every night is a hard night in this league."

Roadrunners goaltender Adin Hill on if the team prepares differently for games going into lengthy road trips...

"When you're on the road, you miss home a bit. It's nice to be in Tucson. You have your routine at home, but at the same time you have to prepare for each game the same."

Number to Know

5. Not only does forward Brayden Burke lead the American Hockey League with eight power play goals, however, now following Wednesday's win, he also leads the American Hockey League with five game-winning goals as well.

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 5:45 PM.

Check out the Tucson Roadrunners Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from December 7, 2019


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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