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AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Game 31 Preview: San Diego at Tucson

December 31, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Game 31 Preview: San Diego at TucsonDec 31st 2019, 17:51, by Walt Ruff

Game #31 - San Diego (12-12-2-1) at Tucson (23-7-0-0)

6 PM MST, Tucson Arena, Tucson, AZ

LISTEN LIVE Fox Sports 1450, iHeart Radio app

WATCH LIVE AHL TV

Referees: Brandon Schrader (#46), Stan Szczurek (#73)

Linesmen: Nikolaus Diehr (#31), Mike Sarter (#90)

For one final time in 2019 the Roadrunners will take to the ice, doing so tonight against their I-8 Border Rival, the San Diego Gulls.

The American Hockey League affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls put a 6-2 beating on the Roadrunners one month and one day ago within their friendly confines of Pechanga Arena, however, for the first time this season the two teams will meet in Southern Arizona and Tucson will look to even the season series.

Three Things

1) For the second time this season the Roadrunners dropped back-to-back games over the weekend with Colorado in town. While Head Coach Jay Varady said there "wasn't a lot to like" following his team's performance on Sunday, one crucial missing element was the team's power play, which went 0/16 in the two games after entering 7 for their last 19.

2) With that being said, San Diego is the least penalized team in the American Hockey League, so Tucson's chances on the man advantage may be seldom this evening. After a difficult start to the season, San Diego also comes to town with points in seven of their last ten games. Seeking to bounce back from a loss in the second half of a weekend split against Ontario, this is a Gulls team that is no longer guided by Dallas Eakins. For the first time in Tucson's history, Kevin Dineen, no relation to Cam Dineen, is the bench boss for the visitors.

3) It's been four straight starts for Ivan Prosvetov, so there seems to be no reason to believe that tonight wouldn't be number five. Although tryout-signed Brandon Halverson is healthy and able behind the first-year netminder, Prosvetov leads all rookies with his 2.24 goals against average and ranks second among all AHL goalies with his .935 save percentage.

What's The Word?

Roadrunners forward Hudson Fasching on what needs to change to get back in the win column once again...

"I think we haven't been skating enough. We didn't put enough pressure on the other team. We gave them time and space to make plays and when good players have time and space, they create."

Roadrunners forward Hudson Fasching on what the team learned from the series against Colorado...

"Winning is hard. It's not easy. We went 23-5 before Christmas and that's just not going to appear in the second half of the season. We're going to have to earn it. We're going to have to work for it."

Roadrunners forward Hudson Fasching on what gets said to Ivan Prosvetov following a pair of games that weren't necessarily on him...

"He's a tough kid. He's a smart kid back there. He knows how to brush goals off and how to not get angry. He's a competitor. We don't have any worries about him. If we stop giving up two-on-one's and breakaways, he's got a better chance.

Number to Know

25. Michael Bunting's 25 assists are already a career-high for him and that amount has him ranked tops in the Western Conference. Although #27 has the flare and the dramatic for scoring goals, he has had a phenomenal season in distributing the puck.

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 31, 2019


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