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AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Game 32 Preview: San Jose at Tucson

January 3, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Game #32 - San Jose (10-17-0-2) at Tucson (24-7-0-0)

7 PM MST, Tucson Arena, Tucson, AZ

LISTEN LIVE Fox Sports 1450, iHeart Radio app

WATCH LIVE AHL TV

Roadrunners Current Roster: Click here

Referees: Alex Garon (#64), Jonathon Sitarski (#23)

Linesmen: Jonathan Deschamps (#84), Rob Fay (#32)

Looking to build off of the momentum the Roadrunners established in their 7-4 win over San Diego to close out 2019, Tucson hosts the AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks this evening for their first matchup of the calendar year.

Through three meetings thus far this season, most have been wild affairs with the two sides combining for 26 goals including eight from Tucson in one of their two wins and seven for San Jose in the Roadrunners biggest loss of the season to date.

Three Things

1) After the disappointing two game set against Colorado last weekend the Roadrunners looked much more like themselves as they returned to the win column Tuesday. While Head Coach Jay Varady nor the players who spoke to the media following the game were pleased with their opening 20 minutes, the team did get better as the game went on, which proved to be more imperative. Their seven goals furthered their positioning as the club with the second most goals scored per game in all of the AHL (3.87), which sets up an intriguing matchup for this evening because San Jose currently ranks dead last allowing 3.79 goals per game.

2) Entering tonight on a three-game skid, it has been tough sledding for the Barracuda lately. They are 3-6-0-1 in their last ten. During the holiday break it was announced that long-time team captain John McCarthy had retired due to a medical situation and would assume a coaching role on the team. Now, a young team that has had many of its talented weapons called up for some NHL time will seek to begin 2020 on the right foot and currently ranking fourth in the league with 32.66 shots on goal per game.

3) Two full days of rest for Ivan Prosvetov, who has now started five straight games for the Roadrunners, must feel like an eternity. The 20-year-old has allowed four goals in each of his last three games, however, he still leads all AHL rookie goaltenders in both goals against average (2.38) and save percentage (.931). With the recent workload showcased by the Russian, there's little reason to believe that it won't be him again tonight.

What's The Word?

Roadrunners forward Blake Speers on scoring his first Tucson goal Tuesday and if he feels as if he's becoming a bigger presence in the lineup...

"I think I'm just starting to get comfortable with my surroundings. I've been here about a week and a half now, so I think that has something to do with it and another thing is that we really just wanted to cut that losing streak off. To a man, we all had a little extra pep in our step and we had some fun out there"

Roadrunners forward Blake Speers on his promotion to the top line...

"There's an extra level of comfort with [Michael] Bunting there, I played with him in juniors, so that was nice. [Beau] Bennett is a great player too, so it's not very hard to mesh with them. I think my job is to come in, work hard and create some space for those guys and it worked out really well."

Roadrunners forward Blake Speers on what the difference was between the Colorado series and Tuesday's win against San Diego...

"I think it just comes back to outskating the competition. We're a really great skating team, so if we outskate them and check them hard, they're going to have a hard time beating us."

Number to Know

10. It hasn't been touched on in a while, but Brayden Burke is STILL leading the American Hockey League in power play goals. The second-year pro earned his 10thof the season on the man advantage Tuesday, becoming the first skater in the league to hit double digits.

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 6:45 PM.

Check out the Tucson Roadrunners Statistics

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