AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Game 54 Preview: Tucson at Bakersfield

Published on March 1, 2020 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Game #54 - Tucson (32-18-1-2) at Bakersfield (20-25-5-3)

6 PM MST, Mechanics Bank Arena, Bakersfield, CA

LISTEN LIVE Fox Sports 1450, iHeart Radio app

WATCH LIVE AHL TV

Referees: Stephen Hiff (#56), Beaudry Halkidis (#48)

Linesmen: Troy Parker (#62), Neil Campbell (#7)

The final full month of the regular season is here already, can you believe it?

It feels like just yesterday the team was opening up the campaign with Antti Raanta in net in Texas. What a ride it's been.

Tonight the Roadrunners will open their 11-game March tonight in Bakersfield seeking to bounce back from a disappointing Friday night in the Inland Empire against Ontario.

Three Things

1) It sounds hard to believe at face value, however, Friday night's 8-4 defeat against Ontario was more of a reflection on their effort as opposed to that of the Roadrunners. Most times than not when you start a game with two goals on your first two shots, it's a good indicator that things are going to go your way the rest of the night. However, it wasn't the case and Ontario brought some firepower from their end. It was the first time Tucson's allowed eight all season and typically the effort they provided would've been enough to win a game. Alas though, a new day and a different challenge awaits tonight in a building that the Roadrunners put up an eight spot themselves in the night before Thanksgiving.

2) Bakersfield isn't where they want to be in the standings at the moment, however, they've had one of the most active AHL-NHL pipelines this season among all 31 teams. With players like Kailer Yamamoto, Ethan Bear and Caleb Jones earning full-time NHL roles after time with the Condors and skaters such as Evan Bouchard and Tyler Benson waiting in the wings, the commitment to development by the organization is one that should be applauded by anyone who is a fan of this level. With that being said, they are 16 points back of fourth place with 16 games to go, so it's going to take some real magic for the Condors to sneak back into the playoff picture. They've also not done themselves any favors by winning just once in their last ten games, however, what's been prefaced above indicates that the talent with tonight's opponent is capable of winning any game. Tonight isn't to be taken lightly.

3) Now that things appear to be settling back into the normal rotation of Hill and Prosvetov, one would have to think that Adin Hill will be tapped as tonight's starting netminder for Tucson. Adin was outstanding Wednesday night against a very offensively gifted San Diego team, stopping 29 of 30. He looked as if he had just spent months in the National Hockey League and here's to hoping more of the same could be accomplished tonight. Oh, and maybe it's worth something, maybe it's not, but two of his career nine AHL shutouts have come in Bakersfield...

What's The Word?

Roadrunners forward Michael Bunting on the mindset of the team going into tonight...

"Every game matters, that's what we've been saying around here. Look at last year, we missed the playoffs by one point, so we know. Everyone's fighting for their lives and every game feels like a playoff game. It's the most exciting time of the year."

Roadrunners forward Michael Bunting on his new linemate Markus Hannikainen...

"He's great. He plays fast. He plays forward with the puck and he's been rewarded two times in the last two games. He's been playing well already and he's been a good fit for us."

Roadrunners forward Michael Bunting on seeing Bakersfield and what challenges the team faces...

"I don't think we've played our best games in Bakersfield. It would be nice to get in the win column here. They're a good team and they're fighting for a playoff spot. Even though they're not in right now, they're still a good team."

Number to Know

7. Beau Bennett continues his stellar second half with seven points in his last seven games. Furthermore, the veteran forward had six goals in the first 34 games of the season, but now has four goals in his last four games.

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, beginning at 5:45 PM.

Check out the Tucson Roadrunners Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 1, 2020


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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