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AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Roadrunners Drop First Series Opener Of The Season With 4-1 Loss To Coachella Valley

November 12, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


Tucson, Arizona - The Tucson Roadrunners returned home Friday night to begin a six-game home stand at the Tucson Arena. Friday's matchup was the first of back-to-back meetings with the new Coachella Valley Firebirds, AHL affiliate of the Seattle Kraken. The Firebirds handed the Roadrunners their first loss in a series opener this season by a score of 4-1, dropping Tucson's record to 6-3-0-0 and improving Coachella Valley to 6-3-0-0. Tucson netminder Ivan Prosvetov stopped 34 of 37 shots faced, both the second-highest totals of the season against the 23-year-old.

In the first-ever meeting between the Roadrunners and Firebirds, it was Coachella Valley that got on the board first. Their goal 13:42 into the opening frame gave the AHL affiliate of the Seattle Kraken a 1-0 lead, before they extended that advantage to 2-0 just 1:17 later, on their first power-play of the contest. A combined five penalties were called in the opening period of play, with the Roadrunners being called for each of the last three over the final 5:16 of the frame. The Firebirds extended their lead to 3-0 with 7:52 gone by in the middle frame, as a delayed penalty on Tucson granted them an extra attacker to score a shorthanded goal at the end of the Roadrunners man-advantage. Coachella Valley still led 3-0 after two periods of action, as Tucson backstop Ivan Prosvetov had faced 30 shots through 40 minutes for the second-straight outing. The Roadrunners got on the board just before the midway point of the third period, as Jean-Sebastien Dea netted his fifth goal of the season for the active team lead. Assisting on the goal were Milos Kelemen and Victor Soderstrom, each their third assists of the season as Tucson cut the deficit to 3-1. Looking to get to within a goal, the Roadrunners pulled goaltender Ivan Prosvetov for an extra attacker, but an empty-net strike by the Firebirds secured a 4-1 win for the visiting team.

Roadrunners Head Coach Steve Potvin commented on returning home for Friday's series opener with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The contest marked the start of a six-game home stand, tied for the longest stretch on home ice for Tucson this season:

"I thought there was a good amount of energy out there for the crowd tonight, and I expect an even bigger crowd tomorrow. It was fun to be in front of our fans, we appreciate the cheers and the support. We'll need them again [Saturday] night."

TIMMINS TAKES THE ICE - Defenseman Conor Timmins made his first appearance with Tucson in Friday night's matchup against Coachella Valley, as the 24-year-old was assigned to Tucson from the Arizona Coyotes for conditioning purposes. Timmins has taken on the Roadrunners six times in his career, all during the 2019-2020 season as a member of the Colorado Eagles. The 2017 second-round draft pick became one of four Roadrunners defensemen in Friday's lineup to appear with both Tucson and the Arizona Coyotes (Cam Dineen, Victor Soderstrom, Vlad Kolyachonok).

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American Hockey League Stories from November 12, 2022


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