AHL Tucson Roadrunners

Tucson Salvages a Point in Shootout Loss to San Jose

Published on October 16, 2018 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Tucson Roadrunners News Release


The Roadrunners suffered their first loss of the season Monday night at the SAP Center, edged by the San Jose Barracuda in an affair that demanded overtime and a six-round shootout for a decision, one that read as a 3-2 final.

The team finished its three-game road trip earning five of a possible six points, and is now 3-0-0-1 on the season.

"We played good at times tonight, and we played bad at times," Tyler Steenbergen said. "When you come on a three-game road trip, and before you start playing those games you ask if you could take five of those six points, we'd take it every time, but it obviously stings a little bit to lose this one in a shootout, but we'll move on, and we're excited to get back to Tucson and play in front of our hometown fans."

It took 34:43 minutes for a puck to find the back of the net, San Jose's Dylan Gambrell beating Hunter Miska late in the second period to give the Barracuda a 1-0 lead.

Quickly the Roadrunners would respond, potting two goals in a :51 second span to carry a lead into the third period.

With 3:45 left on the clock in the middle frame, Dakota Mermis let a wrist shot fly from the left point, it eventually finding its way through traffic and past Antoine Bibeau to tie the game 1-1.

Kevin Klima, with the primary assist on Mermis' goal, registered his first professional point.

Less than a minute later, after speeding into San Jose territory on a two-on-one, Adam Helewka tipped a gorgeous Laurent Dauphin feed past Bibeau to score his team-leading fourth goal of the season against his former team, giving the Roadrunners a 2-1 lead.

San Jose tied the game 2-2 with 7:40 left to play in regulation, ultimately sending the game to overtime, where neither team could clinch the contest.

The Barracuda threatened during the extra period, spending valuable time on both 4-on-3 and 5-on-3 power plays during the final moments of overtime. Miska was up to the task and carried the game further into the night, shunning San Jose's last-ditch efforts.

Neither team was able to score in the shootout until the back-end of the sixth round, when San Jose's Alexander True beat Miska with a shot low to the far side to secure a 3-2 win for the Barracuda.

For Miska, it was the first post-regulation loss of his professional career; he went a perfect 7-0 in overtime contests last season. He stopped 34 of 36 shots faced during regulation and overtime Monday, and five of six shootout breakaways.

"It gives a team a lot of confidence when you've got a rock back there, so hopefully it keeps going that way," Steenbergen said of the team's goaltending. "We're going to be relying on [our goalies] a ton down the stretch here."

The Roadrunners now return home, where they'll begin a two-game set that kicks off Friday night at 7:05 PM at Tucson Arena against the Rockford IceHogs.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 16, 2018


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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