GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS ROADRUNNERS
Oct 28, 2022
SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (4-1-0-0) vs. TUCSON ROADRUNNERS (3-1-0-0)
FRI., OCT 28 | 7:00 P.M. | Tech CU Arena | San Jose, CA
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Tussling Tucson: After suffering its first loss of the year on Wednesday, 2-1, versus the Ontario Reign, the Barracuda wrap up its five-game homestand with two tilts against the Tucson Roadrunners (Arizona Coyotes), beginning on Friday night at Tech CU Arena. Friday will be the first game of the eight-game season series against the Roadrunners. A year ago, San Jose (31st) and Tucson (30th) finished dead last in the AHL but have combined to go 7-2 through their first nine games this year. The Roadrunners enter Friday coming off a pair of 5-3 wins over the Bakersfield Condors on Saturday and Sunday at the Tucson Convention Center.
Tale of the Tape: The Barracuda went 4-1-0-1 in six games against the Yotes affiliate a year ago and 2-1 at home. Of the four victories, two were shutouts, outscoring the Roadrunners 24-to-12. Lifetime the Barracuda are 20-12-3-3 (.605) against Tucson, the best winning percentage against any current Pacific Division team.
Running Rebels: The Barracuda and Roadrunners rank 5th (SJ - 18.20) and 6th (TUC – 17.75) in penalty minutes per game. Roadrunners d-man Cam Crotty is first in the AHL with eight minor penalties.
Fast and the Furious: Both the Barracuda and Roadrunners are 3-0 this season when scoring the first goal.
Killin’ it: The Barracuda are off to its best penalty-kill start in franchise history, having successfully killed off the first 24 opposing power-plays this season, including six on Wednesday against Ontario. The Barracuda are now just four kills away from matching the franchise record for consecutive penalties killed, which was set at 28 in 2015-16, the team’s first year. A year ago, the Barracuda had the worst penalty kill in the AHL (74.7) and didn’t go through a stretch longer than four games consecutively where they didn’t give up a PPG. Tucson is 0-for-8 on the PP on the road, but 4-for-10 at home this season.
Young Guns: Rookies Thomas Bordeleau (4), Brandon Coe (2), Tristen Robins (2), and William Eklund (1) have combined to score nine of the clubs’ first 14 goals. Bordeleau, Coe, and Robins were all selected in the 2020 NHL Draft as part of a historic nine-forward class for the Sharks. Bordeleau enters Friday with goals in three straight games and four of the five he has played this year. In seven career AHL contests, Bordeleau has seven points (4+3=7).
Back for more: Tucson’s leading goal scorer from 2021-22, Michael Carcone, is back in the desert for his third season in 2022-23 and is currently leading the Roadrunners with six points (1+5=6) through four games. Additionally, Jan Jenik, who finished second on the Roadrunners in scoring (17+30=47) last season in 51 games, while also appearing in 13 games with the Coyotes, is back in AHL. First-rounder in 2019, Victor Soderstrom, is also back with the Roadrunners after appearing in 32 games with Tucson last year and 16 with the Coyotes. The biggest departure for the Desert Dogs farm team from a year ago was their captain, Hudson Fasching, who signed with the New York Islanders this offseason.
New faces: The Coyotes signed Jean-Sebastien Dea this summer after pacing the Laval Rocket a year ago with 26 goals. Dea has four points in four games (2+2=4) with Tucson so far. Laurent Dauphin, who’s in his third separate stint with the Coyotes organization after being drafted by Arizona in the 2nd round in 2013 (#39 overall), is coming off a hat-trick on Sunday in a 5-3 win over Bakersfield and has four goals in his last two games. He was named the AHL's Player of the Week. The Roadrunners also added 17-year-pro Adam Cracknell this offseason after two years in Bakersfield. Cracknell has 26 points (10+16=36) in 27 career games against San Jose.