GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA VS ROADRUNNERS
Mar 6, 2022
SAN JOSE BARRACUDA (16-28-2-0) vs TUCSON ROADRUNNERS (17-25-3-1)
SUN., MAR. 6 | 5:00 P.M. | SAP CENTER | SAN JOSE, CA
LISTEN | WATCH | MEDIA KIT | GAME NOTES
Sunday Funday: After one game on the road in Stockton on Saturday night, the Barracuda return to the SAP Center on Sunday for a single game against the Tucson Roadrunners (Arizona Coyotes). Sunday marks the final meeting against the Coyotes affiliate at home this year and the first of four games between the clubs in March. Each team earned a win in the first two matchups back in January.
Role Reversal: Nick Merkley and Lane Pederson both began their careers with the Tucson Roadrunners in the 2017-18 season and would be teammates within the Coyotes organization until Merkley was traded to the Devils during the 2019-20 campaign in a deal that included Taylor Hall. Just last year, Pederson appeared in 16 games with the Yotes top affiliate, notching 17 points (7+10=17). In the Roadrunners franchise history, Pederson ranks second in points (124), goals (58), third in assists (66), fourth in games played, and was an AHL All-Star while with the team in 2020.
J-Leno: Forward John Leonard has found the scoresheet in six of his last 10 games (5+4=9) and is currently riding a two-game goal streak after striking on Saturday to force overtime in a 4-3 OTL at Stockton. After recording just seven points (3+4=7) through the first 20 games this year, he has notched 17 points (10+7=17) since the new year began in 21 games. The UMass product ranks fourth on the team in goals scored (13) and has one goal in two games against Tucson this season and three points (2+1=3) in four career games against the Coyotes affiliate.
Tucson Test: The Roadrunners sit four points ahead of the Barracuda and two points behind the San Diego Gulls for the seventh and final playoff spot in the Pacific entering Sunday. Top rookie forward Matias Maccelli, who scored his first NHL goal for the Coyotes in the team’s 8-5 win over Ottawa on Saturday, ranks t-third in the AHL in scoring (55), third in assists (41), second in power-play assists (23), and second in power-play points (28) and is part of a Roadrunners power-play that ranks seventh in the AHL (21.5%). Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov leads the AHL in losses (14) and forward Boko Imama is first in the league in penalty minutes (111). The Roadrunners are 0-2-1 over its last three and are coming off a 5-1 loss at Bakersfield on Saturday. Tucson is the AHL’s worst road team (.348), and are just 2-7-1-0 over its last 10 on visiting ice. The Roadrunners will finish its four-game road trip in Texas next weekend with a pair of games.
Montana Tough: Rookie d-man Montana Onyebuchi dropped the mitts for the seventh time on Saturday, scrapping with Stockton’s Alex Gallant at center ice after Onyebuchi threw a thunderous open-ice hit on Heat forward Dmitry Zavgorodniy in the second period. The WHL alum is now t-first among AHL defensemen in majors (7), one behind the league lead. Among rookies, he is first in majors and t-second in penalty minutes (63). After appearing in just seven of the Barracuda’s first 26 games, he has now appeared in 20-straight contests for the team.
Sommer Time: On Jan. 8, 2022, head coach Roy Sommer picked up AHL victory #800 with a 6-3 win over the Henderson Silver Knights. The Oakland, Calif., native has been behind the bench for 1,721 games in the AHL, going 805-707-50-160 (W-L-T-OTL/SOL) over that span. During the 2015-16 season, the Barracuda’s first in San Jose, Sommer surpassed Fred “Bun” Cook (636 wins) for the most wins in AHL history, notching a 4-2 victory on Feb. 10, 2016, over Ontario. Sommer collected his 700th win on Dec. 3, 2017, at Bakersfield (2-1 W).