The Tucson Roadrunners return home Wednesday to host Game 3 in the first round of the American Hockey League playoffs against San Jose.
Theyโll be here for a while. The first home playoff game in Roadrunners franchise history will be followed by Game 4 on Friday and Game 5, if necessary, on Saturday. The best-of-five series between the Roadrunners and Barracuda is tied at one game apiece.
Tucson forward Dylan Strome said he expects big things starting with Wednesdayโs โWhite Out.โ
โYouโre expecting to win at home, and I think weโre going to have the crowd behind us to do that,โ Strome said. โWeโre looking forward to Wednesday and Friday, and hopefully thatโs only it.โ
Tucson won Game 1 of the series 4-2 before dropping Game 2 by a score of 6-3 on Saturday.
San Joseโs offense outshot Tucson by a 70-49 margin across the two games. The six goals Tucson allowed on Saturday were the most its given up since a 6-4 loss to Ontario on Jan. 12.
โWe havenโt given up much all year being pretty defensive (minded),โ coach Mike Van Ryn said. โWeโre pretty aware in what weโre supposed to do. I think that theyโve just done a real good job of executing. โTheyโve got games that have obviously been a playoffs before, and weโve got guys who havenโt. So this is new for our group as a team.โ
Van Ryn said the team identified its faults from the first games of the series. But thereโs a difference between cleaning it up in practice and executing in games.
โThe nerves are part of the equation,โ Van Ryn said. โWeโve got a couple different gameplans, so we can start with one and morph into the other if we donโt like it. I feel that weโre pretty prepared going into it. The faults weโve had are very correctable and easy to see.โ
Tucson is most comfortable playing tight, low-scoring hockey. San Joseโs offensive approach has been tiring out the Roadrunnersโ defense.
โTheyโve thrown a lot at the net,โ defenseman Joel Hanley said. โObviously, weโve got to tighten up a bit defensively. Coming back home, we know how to play at this arena and with the crowd behind us, weโre hoping to bring that shot total down.โ
Tucson has counted on Strome to counter San Joseโs attacks. The forward has three goals through two games.
โIf we do what theyโre doing by throwing pucks in the net I think weโre going to be successful as well,โ Strome said.
Adin Hill is the likely choice to start at goalie, although the Roadrunners could go with Hunter Miska. Hill allowed five of the six goals in Saturdayโs loss.
โWeโve had a couple good days of practice,โ Hill said. โProductive. Weโve looked at the games and seen what we need to work on. Weโve got a three-game series basically, all on home ice, so weโre looking forward to it.โ
