Stingy Hill Leads Roadrunners into Second Round of Playoffs

GLENDALE --The Tucson Roadrunners will enter the second round of the American Hockey League playoffs with a hot goaltender.
Adin Hill, who did not allow a goal in Games 3 and 4 vs. San Jose in the first round, is the first AHL goalie to post back-to-back playoff shutouts since Petr Mrazek for Grand Rapids in 2013. Hill, who will start Game 1 vs. Texas on Wednesday night in Tucson, has not permitted a goal in 122:30.

"I feel like I've been playing at the top of my game and also my team around me is playing a great game," Hill said. "They're keeping it simple and making my job easier. You always love that as a goalie when your teammates are making your job easier."
Hill, who played four games for the Coyotes this season and notched his first NHL win on March 13 vs. Los Angeles, has been enjoying the pressure of the AHL playoffs and drawing from experience gained when his junior hockey team, the Portland Winterhawks, made a deep playoff run in 2014-15. Hill played 17 Western Hockey League playoff games that season and posted a 2.96 goals-against average.
"I've learned that the momentum of the playoffs can swing so you just have to stay steady and calm," Hill said. "The playoffs are do or die so everyone, on both teams, is brining their top game."
In addition to his two shutouts, Hill keyed Tucson's 4-2 win over San Jose in the first game of that series.
"Adin stole Game 1 for us," Roadrunners G.M. Steve Sullivan said. "We did not deserve to leave San Jose with any wins whatsoever, and he definitely was the difference maker in that first game, and that was huge. Without that effort we would have been down 0-2, and who knows what would have happened after that."
San Jose won Game 2, 6-3, but Hill stopped all 21 shots he faced in Game 3 and all 25 shots he faced in Game 4.

"It's never happened to me before, but at the end of the day it doesn't mean much." Hill said of his consecutive shutouts in the playoffs. "A win's a win, right? In playoffs, it's all about the win. If it's 1-0 or 5-4, it doesn't matter."
Hill has been working hard in practice and credits goaltending coach Jon Elkin with helping him evolve in net as a pro. His positioning and patience have been keys to his success.
Next up is best-of-seven series vs. Texas that begins Wednesday at Tucson Arena. The Roadrunners played the Stars four times in the regular season, but Hill tended net in only one of those games. Goalie Hunter Miska, who shared Tucson's net with Hill during the regular season, played the other three games.
"We have two good young goaltenders so we rotated them out every game all season long," Sullivan said. "Our coach did a great job of giving them about the same amount of starts. The last five weeks of the year and into the playoffs, Adin has taken his game to the next level so we've given him the net and asked him to take an extra workload play more than he did during the regular season. He's really responded well to it and has given us a chance to win every night. His calmness in the net stands out, and he's able to quickly wash away any bad goals that go in against him. He's very in the moment. That's what I like most about him."

Texas beat Ontario, 3-1, in a best-of-five series in the first round.
"They're a good team," Hill said. "They fast play a game and they're skilled. We've just got to play the exact same way we played the last two games at home."
Pacific Division FinalsTucson Roadrunners vs. Texas Stars
Game 1 - May 2 - Texas at Tucson
Game 2 - May 4 - Texas at Tucson
Game 3 - May 7 - Tucson at Texas
Game 4 - May 9 - Tucson at Texas
\Game 5 - May 11 - Tucson at Texas
\Game 6 - May 13 - Texas at Tucson
\Game 7 - May 14 - Texas at Tucson
\if necessary