CATCHING EYES
Nick Merkley, who has 24 points on the season, is second among all active AHL rookies in scoring, behind only Rochester's C.J. Smith. His 12 goals are tied for the most among rookies, and is the third-highest total of any player in the league.
Merkley has recorded multiple points in nine of his 20 games played this season.
MISKA MAGNIFICENT
Hunter Miska has won three of his previous four games and has compiled a 7-1-0 record through nine starts this season. His seven wins are second most among all AHL rookie goaltenders.
The 22-year-old suffered his first pro loss on Dec. 3; prior to that, he had won each of his first six decisions.
Miska is coming off of arguably his best performance of the season Friday night, when he made 33 saves, the second-highest total of his pro career, in Tucson's 3-1 victory over the San Jose Barracuda.
SCORING SPREAD
The Roadrunners are boasting depth. Eleven active players have recorded seven or more points so far this season; eight have scored three or more goals, and 12 have recorded four or more assists.
Veteran forwards Mike Sislo (7G, 4A) and Michael Latta (2G, 6A) have been instrumental in not only providing experience and leadership off the ice, but having direct impacts on the team's on-ice performance.
TROPHY CASE
In 15 AHL games, Dylan Strome managed to acquire three league awards. He was named "Player of the Week" for the period of Oct. 23-29, "Player of the Week" for the period of Nov. 20-26, and named "Rookie of the Month' for November.
Strome, whose last game with the Roadrunners came on Nov. 25 prior to his recall to the Coyotes a day later, registered 26 points (8G, 18A) with Tucson.
He was riding a seven-game point streak at the time of his recall, tying a franchise record set by Brendan Perlini, Kyle Wood, and Christian Fischer during the 2016-17 season.
GETTING THE CALL
This season, eight players from the Roadrunners have dressed for the Coyotes, most recently Kyle Capobianco, who made his NHL debut Thursday night in Boston.
Six of the eight players - Strome, Capobianco, Mario Kempe, Adin Hill, Dakota Mermis, and Joel Hanley have seen live action, while Miska and Marek Langhamer have served as backup goalies.
ONWARD
Of the Roadrunners' next 10 games, all of them will come against Pacific Division opponents. The team will play six of those on home ice at Tucson Arena, where they're 8-3-1-0 this season, and the other four on the road, where they'll look to improve on their 4-2-1-1 mark away from home.
