AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Fall to Lake Erie 3-2 in Season Opener

Published on October 8, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Cleveland, Ohio (October 8, 2010) - A 35-save performance from rookie goaltender Timo Pielmeier was not enough, as the Crunch squandered a 2-0 lead and fell to the Lake Erie Monsters by a 3-2 score in front of 12,524 fans tonight at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Crunch jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 9:59 mark of the first period on a pretty play set up by Maxime Macenauer. Macenauer raced down the left wing and found a streaking Trevor Smith, who deflected a centering pass on his backhand past Lake Erie starter Jason Bacashihua for Syracuse's first goal of the 2010-11 season.

Things got chippy after that, as Mat Clark was given a five-minute major for fighting Lake Erie's Patrick Bordeleau, who knocked Nick Bonino down at center ice with a little over five minutes left to play in the frame.

The aggressive play continued right to the end of the period, with a slew of penalties being handed out with one second left when a scrum ensued after Brett Festerling put a big hit on a Lake Erie player along the boards, resulting in a Lake Erie power play.

The Crunch killed off the carry-over penalty to start the second, then capitalized on the momentum gained from that and went up 2-0 just after the Lake Erie power play expired at the 2:16 mark.

Newly-named captain Joe DiPenta found MacGregor Sharp with a pass in the slot from the right point. Bacashihua couldn't control the rebound of the Sharp shot and Brandon McMillan swatted in a backhand to pick up his first professional goal and put the Crunch up by a deuce.

Lake Erie cut the Crunch lead to 2-1 when Justin Mercier punched the puck past Timo Pielmeier at the 11:12 mark. Just 1:13 later, Julian Talbot capitalized on a loose puck in front of the net when he picked it up in the scramble and beat Pielmeier to knot the game at 2-2. The Crunch were outshot by a 19-4 margin in the second stanza.

The score stayed that way until Matt Ford's wrister from the slot snuck past Pielmeier with just under three minutes remaining in regulation. Crunch head coach Mark Holick pulled Pielmeier for the extra attacker with less than a minute left, but Syracuse could not get the equalizer.

The Crunch finish off a home-and-home series with Lake Erie tomorrow night, hosting the Monsters at 7:30 at the War Memorial at Oncenter. Special guest Jenni 'JWoww' Farley from the hit MTV show Jersey Shore will be on hand signing autographs in Memorial Hall during the first intermission. There will also be a VIP meet and greet with JWoww in Assembly Hall on the third floor from 6:45 - 7:15 p.m. Call the Crunch office at (315) 473-4444 for more information.

CRUNCHABLES: Nine players made their professional debuts with the Crunch tonight (Mat Clark, Jake Newton, Brian Lebler, Brandon McMillan, Rob Bordson, Kyle Palmieri, John Mitchell and Josh Brittain).Trevor Smith's first period goal was the first goal ever during the Anaheim era.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 8, 2010


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