Crunch Power Past Bulldogs
December 7, 2012 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release
Syracuse, NY- Five Crunch players had multiple points tonight as the Crunch defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs 5-1 at the War Memorial Arena.
Ondrej Palat, Brett Connolly and Alex Killorn each recorded a goal and an assist to lift the Crunch to 14-5-1-1 on the season and 4-3-1-0 at home. The Crunch are first place in the Eastern Conference and in the East Division.
Palat gave the Crunch a 1-0 lead just 26 seconds into the opening frame when he tipped a shot from Mark Barberio past Bulldogs netminder Cedrick Desjardin.
Brett Connolly scored a five-on-three power-play goal 7:08 into the first period to double the Crunch lead. Connolly followed up a Killorn deflection and knocked the rebound past Desjardin.
The Syracuse power play struck again to extend the Crunch lead to 3-0 with a goal from defenseman Matt Taormina. Taormina scored his third goal of the season with a low shot from the slot with 6:18 to play in the period.
The Bulldogs' lone goal was scored by Aaron Palushaj with 17 seconds remaining in the first period. Crunch goaltender Riku Helenius finished the night with 19 saves on 20 shots.
The Crunch outshot the Bulldogs 14-6 in a scoreless middle stanza.
Alex Killorn made it 4-1 after taking a feed from Palat and shooting from the circle past Desjardins on the far side at the 6:28 mark of the third period. Palat and Barberio both picked up their second point of the night when credited with the assists.
Pierre-Cedric Labrie rounded out the scoring with his fourth of the season 11:08 into the final frame for a final score of 5-1. The Crunch travel to Adirondack on Saturday and complete a three-in-three in Bridgeport on Sunday.
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from December 7, 2012
- Wolves Send Blain to Idaho - Chicago Wolves
- Houston Sneaks by Texas 2-1 in Overtime - Texas Stars
- Crunch Power Past Bulldogs - Syracuse Crunch
- Monsters Unable to Answer Four Straight Checkers Goals - Cleveland Monsters
- Houston Aeros Take Down Texas in OT, Win Sixth Straight - Houston Aeros
- Wolves Whitewashed by Griffins, 3-0 - Chicago Wolves
- Couturier Birthday Goal Not Enough - Adirondack Phantoms
- Checkers End Skid in Style - Charlotte Checkers
- B-Sens Pummel Pirates, 6-1 - Binghamton Senators
- Knapp Earns First Pro Win as Amerks Top Phantoms, 3-1 - Rochester Americans
- Lightning RODney Not Enough Spark - Manchester Monarchs
- Penguins Fall to Bears in Overtime Five-game winning streak comes to an end - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- CRUNCH BITE DOGS 5-1 - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Marshall's First Gives Bears Overtime Victory over Penguins - Hershey Bears
- IceCaps Fall Short in Gutsy Effort - St. John's IceCaps
- Atkinson Comes through Late, Boosts Falcons by IceCaps - Springfield Falcons
- Providence Defeats Manchester 3-2 - Providence Bruins
- Rampage Sign Mike Mottau and Jonathan Sim to PTOs - San Antonio Rampage
- New Year's Eve High School Hockey Faceoff Tournament Lineup Announced - Bridgeport Islanders
- Houston Aeros Recall Mike Montgomery from Allen - Houston Aeros
- Rivermen 12 Days of Christmas Starts Monday - Peoria Rivermen
- American Hockey League Announces Suspension - AHL
- McDonald Named Sound Tigers Captain - Bridgeport Islanders
- Falcons Announce Details Of December 30 White Sock Drive - Springfield Falcons
- Albany Devils Host Teddy Bear Toss on December 15th - Albany Devils
- Cigna and the Connecticut Whale Continue "Hockey in the Streets" Program - Connecticut Whale
- Visit the Amerks Table at Eastview Mall this Weekend - Rochester Americans
- First Place IceHogs Home Tonight - Rockford IceHogs
- Falcons Game Preview: Springfield At St. John's, Game #21 - Springfield Falcons
- Kuemper Reassigned to Orlando, Houston Aeros Sign Curry - Houston Aeros
- Even Scoring Paces Monsters to Win - Cleveland Monsters
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent Syracuse Crunch Stories
- Crunch Blanked by Amerks, 2-0
- Syracuse Crunch Loan Goaltender Brandon Halverson to Orlando Solar Bears
- Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Vol. 30, No. 24
- Syracuse Crunch Partner with Turning Stone Resort Casino to Hold Are You Smarter Than a Crunch Player Trivia April 3
- Crunch Defeat Bruins, 3-2, in Shootout