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AHL Syracuse Crunch

All-Around Performance Powers Crunch past Falcons, 4-1

March 22, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Syracuse Crunch scored the last three goals unanswered and defeated the Springfield Falcons, 4-1, Sunday at MassMutual Center. The Crunch (38-18-8-0) extended their lead atop the Northeast Division to seven points thanks to the win and a Hartford loss in Albany.

Justin Courtnall, Jonathan Marchessault, Yanni Gourde and Mike Angelidis recorded goals for Syracuse. Of the 10 Crunch players who recorded points, Dylan Blujus was the only one with more than one, assisting on the Courtnall and Marchessault goals. Blujus has four points in the last two games.

Kristers Gudlevskis stopped all but one of Springfield's 14 shots, the fewest for a Crunch opponent this season. The Falcons managed four in the first, two in the second and eight in the third. Gudlevskis' fourth win in a row give him 22 for the season in 36 appearances.

Syracuse notched the game's first goal when Dylan Blujus fired the puck from center off a glass partition in the right corner. It caromed into the slot where Courtnall collected it and faked out netminder Joonas Korpisalo for his third point in six games with the Crunch. Joel Vermin had the second assist at 10:25.

Springfield's leading scorer Luke Adam knotted the score at 16:52 of the first, converting on a rebound of a Michael Chaput shot at close range. Mike Hoeffel helped set up the play with a battle in the left corner.

Two power-play goals in the second frame put Syracuse ahead for good. Three minutes into the frame, Jonathan Marchessault picked the left corner with a right-circle shot for his 19th of the season. Blujus and Tanner Richard garnered assists. With 53 points, Marchessault is tied for 10th in the AHL.

In the closing seconds of the period, Yanni Gourde tucked home his 26th goal from the right goal line after Slater Koekkoek and Carter Ashton set up the play from the left wing. Gourde is third in the league and tied for the conference lead in goals. He has 50 points in 64 games this year, having entered the season with 49 points in 101 career AHL games.

The Crunch finished 2-for-6 on the power play and are 4-for-9 in the last two games. With 12 man-up markers on their last 40 opportunities, the Crunch are 30.0% in their last 10 games. Their season power-play rate has reached a season high of 14.3%.

Angelidis capped the scoring at 14:03 of the third, jamming home a rebound of a Joey Mormina left-point shot at the left post. Angelidis has 18 goals and 34 points to surpass his totals from last season. He's two goals and four points shy of his career highs set in 2011 with Norfolk.

Syracuse's penalty kill stopped both Springfield chances for its fifth consecutive unblemished game and a season-high 20 kills in a row. The Crunch are 90.0% on the penalty kill over their last nine games (36-for-40).

Syracuse pays its first visit to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Wednesday at 7:05 p.m.

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