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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Coast Past Adirondack

December 11, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Syracuse, NY - Three goals in a four-minute span in the second period was all the Syracuse Crunch needed to defeat the Adirondack Phantoms tonight, 5-2, in front of 4,683 fans at the War Memorial at Oncenter.

After two days to think about a 6-0 home loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday night, the Crunch came out looking to eradicate any memory of that game and made a statement by peppering Adirondack starter Nic Riopel with a season-high 22 first period shots. Syracuse had only 25 shots altogether in its last contest.

The Crunch broke through on the scoresheet at the 11:07 mark of the first on a flukey play.

Grant Clitsome's intended outlet pass from his own zone misfired and went on goal. The puck fooled Riopel and fluttered past him on the short side from about 180 feet away to give the Crunch a 1-0 lead.

Syracuse went up by a 2-0 count just over nine minutes into the second frame.

David Liffiton threw the puck at the net from the left point and it deflected and bounced off the back boards. Simon Ferguson got a stick on it and threw it towards the front of the cage where Kevin Harvey pounded it past Riopel from the top of the crease for the two-tally lead.

The Crunch kept pouring it on and took a 3-0 lead at the 12:08 mark.

An Adirondack defender was trying to clear the puck from his own zone, but Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman re-directed his attempt and the puck caromed right to Alexandre Picard and sprung him on a breakaway.

Picard faked to his backhand and Riopel denied his original bid. The always persistent Picard reached out and tucked the puck past the Phantoms netminder on a second attempt to put Syracuse in the driver's seat up by three goals.

Newly-acquired Tomas Kana put the Crunch up 4-0 when he took a cross-ice feed from Nick Holden in the slot and wired a wrister past Riopel just over one minute later.

Former Crunch right wing and Columbus second round draft pick Stefan Legein tallied his tenth of the season and eighth as a member of the Phantoms when his bid trickled past LaCosta with just 27 seconds left in the frame to put Adirondack back in striking distance at 4-1 heading into the third.

The scoring stayed that way until Legein lit the lamp again, this time on Kevin Lalande, who replaced LaCosta to start the third period. Legein's tally came with just under two minutes to play to make it interesting at 4-2, but Dan Fritsche's empty-netter with 39 seconds left sealed the 5-2 win for Syracuse.

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