Crunch Defeat Amerks, 3-2, in Overtime to Take Game 1
April 21, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Phil Myers scored two minutes into the overtime frame to lift the Syracuse Crunch over the Rochester Americans, 3-2, in Game 1 of the North Division Semifinals tonight at the Upstate Medical University Arena.
Declan Carlile and Felix Robert also scored for the Crunch in their Game 1 victory. Cole Koepke and Shawn Element both recorded two assists each.
Goaltender Max Lagace turned aside 21-of-23 shots in net for the Crunch. Malcolm Subban stopped 37-of-40 between the pipes for the Amerks,
The Syracuse power play was successful on 2-of-4 opportunities, while the penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3.
After a goalless first period, the Crunch opened scoring with a power-play goal 4:12 into the middle frame. Carlile passed the puck over to Koepke, who sent a return feed for Carlile to fire in with a one-timer from the point. Four minutes later, the Amerks evened the score when Tyson Kozak sent a cross-slot feed for Linus Weissbach to poke in on the back door.
Syracuse regained their lead with another power-play goal at the 16:30 mark. Rudolfs Balcers dished the puck down low for Robert to send in with a wrister from the bottom of the right circle. Rochester responded yet again and two minutes later Josh Passolt roofed a rebound past Lagace to knot the score.
The teams remained tied through the third period and the game went to overtime. At the 2:20 mark, Myers grabbed the puck at the blue line, deked around an Amerks defender and scored the game-winner with a shot from between the circles.
The Crunch host the Amerks for Game 2 tomorrow.
Single game tickets and ticket packages for the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs are on sale now and can be purchased in person at the Crunch office located inside the Upstate Medical University Arena at Onondaga County War Memorial at 800 S. State St. in Syracuse, by calling the office at 315-473-4444 or online through Ticketmaster. For the latest Crunch news, visit www.syracusecrunch.com or follow the club on Facebook (www.facebook.com/syracusecrunch), Twitter (@SyracuseCrunch) and Instagram (@syracusecrunch).
Crunchables: Tonight was the Crunch's first overtime goal since the North Division Semifinals against the St. John's IceCaps on April 28, 2017 when Gabriel Dumont scored the series-clincher.
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