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Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Edge Penguins in Shootout, 7-6

September 29, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Wilkes-Barre, PA (September 28, 2010) - The Syracuse Crunch and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins began the 2010-11 preseason with a barn burner. J.P. Levasseur stopped all five shooters in the shootout to help lead the Crunch to a 7-6 victory, Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena. Center Nick Bonino scored the lone shootout goal and also forced overtime by scoring with just 1:02 remaining in regulation, and added two assists in the game.

The Crunch opened the scoring just 47 seconds into the game. Right wing Kyle Palmieri fed defenseman Chris McLean for a wrist shot past Penguins starting goaltender Mattias Modig. Left wing Ryan Hillier also picked up an assist on the play. A minute later, the intensity of the game picked up when defenseman Benn Olson dropped the gloves with forward Andrew Lord.

At 3:36 of the first period, the Penguins evened up the score on defenseman Jason DeSantis' power play goal.

The Crunch regained the lead on a 5-on-3 man-advantage. Hillier found defenseman John de Gray, who slipped the puck by Modig. McLean earned the secondary assist.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tallied the next two goals to take a 3-2 lead. Lord scored off of a deflected shot with7:32 remaining in the opening frame. With 2:52 left in the period, forward Geoff Walker scored off of a rebound on the power play.

After 20 minutes, Crunch starting netminder Marco Cousineau stopped 12 of 15 Penguins shots, while Modig turned aside seven of nine Crunch shots.

Left wing Josh Brittain and forward Ryan Schnell got things started in the second period with a fight at the 5:35 mark.

The Penguins scored their third power play goal of the game at 7:41 of the second period to make it a 4-2 game. After a scramble in front, forward Kevin Veilleux swept a backhand under Cousineau.

The Crunch struck back quickly on the power play to cut the lead to 4-3. Left wing Nicolas Deschamps centered a pass to left wing Rob Bordson, who quickly fired a shot over the shoulder of Modig.

With 9:16 left in the second period, Levasseur replaced Cousineau, who stopped 19 of 23 shots.

Left wing John Mitchell used his size and speed to even the score at four. Mitchell broke down the left wing side, cut around the defense, and broke to the net before, flipping a backhand by Modig with 4:20 to go in the middle frame. Center Oren Eizenman earned the lone assist.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tallied their fourth power play goal of the game at 7:51 of the third period to gain a 5-4 advantage. Veilleux broke in all alone and deked multiple times before depositing the puck past a sprawling Levasseur.

Former teammates in San Antonio last season, defenseman Stu Bickel and forward Andrew Orpik fought at 8:12 of the third period.

Syracuse registered their third power play goal with 9:48 gone by in the third period. Right wing Kyle Palmieri scored on a wrist shot after finding a loose puck in front. Left wing Brandon McMillan and Bonino earned the assists on the goal.

Walker scored his second of the game on a shot from the point with 7:28 left in regulation to give the Penguins a 6-5 advantage.

The Crunch pressured to tie the equalizer and finally did so with just 1:02 left in regulation. Deschamps took a shot that kicked right out to Bonino, who backhanded it into the vacant side for a 6-6 game.

The game headed into overtime with the Penguins holding a 31-26 shot advantage. In the overtime, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton put on significant pressure, but Levasseur, with help from his defense, stopped all four shots he faced in the extra session. Syracuse registered one shot on goal in overtime.

The Crunch and Penguins face off again on Wednesday at 7 pm, when they head north to SUNY Oswego to meet in the Shapiro Motor Sales of Oswego Classic.

CRUNCHABLES: The Crunch dressed eight rookies for the preseason opener.G J.P. Levasseur, D Stu Bickel, D John de Gray, LW Nicolas Deschamps, D Eric Regan and C MacGregor Sharp played for the now defunct Iowa Chops (AHL) during the 2008-09 season.LW Jon Mirasty was the oldest Crunch in the lineup at 28, while RW Kyle Palmieri is the youngest at 19.C Nick Bonino (9 games) and C MacGregor Sharp (8 games) have NHL experience playing for Anaheim.Four sets of opponents were former teammates last year: D Chris Frank and F Andrew Orpik (Las Vegas-ECHL), LW Ryan Hillier and RW David Marshall (Charlotte-ECHL), RW John Mitchell and C Ben Street (U. of Wisconsin) and G Marco Cousineau and RW Nick Petersen (St. John-QMJHL)

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