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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch End Slide with Shootout Win in Texas

December 29, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Cedar Park, TX (December 29, 2009) - Jared Aulin scored two goals in a 16-second span in the first period and tallied the game-winner in the second round of the shootout to lift the Syracuse Crunch to a 4-3 victory in their first-ever meeting with the Texas Stars, ending the club's six-game winless streak in front of 6,483 fans at the Cedar Park Center.

The Crunch got off to just the start they were looking for and drew first blood for the second straight game.

Tomas Kana worked the puck around the Texas net and was able to get it out front to a streaking Aulin. Aulin beat his man to the puck and hammered a shot past Matt Climie to give Syracuse the early 1-0 lead at the 4:49 mark of the opening frame.

The Crunch took advantage of a slow start by Texas and capitalized again with Aulin's second tally just 16 seconds later.

On a strange play, the Calgary, Alberta native skated in down the left wing and threw a backhand bid towards the front of the cage from a sharp angle intended for teammate Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman, who was driving to the net.

Climie seemed to get crossed up and the puck squeezed past him and over the goal line. There was initial confusion as to whether the puck crossed the line, but after referee Kyle Rehman conferred with the linesmen and goal judge, the score was counted to give the Crunch a 2-0 advantage.

Texas picked up their pace after that and cut the Crunch lead to 2-1 with just under three minutes left in the first when Stars defenseman Andrew Hutchinson skated into the Crunch zone down the right side and flicked a wrist shot on goal that eluded the glove of Kevin Lalande.

Shots were even at 9-9 after the first 20 minutes.

Texas controlled most of the second period and doubled up the Crunch in shots 14-7.

The Stars' relentlessness paid off late in the frame when Warren Peters cashed in by punching home a rebound from the right side over Lalande's outstretched pad to tie the contest at 2-2.

The Crunch stopped the bleeding and scored to take their second lead of the game just over six minutes into the third period.

Bates Battaglia made the play happen on a great individual effort when he kept possession of the puck behind the net and centered a feed that Kana found in the slot and rocketed past Climie for the 3-2 Syracuse advantage.

Texas fought back again to tie the game at 3-3 when Lalande came way out of the crease to play a dump-in attempt and got caught.

Lalande panicked and had to retreat back to the net after Travis Morin got to the puck, but Morin put it past a diving Lalande at the 10:45 mark.

The score stayed that way through the remainder of regulation and overtime, as the Crunch fended off a Texas power play for the final 1:13 of the extra session, forcing the game to a shootout.

It was all Crunch in the tiebreaker, as Aulin's tally in the second round and Brendan Bell's goal in the fourth round sealed a 4-3 win for Syracuse. Lalande stymied all four Texas shooters.

CRUNCHABLES: LW Rick Cleaver and C Charlie Kronschnabel both made their Crunch debut tonight after being signed to a PTO earlier todayThe Crunch travel to San Antonio tomorrow to finish a three game in three night stretchSyracuse has had two players tally two goals in the last two games after only having one player achieve that feat in the teams first 28 contestsAulin has four points (2g, 2a) over his last four gamesKana has five goals in nine games and four in his last five contests since coming to the Crunch.

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