AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Fall to Lake Erie

February 19, 2010 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Syracuse, NY - The Syracuse Crunch gave up four goals in the second period, two of the shorthanded variety, and were never able to battle back, falling to the Lake Erie Monsters tonight by a 6-4 count at the War Memorial at Oncenter.

Former Crunch right wing Philippe Dupuis notched a goal and two assists, while T.J. Hensick and Matthew Ford contributed a goal and an assist for Lake Erie.

Brendan Bell chipped in for the Crunch with a goal and an assist, with captain Derek MacKenzie, Mike Blunden and Charlie Kronschnabel picking up the other goals for Syracuse.

Lake Erie grabbed a 2-0 lead before the game was 13 minutes old when Brian Willsie put home his 17th of the year just 41 seconds into the contest and Tom Preissing added a power play marker with a wrister from the left point that eluded Dan LaCosta at the 12:32 mark.

The Crunch came out on a mission to knot the game at the start of the second stanza and did just that.

MacKenzie intercepted a pass while down a man, skated in and pinpointed a shot to the short side of Trevor Cann to cut it to 2-1 just 10 seconds into the period. The goal gave MacKenzie his league-leading fifth shorthanded goal of the year and 11th all-time as a member of the Crunch.

Just 1:10 later, Mike Blunden threw a shot on goal from the right wing that Cann misplayed and the puck trickled over the line to make it a 2-2 game.

The jubilation of the War Memorial at Oncenter crowd did not last long, as Mike Barlett gave Lake Erie back the lead just 29 seconds after Blunden's marker. The Monsters then quickly regained their two-tally advantage when Dupuis beat LaCosta in on the backhand on a partial breakaway to make it 4-2, ending the night for the Labrador City, Newfoundland native.

The scoring frenzy continued at the 5:26 mark, when Kronschnabel shoveled home a rebound off a Bell point shot to cut it to 4-3.

Lake Erie went on the tally back-to-back shorties on Kevin Lalande at the 9:13 and 18:14 marks of the period, respectively, staking the Monsters to a 6-3 advantage heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation.

Bell's sharp-angle snipe from the left face-off dot on the power play made it 6-4, but that's as close as the Crunch would come.

The Crunch's next game is Saturday, February 20 as the club makes history by hosting the Mirabito Outdoor Classic, the first-ever AHL outdoor game at the New York State Fairgrounds at 1 p.m.

Fans can still purchase tickets, including standing-room only, at the game near the grandstand area. Please note that all ticket and merchandise sales on site will be CASH ONLY.

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from February 19, 2010


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