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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Crunch Weekly

March 25, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Last Week

Fri., Mar. 21 - Crunch vs. W-B/Scranton - L, 2-0

Sat., Mar. 22 - Crunch vs. Albany - L, 6-2

Sun., Mar. 23 - Crunch at Adirondack - W, 3-0

This Week

Wed., Mar. 26 - Crunch vs. St. John's - 7 p.m.

Fri., Mar. 28 - Crunch vs. Adirondack - 7 p.m.

Sat., Mar. 29 - Crunch vs. Binghamton - 5 p.m.

Need to Know

- Sunday's shutout gives Syracuse the AHL lead, nine, and Kristers Gudlevskis a tie for the individual AHL lead, five.

- The Crunch celebrate 20 years of hockey with Shapiro Motors "Turn Back the Clock Night" Saturday vs. Albany.

- The Crunch play three home games in Week 26, continuing a stretch of 13 home contests in a 16-game span.

Syracuse finished Week 25 by snapping out of its offensive funk and ending a four-game skid. Sunday's 3-0 victory at Adirondack, buoyed by Kristers Gudlevskis' fifth shutout, lifted Syracuse to 60 points at 25-29-4-6. However, the team remains 13th in the Eastern Conference, 17 points short of the last playoff spot. With 12 games to play in the regular season, Syracuse enjoys the next three at home, concluding March with St. John's, Adirondack and Binghamton. Syracuse's home record is 12-12-2-4 compared to 13-17-2-2 on the road.

Crunch pacing AHL in shutouts

In the last two regular seasons, since Tampa Bay brought its prospects to Syracuse, the Crunch have shut out more opponents than any other American Hockey League team. In 2012-13 Syracuse goalies compiled 10 regular season shutouts, the league's most (tied with Charlotte). So far in 2013-14, including a 3-0 shutout win Sunday in Glens Falls, Syracuse has blanked opponents nine times, again leading the league. Albany is second in the AHL with eight, but no other team has more than six.

Kristers Gudlevskis picked up the team's ninth shutout Sunday with 31 saves at Adirondack. The rookie owns five shutouts, tied for most in the AHL individually with Norfolk's John Gibson and Chicago's Jake Allen. Syracuse's other four shutouts belong to Cedrick Desjardins (2), Anders Lindback and Allen York.

In 2012-13 the Crunch enjoyed shutouts from Riku Helenius (4), Desjardins (3) and Dustin Tokarski (3). Desjardins added three more shutouts in the postseason to set a new franchise single playoff record.

The Syracuse regular season shutout record is held by Jean-Francois Labbe who recorded nine shutouts in the 2001-02 season. Labbe and Karl Goehring both have 11 career Crunch shutouts for the franchise record. Dan LaCosta has the third most, seven. Gudlevskis and Desjardins are tied for fourth in team history with five each, along with Pascal Leclaire, Jean-Philippe Levasseur and Tomas Popperle. Popperle held the record for shutouts by a Crunch rookie, four in 2006-07, until Gudlevskis' fifth Sunday.

Counting the penalty minutes

Sunday in Glens Falls the Crunch and Phantoms combined for 34 penalties (6 majors, 8 misconducts and 20 minors) totaling 150 penalty minutes, the largest amount in a Crunch game this year. The game also set season highs for penalty minutes taken by the Crunch, 77, and by a Crunch opponent, 73. Adirondack and Syracuse are the first and third most penalized teams in the AHL, respectively, at 1,624 and 1,487 minutes.

The last time Syracuse spent so much time in the box was Dec. 12, 2009, when 81 minutes served hampered the Crunch in a 6-3 loss to Binghamton.

Sunday's combined 150 minutes is the highest for a Crunch game since Oct. 20, 2012, when Syracuse (72) and Binghamton (80) had 152 in a 6-5 Crunch overtime win, incidentally the biggest comeback in franchise history.

This season's most penalty-filled game had been Oct. 12, a 5-1 Syracuse win in Rochester, when the Crunch and Amerks combined for 121 penalty minutes. The Amerks' 72 penalty minutes in that game had been most for a Crunch opponent this year. Syracuse's most penalty minutes had been 63 in a 6-2 loss Dec. 10 in St. John's.

The AHL's highest single-game penalty-minute total this year was 329 Feb. 16 with Adirondack (194) falling to Portland (135), 2-0.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Game 62: Pens smother Syracuse, 2-0

The Crunch offense came up empty Friday, dropping a 2-0 decision to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the War Memorial Arena. The Pens have won six of the nine matchups this season with one remaining.

Spencer Machacek took advantage of a Kristers Gudlevskis misplay to give the Pens a 1-0 lead 7:38 into the first period. Adam Payerl doubled the lead on a power-play goal with under three minutes to play in the first.

The Crunch generated just four shots in the first, and finished with 16 for the game, after getting just 13 five days earlier in Albany. Gudlevskis stopped 26 Penguins shots, including all 16 over the final two periods but got no offensive support. Syracuse had just one power-play chance while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had eight.

Game 63: Devils crank past Crunch, 6-2

The Devils raced out to a 3-0 first-period lead and cruised to a 6-2 victory Saturday at the War Memorial, Albany's fourth straight win and Syracuse's fourth straight loss. Three defensemen, Raman Hrabarenka, Adam Larsson and Alexander Urbom, provided the early Albany edge with right-point drives past goalie Cedrick Desjardns. Reid Boucher made it 4-0 Devils in the second period before the Crunch stopped the bleeding.

Brett Connolly scored his 16th of the year, set up by Vlad Namestnikov and Cedric Paquette during a power play. The Devils re-established a four-goal margin when Kelly Zajac potted his 9th moments later. The teams traded power-play goals in the third, first with Mike Sislo registering his 23rd for Albany, and then Jonathan Marchessault potting his first goal with Syracuse during a five-on-three; Jon DiSalvatore and Brett Connolly assisted. Connolly's goal and assist give him nine multi-point performances this season.

Game 64: Gudlevskis leads Syracuse to 3-0 win at Adirondack

Evan Rankin supplied a first-period, power-play tip-in that turned out to be his first game-winning goal of the year as Syracuse downed Adirondack, 3-0, Sunday at Glens Falls Civic Center.

Kristers Gudlevskis turned aside all 31 shots he faced for his fifth shutout and 14th win of the season. He stoned multiple breakaway chances including a Tyler Brown penalty shot in the first. Meanwhile, the Crunch peppered Phantoms netminder Cal Heeter with 19 shots in the first, most for the Crunch in any road period this year, and 28 for the game.

Brett Connolly added a power-play marker in the third, his third point in two games, to extend the Syracuse lead to 2-0 while tying Vladislav Namestnikov for the team lead in goals, 17; Nikita Nesterov and Phil Paradis assisted. Paradis registered his first multi-point game of the season later in the third, scoring his fourth goal after a steal by Mike Angelidis. Rankin's goal was set up by Dmitry Korobov and Jonathan Marchessault who leads Syracuse with 44 points and 22 power-play points.

With 2-for-5 power-play efforts in each of the last two games, the Crunch have multiple-power play goals in consecutive contests for the second time this year and first since Oct. 30 (2-for-4) and Nov. 1 (2-for-6).

THE WEEK AHEAD

Crunch vs. St. John's-Wednesday, 7 p.m.

ESPN Radio 97.7 FM & 1200 AM, Syracuse; 100.1 FM & 1440 AM, Oswego

St. John's and Syracuse face off for the fourth and final time this season Wednesday at the War Memorial. St. John's holds a 2-1 lead in the season series, but the home team has won each game.

The IceCaps are the league's hottest team having won 13 of their last 14 and seven straight on the road. At 86 points the St. John's has risen to second in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference, six points back from division- and conference-leading Manchester.

Andrew Gordon (22g, 27a), Kael Mouillerat (18g, 31a), and Jason Jaffray (17g, 32a) are all tied for the IceCaps scoring lead with 49 points. Rookie Brenden Kichton has the second highest total on the team with 45 (10g, 35a). Forward John Albert (19g, 16a) enters Week 26 on a three-game goal-scoring streak with five markers in that span. Gordon, Jaffray, and Kichton are the only players who have appeared in all 65 games for the IceCaps this season.

Eddie Pasquale, who started two of the first three games against the Crunch, had season-ending surgery in early March. Pasquale appeared in 31 games for the IceCaps including 30 of the first 39. Michael Hutchinson appeared in 22 games prior to being recalled to Winnipeg on March 15. With Pasquale injured and Hutchinson in the NHL the IceCaps goaltending tandem consists of Jussi Olkinuora and Tyler Beskorwany. Olkinuora, who has appeared in one game against the Crunch, is 5-3-1 with a 3.25 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage. Beskorowany has appeared in four games since signing a PTO on Feb. 8 going 4-0-0 with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.

Crunch vs. Adirondack-Friday, 7 p.m.

ESPN Radio 97.7 FM & 1200 AM, Syracuse; 100.1 FM & 1440 AM, Oswego - Time Warner Sports Channel (Ch. 19)

The Crunch and Phantoms meet for the second time in five days Friday at the War Memorial. Syracuse has won three of four meetings including Sunday's penalty-filled 3-0 shutout in Glens Falls. Both of the remaining contests take place at the War Memorial.

The Phantoms have won two of their last ten and with 55 points are fifth in the Northeast Division and 15th in the Eastern Conference, 22 points out of a playoff spot.

Cal Heeter, who made 25 saves Sunday in the loss to Syracuse, has split time with Yann Danis when not on recall with Philadelphia. In 38 games Heeter is 15-22-0 with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Danis has posted a 3.01 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage with a 9-11-4 record in 31 games. Both goaltenders have appeared in two games against the Crunch with Danis recording the lone victory.

Jason Akeson leads the Phantoms with 57 points (20g, 37a) in 64 games. Tye McGinn, who was promoted to the Flyers Sunday, is second with 36 points (14g, 22a) in 46 games. Both Akeson (3a) and McGinn (2g, 1a) have tallied three points against Syracuse in the season series.

Crunch vs. Binghamton-Saturday, 7 p.m.

ESPN Radio 97.7 FM & 1200 AM, Syracuse; 100.1 FM & 1440 AM, Oswego

Syracuse and Binghamton wrap up their season series Saturday at the War Memorial. The Senators have won seven of nine meetings. In the last matchup, the Crunch scored three third-period goals for a 4-3 come-from-behind victory. Since that loss, Binghamton has won five of six.

Binghamton (38-21-1-4) is one point ahead of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the East Division lead and third place in the Eastern Conference with 81 points. The Senators finish out the season with a stretch of important East Division games playing division foes in eight of 12 remaining games.

Stephane Da Costa leads the Senators with 56 points (18g, 38a) in 53 games. Da Costa is averaging a point per game against the Crunch totaling eight points (3g, 5a) in eight games. Cole Schneider is second overall with 48 points (19g, 29a). Chris Wideman, who is third on the team with 43 points (7g, 36a), leads the Senators with 11 points (2g, 9a) in nine games versus Syracuse.

Nathan Lawson and Andrew Hammond split time in net for the Senators but with both goalies recalled to Ottawa Scott Greenham has started back-to-back games. Greenham, who spent the majority of the season with ECHL-Elmira, is 3-0-0 in three games for the Senators with a 3.30 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage. Binghamton signed goaltender Philippe Trudeau to an ATO on March 21 after the he finished his season with the Ottawa 67's of the OHL. In 63 games with the 67's Trudeau posted a 22-32-6 record alongside a 4.03 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. He has yet to see action in the AHL.

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