AHL Syracuse Crunch

LaCosta Leads Crunch to Victory over Rochester

Published on January 22, 2009 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Rochester, NY (January 22, 2009) - Dan LaCosta made 29 saves and picked up his second shutout of the season, leading the Syracuse Crunch to a 4-0 victory over the Rochester Americans tonight in front of 3,069 fans at Blue Cross Arena.

After dropping the last two games to Rochester after winning 13 straight in the regular season dating back to last year against their I-90 rivals, the Syracuse Crunch wanted to put an end to its mini-skid against the Amerks.

The first period was well-played defensively by both clubs, as Rochester outshot the Crunch by a 10-9 margin in a scoreless stanza. Crunch starter Dan LaCosta looked sharp, making some key sprawling saves to keep the game knotted.

The Crunch jumped on Rochester and notched the game's first goal early in the second period. Derek MacKenzie slapped home a one-timer on a cross-crease feed from Mike York on a 5 on 3 advantage 1:27 into the stanza to give the Crunch a 1-0 lead.

Ryan Garlock increased the Crunch's lead to 2-0 when he took a pass from Kevin Harvey and skated in down the right wing boards. He let go a wrister that deflected off Mike Brodeur and into the back of the net at the 7:19 mark. Dan LaCosta made 12 more stops in the second, including some point-blank chances to keep the Crunch up by two.

With Jon Landry in the box for Interference just 1:40 into the third frame, Rochester nearly got on the board as they rushed down the ice on a 3-on-1. After an initial shot off the odd-man rush, a pileup ensued and the puck bounced out to the slot.

LaCosta dove across and made a sprawling pad save to keep the Amerks off the scoresheet.

Syracuse picked it up after that and made it a 3-0 at the 10:30 mark of the period. Mike Blunden skated in down the left wing and threw a shot on net. John Vigilante got to the rebound and swatted a sharp-angle backhand past Brodeur.

Steve Kelly continued to light it up when he notched his fourth goal in three games just under three minutes later, finding a rebound at the top of the crease and chipping it over Brodeur's shoulder.

CRUNCHABLES: Ryan Garlock has scored a goal in two straight games...Kevin Harvey has three points (2g, 1a) in the last two games...Dan LaCosta earned back-to-back wins for the first time since November 15 and 16...Derek MacKenzie extended his individual and team-high point streak to six games...MacKenzie is the first Crunch player to reach 10 goals this year...Mike York's stretched his point/assist streak to five games.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 22, 2009


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