AHL Syracuse Crunch

Levasseur Shines Despite 1-0 Shootout Loss to Hamilton

January 14, 2011 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


Hamilton, ON (January 14, 2011) - Despite an outstanding 46-save shutout performance from goaltender J.P. Levasseur, the Syracuse Crunch were defeated by the Hamilton Bulldogs but still earned a point in a 1-0 shootout loss tonight at Copps Coliseum.

Nick Bonino scored the Crunch's only goal in the first round of the tiebreaker, but markers by Andreas Engqvist in the first round and Alexander Avtsin in the fifth round sealed the two points for Hamilton.

Levasseur's 46 saves were a season-high and the shutout was his third of the season. The Crunch completed their season-long seven game road trip tonight with a 3-3-0-1 record, and finally return home to The Oncenter War Memorial Arena on Saturday, January 15 at 7:30 p.m. vs. I-90 rival Rochester.

The Crunch came out looking to snap the club's mini two-game skid and finish up their seven-game odyssey on a high note against Hamilton.

Syracuse skated out to a sluggish start and gave Hamilton every opportunity to tally the game's first goal by taking the first three penalties of the game, all in the first 20 minutes.

Levasseur was very strong and held down the fort, turning away a barrage of shots as Hamilton outshot the Crunch by a 16-6 margin in the first period.

It was more of the same in the second stanza, as the Crunch struggled to find their offensive groove and Hamilton again outshot the visitors by a healthy margin, this time by an 18-8 clip. Again Levasseur was great under fire, stopping all 34 Bulldogs bids through the game's first 40 minutes.

Despite the low-scoring affair, the game did not lack any action. The Crunch had a golden opportunity in the final minute of the third period, but David Laliberte was stoned by Curtis Sanford with the left pad on a breakaway to keep the contest tied through regulation time.

Overtime was all Hamilton, but Levasseur once again stood tall and turned away all seven shots in the five-minute four-on-four session, including a breakaway stop with the left pad on Ben Maxwell.

CRUNCHABLES: The Crunch power play is now 0-for-9 over the last two games.The Crunch have now been shut out seven times this season.Syracuse is now 3-15-0-2 when they don't score a power play goal.Tonight marked the first overtime game the Crunch have played since December 8 and the first game the Crunch have played in that's gone to a shootout since November 19 vs. Albany.

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from January 14, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central