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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly - February 9, 2017 - Vol. 23, No. 17

February 9, 2017 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


LAST WEEK Wed., Feb. 2- Crunch at Albany - L, 3-2 Sat., Feb. 4 - Crunch at Toronto - W, 5-3. Sun., Feb. 5 - Crunch at Toronto - L, 3-2

THIS WEEK Fri., Feb. 10 - Crunch vs. Binghamton - 7 p.m. Sat., Feb. 11 - Crunch vs. Rochester - 7 p.m. Sun., Feb. 12 - Crunch at Utica - 5 p.m.

Crunch return after six road games The Crunch play home games Friday vs. Binghamton and Saturday vs. Rochester following six away games Jan. 25-Feb. 5. Syracuse was 3-2-1-0 in that span, and was 1-2-0-0 in Week 17. The Crunch lost in Albany Thursday, 3-2, and split two games in Toronto with a 5-3 win Saturday and a 3-2 loss Sunday.

Syracuse remains on top of the North Division entering Week 18 at 23-14-4-5. The team's .598 points percentage has not been lower since Week 4, but they've owned first place since Week 8. Syracuse ranks sixth in the Eastern Conference. The Crunch are 9-9-3-3 on the road and at 14-5-1-2 at home.

Top Performers Cory Conacher has a six-game scoring streak, registering three goals and 10 points in that span, vaulting himself into a tie for the Crunch lead at 38 points (9g, 29a). He posted two goals and six points in three games last week, including his eighth and ninth multi-games. Saturday's two-goal, one-assist effort marked the fourth time he collected three or more points in a game this season.

No one in the AHL has more points than Conacher since New Year's Eve, generating five goals and 22 points over the last 16 games. Conacher has now played more games for Syracuse this year (37) than he did during his first Syracuse stint (36) in 2012-13. He had more goals the first time around (12), but fewer assists (16) and points (28).

Tanner Richard has a goal in each of the last three games, improving his season total to 12, tied for third on the team. He had six goals in a four-game streak Nov. 12-23, the best goal streak of his career. The fourth-year center has played 252 games with Syracuse, trailing only Mike Angelidis (263) for most games during the Crunch-Lightning era.

Mike Halmo recorded three points in Week 17, all in one game. His one-goal, two assist Saturday marked his fourth multi-point game of the year and first three-point effort. Halmo's 13 goals rank second on the team to Yanni Gourde's 16. Halmo's 21 points are sixth on the Crunch.

Transactions Wingers Joel Vermin and Michael Bournival were reassigned to Syracuse by Tampa Bay Wednesday.

Vermin played the last two games for the Lightning, Saturday vs. Anaheim and Tuesday vs. Los Angeles, recording an assist in the latter. He had points in four straight Crunch games (2g, 2a) since his previous NHL stint. Vermin has three assists in 11 Lightning games.

Bournival has not played for the Bolts since Jan. 24, missing the last five games with an upper-body injury. He's missed 18 of the last 19 Crunch games while with Tampa Bay. He has two points (1g, 1a) in 17 NHL games this season, plus 13 points (5g, 8a) in 25 AHL games.

Erik Condra was recalled by Tampa Bay Thursday, the eighth time he's been called up from Syracuse this season. The former Notre Dame captain has 98 points in 364 career NHL games, but no points in 11 Lightning games this year. He's played the last five games for Syracuse, recording assists in the last three. He had missed the previous seven Crunch games while with Tampa Bay.

Upcoming: Binghamton, Rochester, Utica Friday's visitor, Binghamton, has topped Syracuse in the last two matchups, 4-2 Jan. 20 and 3-2 in a shootout Dec. 30, both at the War Memorial. The Crunch won the first two meetings, 4-2 Nov. 26 and 4-3 Oct. 28, both in Broome County. Phil Varone leads the Sens with 31 points (12g, 19a) and a team-best eight points (3g, 5a) vs. Syracuse. Jason Akeson, who signed with the Senators Nov. 27, has 24 points (7g, 17a) in 28 games. Binghamton has lost five of six and is last in the North (19-24-2-1). Chris Driedger (9-9-2, 2.95) has taken the decision in four of the last five games (1-3) with 13 goals against, including five in Wednesday's 5-0 loss at Lehigh Valley. Matt O'Connor (10-12-1, 3.03) has appeared in four more games.

Rochester, sixth in the division at 20-25-0-2, hosts Albany Friday before coming to Syracuse Saturday. Syracuse won the first five meetings, but the Amerks have taken the last two. Cole Schneider has 40 points (17g, 23a) to lead the team, fifth in the AHL. Captain Cal O'Reilly is second on the club with 36 points (8g, 28a) in 37 games. Goalie Linus Ullmark leads the AHL in minutes, saves and losses. At 18-16-2, he's also fourth in victories. He's started seven consecutive games and is 3-3-1 in that span. Derek Grant, Evan Rodrigues and Justin Bailey have been recalled by Buffalo within the last week.

The Crunch head to Utica Sunday for a 5 p.m. game. The Comets are winless in five games (0-3-1-1) following a six-game winning streak. Their 18-19-6-2 record places fifth in the North and 10th in the conference. Following their 4-2 loss in Toronto Tuesday, Utica hosts Toronto Friday and visits Springfield Saturday. Alexandre Grenier leads the team with 35 points (14g, 21a), nine of which have come vs. Syracuse (4g, 5a), the most by any AHL player against the Crunch this season. Curtis Valk is second on the team at 31 points (12g, 19a) and eighth among AHL rookies. Richard Bachman (9-10-2, 2.60) is 2-1-0 vs. Syracuse. Thatcher Demko (9-8-4, 2.83) is 2-0-1 opposite the Crunch. Defenseman Brendan Gaunce was reassigned to Utica by Vancouver Monday.Bibeau, who suffered the OT loss to Syracuse in November, has seen the most action for Toronto (8-10-3, 2.79). Garret Sparks (9-5-0, 1.87) has appeared in 14 Marlies games and earned a 27-save shutout last game.

Week 17 Results

Thursday, Feb. 2 | Game 44 at Albany | L, 3-2 SYR 0 0 2 - 2 Shots: 9-5-10-24 PP: 1/5 ALB 1 2 0 - 3 Shots: 8-12-7-27 PP: 0/3 3rd Per. - Gourde 16 (Vermin, Conacher), 7:03 (PP). Richard 10 (Condra, Koekkoek), 14:37. Gudlevskis 7-7-6 (27 shots-24 saves).

Saturday, Feb. 4 | Game 45 at Toronto | W, 5-3 SYR 2 1 2 - 5 Shots: 5-13-18-36 PP: 0/2 TOR 2 1 0 - 3 Shots: 22-13-5-40 PP: 1/3 1st Per. - Conacher 8 (Thomas), 2:47. 2, Syracuse, Richard 11 (Ikonen, Hart), 3:17. 2nd Per. - Halmo 13 (Condra), 0:42. 3rd Per. - Conacher 9 (Halmo), 6:13. Lynch 1 (Conacher, Halmo), 12:57. Wilcox 16-6-3 (40 shots-37 saves).

Sunday, Feb. 5 | Game 46 at Toronto | L, 3-2 SYR 2 1 0 0 - 4 Shots: 9-10-7-3-1-30 PP: 0/5 TOR 1 1 1 0 - 3 Shots: 4-8-7-0-0-19 PP: 1/6 3rd Per. - Richard 12 (Conacher, Condra), 13:10 (PP). Comrie 6 (Taormina, Conacher), 14:52. Wilcox 16-7-3 (28 shots-25 saves).

Category standings (previous week) Power Play 15.1% (32-for-212) 24th (25th) Penalty Kill 83.8% (165-for-197) 9th (8th) Goals For 3.02 GFA (139) 10th (12th) Goals Against 2.93 GAA (135) 21st (20th) Shots For 29.89 SF/G (1375) 13th (13th) Shots Against 26.17 SA/G (1204) 1st (1st) Penalty Minutes 16.48 PIM/G (758) 4th (7th)

Crunch Leaders Points 38 Conacher, Taormina Goals 16 Gourde Assists 29 Conacher PIM 86 Letourneau-Leblond Plus/Minus +13 Bournival Wins 16 Wilcox GAA 2.66 Wilcox Save % .901 Wilcox

Syracuse Crunch single game and season tickets for the 2016-17 season are on sale now and can be purchased either in person at the Crunch office located in the War Memorial Arena at 800 S. State St. in Syracuse or by calling the office at 315-473-4444. For the latest Crunch news, visitwww.syracusecrunch.com or follow the club on Facebook (www.facebook.com/syracusecrunch), Twitter (@SyracuseCrunch) and Instagram (@syracusecrunch) using #SyrCrunch, #WeAreOne and #BLUnited.

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