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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Vol. 30, No. 15

January 23, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


CRUNCH WIN STREAK REACHES FOUR

The Crunch won a pair of home games in Week 15 to extend their winning streak to four.

Syracuse began the week with a comeback victory against the Providence Bruins. The Crunch scored three unanswered goals in the third period to win, 4-2. They followed that with a 5-2 victory over the Utica Comets - their second win over Utica in less than a week - powered by a four-goal second period.

The Crunch are 6-1-0-0 so far in 2024 and they have closed to within two points of first place in the North Division. The Crunch are 22-12-2-2 and have 48 points, the sixth most in the AHL.

TOP PERFORMERS

Jack Finley continued his hot streak with a pair of multi-point games in Week 15. The second-year-pro posted two one-goal, one-assist games to help the Crunch win twice. He opened the scoring Friday with a goal 2:25 into the game before assisting on the empty-net insurance goal with a defensive zone faceoff win.

The next night, the 21-year-old picked up an assist on the Crunch's first goal then stretched their lead with a tally early in the third period. Finley has three straight multi-point games, and five over the last seven games. He's on a career-high three-game goal scoring streak.

Finley has 13 points (5g, 8a) in 21 games this season after finishing with 21 (12g, 9a) in 67 games as a rookie last season.

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Jack Thompson racked up two multi-point games in Week 15 to extend his scoring streak to seven games. The second-year-pro scored a goal and added an assist in both games. Thompson set up the game-winning goal and then scored an empty-net goal Friday. He then scored the Crunch's first goal and again assisted on the eventual winner Saturday.

Thompson, 21, has notched an assist in seven straight games, which is one shy of the longest streak in the league this season.

The Courtice, Ontario native ranks second on the Crunch with 27 points (4g, 23a); he is tied for fifth among AHL defensemen. His 15 power-play points are tied for the most among AHL defensemen and are the most by a Crunch blueliner since Cal Foote (16, 2019-20).

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AHL All-Star Gage Goncalves scooped up four more assists in two games last week. The third-year-pro, who turned 23 last week, had one assist Friday against Providence and then notched three on Saturday. It was his fourth career three-assist game.

Goncalves has assists in five straight games, and he has logged a point in 11 of the last 12 games since Dec. 17. He has also played two games for the Tampa Bay Lightning, making his NHL debut Jan. 11 vs. New Jersey.

ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

The Crunch have gone 4-1-0-0 during their current homestand, and they have played 19 games both at home and on the road this season. They are 11-5-2-1 (0.658) at home and 11-7-0-1 (0.605) on the road this season.

The Crunch have a plus-10 goal differential at home (62-52) and a plus-9 goal differential on the road (61-52).

UPCOMING WEEK

Friday, January 26 vs. Laval | 7 p.m.

The Crunch finish their six-game homestand when they host the Laval Rocket Friday night. It's the sixth meeting of the season between the clubs, and Laval's final trip of the season to Syracuse. After winning the first two matches, the Crunch have lost three straight against the Rocket. Laval enters the week on an 8-0-1-0 streak, which puts them at 17-14-4-2 this season. The Rocket are tied for fourth in the division.

Saturday, January 27 at Utica | 7 p.m.

The Crunch and Comets meet for the third time in less than two weeks Saturday at the Adirondack Bank Center. The Crunch have won three straight in the head-to-head series and lead the series with five wins to Utica's four. After earning points in eight straight games (4-0-1-3), the Comets have lost two straight in regulation to sink back below 0.500 with a 14-15-4-3 record. They are in last place in the North Division with 35 points.

WEEK 15 RESULTS

Friday, January 19 | Game 37 vs. Providence | W, 4-2

Providence 1 1 0 - 2 Shots: 10-8-8-26 PP: 1/5

Syracuse 1 0 3 - 4 Shots: 8-13-12-33 PP: 0/3

1st Period-Finley 4 (Fortier, Goncalves), 2:25. 3rd Period-Koepke 7 (Robert, Day), 0:31. Carlile 5 (Thompson, Allard), 18:30. Thompson 3 (Finley), 19:32 (EN). . . . Alnefelt 7-5-3 (26 shots-24 saves) A-5,678

Saturday, January 20 | Game 38 vs. Utica | W, 5-2

Utica 1 0 1 - 2 Shots: 11-11-13-34 PP: 1/4

Syracuse 0 4 1 - 5 Shots: 10-18-12-40 PP: 2/4

2nd Period-Thompson 4 (Goncalves, Finley), 0:30 (PP). Allard 3 (Groshev, Element), 3:12. Chaffee 11 (Thompson, Goncalves), 6:54 (PP). Day 1 (Carroll, Koepke), 19:57. 3rd Period-Finley 5 (Goncalves, Robert), 4:36. . . . Tomkins 8-5-1 (34 shots-32 saves) A-5,894

Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)

Power Play 18.1% (27-for-149) 17th (T-20th)

Penalty Kill 84.4% (141-for-167) 7th (T-7th)

Goals For 3.24 GFA (123) 12th (13th)

Goals Against 2.74 GAA (104) T-5th (6th)

Shots For 29.32 SF/G (1114) 20th (21st)

Shots Against 26.76 SA/G (1017) 3rd (3rd)

Penalty Minutes 14.24 PIM/G (541) 10th (9th)

Category Leader

Points 35 Goncalves

Goals 11 Chaffee

Assists 28 Goncalves

PIM 70 Element

Plus/Minus +20 Myers

Wins 8 Tomkins

GAA 2.39 Alnefelt

Save % .906 Alnefelt

North Division GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT GF GA PIM HOME ROAD LAST 10 STREAK S/O

1. Cleveland 37 24 11 1 1 50 0.676 125 117 476 11-5-0-0 13-6-1-1 5-4-0-1 0-1-0-0 2-1

2. Syracuse 38 22 12 2 2 48 0.632 123 104 541 11-5-2-1 11-7-0-1 7-3-0-0 4-0-0-0 2-2

3. Rochester 36 19 13 3 1 42 0.583 121 132 427 8-6-2-0 11-7-1-1 6-3-1-0 3-0-0-0 3-1

4. Laval 37 17 14 4 2 40 0.541 129 135 680 10-6-2-1 7-8-2-1 8-1-1-0 8-0-1-0 2-2

5. Belleville 37 18 15 2 2 40 0.541 106 118 627 10-6-1-2 8-9-1-0 6-4-0-0 0-3-0-0 1-2

6. Toronto 35 16 13 5 1 38 0.543 125 103 529 8-7-4-0 8-6-1-1 3-5-2-0 2-0-0-0 1-1

7. Utica 36 14 15 4 3 35 0.486 112 121 414 8-8-1-3 6-7-3-0 4-2-1-3 0-2-0-0 0-3

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from January 23, 2024


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