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Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Vol. 30, No. 25

April 2, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


CRUNCH STRETCH LEAD IN NORTH DIVISION

The Crunch finished off a busy six games in nine days stretch with a 3-3-0-0 record after going 1-2-0-0 in Week 25.

Syracuse was home for three games in four days, beginning Wednesday against Rochester. Despite an early injury to the Amerks starting goaltender, the Crunch were shut out for only the second time this season in a 2-0 loss. Syracuse finished with a 7-2-2-1 record in the head-to-head series.

On Friday, the Crunch fell behind early and a valiant comeback bid fell short in a 6-4 loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The next night, the Crunch transformed into the Canal Mules and then shut out the Providence Bruins, 4-0, to sweep the four-game season series.

The Crunch wrapped up March with an 8-5-1-0 record. They have now opened a three point lead atop the North Division with 80 points (37-22-4-2).

TOP PERFORMERS

Cole Koepke ended March on a high with three goals over the final two games of Week 25, reaching 20 goals on the season for the second time in his three-year pro career. After notching his fourth career two-goal game in Friday's loss to Lehigh Valley, Koepke potted the opening goal Saturday against the Providence Bruins for his team-leading 20th tally of the season. The goal stood as the game-winning goal - his team-leading sixth of the season.

Koepke has matched his career high for goals (20), assists (19) and points (38) in 51 games this season after reaching those totals in 69 games as a rookie in 2021-22. The 25-year-old led the Crunch with 14 points (7g, 7a) in 14 games in March and ranks second overall on the team this season.

***

Matt Tomkins appeared in all three games last week for the Crunch. He capped the week with his first career AHL shutout, making 30 saves to earn the Crunch a 4-0 win over the Providence Bruins on Saturday. He was on the receiving end of a shutout loss Wednesday in Rochester, and also came in relief Friday against Lehigh Valley with the Crunch trailing 3-0; he took the loss after giving up two goals in 19 shots the rest of the game.

Tomkins leads the Crunch with 15 wins. He is 5-3-1 with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage in his last nine appearances since Feb. 28.

He became the third different goalie to post a shutout this season for the Crunch, joining Hugo Alnefelt (3) and Brandon Halverson (1). It's the first time since the 2018-19 season they've had three different goalies record a shutout (Eddie Pasquale, Connor Ingram, Atte Tolvanen).

Tomkins was recalled by Tampa Bay today.

UPCOMING WEEK

Friday, April 5 at Laval | 7 p.m.

The Crunch hit the road to kick off April with a Friday showdown at Place Bell against the Laval Rocket. It's the eighth and final meeting between the clubs with the Crunch winning four of the previous seven. Syracuse won, 3-2, in overtime in Laval on March 6 in their most recent matchup.

The Rocket enter the week holding the fifth and final playoff position in the North Division with 70 points (31-27-6-2). They are in a precarious spot, however, with only a two point cushion over Belleville. The two teams behind Laval have two games in hand on the Rocket.

Saturday, April 6 at Belleville | 7 p.m.

Syracuse travels to Belleville on Saturday to square off against the Senators in another game that will have significant playoff implications for the North Division. The Senators have won five of the first six meetings this year, but the Crunch won the last one (March 15). The teams meet twice over the final three weeks of the season (also April 17 at Belleville).

The Senators are two points out of a playoff spot following a 3-6-1-0 stretch in the last 10 games played. They went 4-7-1-0 in March and tumbled from third place, six points clear of the playoff line, to sixth place and two points out of a playoff spot.

WEEK 25 RESULTS

Wednesday, March 27 | Game 63 vs. Rochester | L, 2-0

Rochester 2 0 0 - 2 Shots: 10-9-8-27 PP: 0/5

Syracuse 0 0 0 - 0 Shots: 8-13-8-29 PP: 0/3

Tomkins 14-11-2 (27 shots-25 saves) A-4,186

Friday, March 29 | Game 64 vs. Lehigh Valley | L, 6-4

Lehigh Valley 3 1 2 - 6 Shots: 9-8-8-25 PP: 0/2

Syracuse 1 2 1 - 4 Shots: 8-7-10-25 PP: 2/5

1st Period-Koepke 18 (Crozier, Barré-Boulet), 16:41. 2nd Period-Fortier 12 (Myers, Harpur), 12:31. Edmonds 8 (Day, Merelä), 14:57 (PP). 3rd Period-Koepke 19 (Barré-Boulet, Finley), 18:36 (PP). . . . Alnefelt ND (5 shots-2 saves), Tomkins 14-12-2 (19 shots-17 saves) A-5,634

Saturday, March 30 | Game 65 vs. Providence | W, 4-0

Providence 0 0 0 - 0 Shots: 12-6-12-30 PP: 0/3

Syracuse 1 0 3 - 4 Shots: 11-25-6-42 PP: 1/6

1st Period-Koepke 20 (Barré-Boulet, Finley), 14:40. 3rd Period-Walcott 14 (Allard, Harpur), 2:16. Crozier 2 (Barré-Boulet, Goncalves), 8:42 (PP). Goncalves 11 (Crozier, Myers), 19:13 (EN). . . . Tomkins 15-12-2 (30 shots-30 saves) A-6,044

Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)

Power Play 19.1% (44-for-230) 16th (15th)

Penalty Kill 84.1% (212-for-252) T-5th (T-7th)

Goals For 3.11 GFA (202) T-12th (T-11th)

Goals Against 2.75 GAA (179) 6th (7th)

Shots For 29.26 SF/G (1902) 20th (21st)

Shots Against 26.34 SA/G (1712) 3rd (2nd)

Penalty Minutes 12.06 PIM/G (784) 20th (18th)

Category Leader

Points 52 Goncalves

Goals 20 Koepke

Assists 41 Goncalves

PIM 84 Element

Plus/Minus +30 Myers

Wins 15 Tomkins

GAA 2.50 Alnefelt

Save % .904 Tomkins

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

1. Syracuse 65 37 22 4 2 80 0.615 202 179 784 18-11-3-1 19-11-1-1 5-5-0-0 1-0-0-0 3-2

2. Cleveland 64 35 22 4 3 77 0.602 210 214 817 19-13-2-0 16-9-2-3 3-6-1-0 0-4-1-0 4-3

3. Rochester 64 33 22 6 3 75 0.586 201 218 651 15-11-3-2 18-11-3-1 7-2-0-1 4-0-0-1 3-3

4. Toronto 63 30 22 9 2 71 0.563 222 192 868 13-11-6-0 17-11-3-2 6-4-0-0 0-1-0-0 4-2

5. Laval 66 31 27 6 2 70 0.530 215 223 1042 18-11-3-1 13-16-3-1 7-3-0-0 0-1-0-0 3-2

6. Belleville 64 31 27 3 3 68 0.531 183 192 956 16-12-2-2 15-15-1-1 3-6-1-0 1-0-0-0 2-3

7. Utica 64 29 26 4 5 67 0.523 195 202 701 15-13-1-5 14-13-3-0 5-4-0-1 1-0-0-0 2-5

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