AHL Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Vol. 30, No. 26

April 9, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


CRUNCH LOCK UP PLAYOFF BERTH

The Crunch are headed to the Calder Cup Playoffs for the 18th time in franchise history after posting a 1-1-0-0 record in Week 26.

Syracuse traveled to Canada for a pair of games at Laval and Belleville. On Friday, the Crunch overcame a 1-0 first period deficit and took down the Rocket, 3-1 at Place Bell. The Crunch went 25:55 without allowing a shot on goal between the second and third periods en route to their second straight win.

The next night in Belleville, the Crunch were upended by the Senators, 5-2. A pair of power-play goals by the Senators in a 34-second span broke a 1-1 tie in the second period and proved to be the difference.

Despite Saturday's loss, the Crunch became the first team in the North Division to clinch a playoff spot. They lead the division with 82 points (38-23-4-2), but they can still finish anywhere from first place to fifth place with two weeks left in the regular season.

TOP PERFORMER

Crunch forward Jack Finley potted a goal in both games in Week 26. The second-year pro netted a pair of power-play tallies, giving him five man-up goals and 12 total markers on the season. He is one back of the team lead in power-play goals.

Finley broke a 1-1 tie in the third period by stuffing home a pass from Gage Goncalves at 8:25. That held up as the game-winning goal, the first of Finley's career, in the Crunch's 3-1 win that put them on the verge of clinching a playoff spot. In Belleville on Saturday, Finley banged home a rebound late in the second period to pull the Crunch within a goal in their eventual loss.

His 12 goals in 47 games matches his rookie total set in 67 games last season. His 30 points are tied for fourth among active players on the Crunch.

CRUNCH PUNCH PLAYOFF TICKET

The Crunch became the first team in the North Division to secure a playoff spot by virtue of their win Friday in Laval plus additional results across the division on Saturday afternoon. It marks the 18th time the Crunch have qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs. It will be the third consecutive season in the playoffs; Syracuse has made the postseason every eligible season since 2016-17, but there were no playoffs held in 2020 or 2021.

Syracuse can still finish anywhere from first place to fifth place in the North Division. The top three teams in the division advance directly to the North Division Semifinals, while the teams finishing in fourth and fifth place face off in a play-in series. Syracuse last won a division title in 2018-19 and the Crunch's magic number to win the division is currently nine.

GONCALVES MATCHES CAREER HIGH

Gage Goncalves pushed his scoring streak to three games with one per game last week. The third-year pro has evened last year's 54 points, reaching that mark in seven fewer games. His 42 assists are a new personal best and he leads the AHL with 22 power-play assists.

UPCOMING WEEK

Friday, April 12 vs. Toronto | 7 p.m.

The Crunch play the first of two straight games against the Toronto Marlies Friday at Upstate Medical University Arena. It's the fourth of four two-game sets this season between the clubs. Syracuse has won all six previous meetings entering the final two home games of the season series.

The Marlies enter the week in fourth place in the North Division with six games remaining on their schedule. They have a three point cushion for the final playoff spot, but they trail Cleveland for third by five points. The Marlies split a weekend home set against Utcia and they enter the final two weeks of the season with more road wins (17) than home wins (15).

Saturday, April 13 vs. Toronto | 7 p.m.

The Crunch and Marlies wrap up their season series during the Crunch's 14th annual Pucks for Paws night. Tickets for Pucks for Paws are on sale now for $20 for humans and $7 for dogs. All proceeds from the dog tickets will benefit the Priscilla Mahar Animal Welfare Foundation. Humans and dogs will be able to sit together in Sections 223 through 225.

The Crunch's six wins against the Marlies are tied for the most by a team in their series history (Toronto, 2015-16). The last team to sweep the season series was the Crunch in 2013-14, when they won the only two matches that season against the Marlies.

WEEK 26 RESULTS

Friday, April 5 | Game 66 at Laval | W, 3-1

Syracuse 0 1 2 - 3 Shots: 6-15-13-34 PP: 1/4

Laval 1 0 0 - 1 Shots: 8-10-8-26 PP: 1/6

2nd Period-Allard 5 (Walcott, Groshev), 8:33. 3rd Period-Finley 11 (Goncalves, Crozier), 8:25 (PP). Element 9 (Allard), 18:55 (EN). . . . Halverson 6-2-0 (26 shots-25 saves) A-10,307

Saturday, April 6 | Game 67 at Belleville | L, 5-2

Syracuse 0 2 0 - 2 Shots: 6-9-4-19 PP: 1/4

Belleville 1 2 2 - 5 Shots: 8-10-9-27 PP: 2/4

2nd Period-Goncalves 12 (Merelä), 1:21. Finley 12 (Crozier, Barré-Boulet), 18:44 (PP). . . . Alnefelt 14-8-4 (26 shots-22 saves) A-2,723

Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)

Power Play 19.3% (46-for-238) T-11th (16th)

Penalty Kill 83.6% (219-for-262) T-7th (T-5th)

Goals For 3.09 GFA (207) 14th (T-12th)

Goals Against 2.76 GAA (185) 7th (6th)

Shots For 29.18 SF/G (1955) 22nd (20th)

Shots Against 26.34 SA/G (1765) 3rd (3rd)

Penalty Minutes 12.00 PIM/G (804) 20th (20th)

Category Leader

Points 54 Goncalves

Goals 20 Koepke

Assists 42 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. x Syracuse 67 38 23 4 2 82 0.612 207 185 804 18-11-3-1 20-12-1-1 5-5-0-0 0-1-0-0 3-2

2. Rochester 67 36 22 6 3 81 0.604 215 225 697 16-11-3-2 20-11-3-1 8-1-0-1 7-0-0-1 4-3

3. Cleveland 67 36 23 5 3 80 0.597 216 223 849 19-13-2-0 17-10-3-3 3-5-2-0 1-0-1-0 4-3

4. Toronto 66 32 23 9 2 75 0.568 234 201 930 15-12-6-0 17-11-3-2 7-3-0-0 0-1-0-0 4-2

5. Laval 68 32 28 6 2 72 0.529 223 230 1082 19-12-3-1 13-16-3-1 6-4-0-0 1-0-0-0 3-2

6. Belleville 66 33 27 3 3 72 0.545 191 194 971 18-12-2-2 15-15-1-1 5-4-1-0 3-0-0-0 2-3

7. Utica 67 31 27 4 5 71 0.530 205 209 750 15-13-1-5 16-14-3-0 6-3-0-1 1-0-0-0 2-5

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from April 9, 2024


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