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Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Vol. 30, No. 27

April 16, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


CRUNCH HIT FINAL REGULAR SEASON WEEK

The Crunch dropped back-to-back shootout decisions to the Toronto Marlies in Week 27, setting the stage for a thrilling finish to the regular season this week.

Syracuse rallied to earn crucial standings points in two straight matches against the Marlies. On Friday, it was Alex Barré-Boulet's third period tally which tied the game at one and forced overtime. Saturday, the team clawed back from deficits of 2-0, 3-2 and 5-3 to force overtime; Quinn Schmiemann scored the tying goal in the third period. They went a combined 0-for-6 in the two shootouts, losing both by 1-0 scores.

The Crunch have three games remaining in the regular season, and can still finish anywhere from first place to fourth place. They lead the North Division with 84 points (38-23-4-4).

TOP PERFORMERS

Alex Barré-Boulet paced the Crunch with four points (1g, 3a) in two games last week. He ripped home a game-tying goal with less than five minutes remaining in the third period on Friday against the Marlies. He then notched his first three-point game of the season on Saturday in the rematch against Toronto.

In the process, Barré-Boulet became the first Crunch player to record at least 300 points with the franchise. He holds the franchise record with 301 points (113g, 188a) in 291 career Crunch games. He has 18 points (4g, 14a) in 20 games with the Crunch this season.

***

Max Crozier picked up his first career three-point game on Saturday against the Marlies. The rookie defenseman had primary assists on a pair of tying power-play goals in the first and second period. He then ripped a power-play goal of his own later in the second period, marking a season-high for power-play goals in a game for the Crunch.

Crozier has a team-leading 11 points (2g, 9a) in 10 games since March 22, four off the league lead in that span.

IT COMES DOWN TO THE WIRE

The ultra tight North Division comes down to the final weekend of the regular season. Four playoff berths have been clinched, but no team has been eliminated from playoff contention entering the final week.

The Crunch begin the week in first place with 84 points. They lead the division by a single point, but they hold the tiebreaker on Rochester, Cleveland and Toronto - the only three teams who can still mathematically catch the Crunch. Syracuse's magic number to earn a fifth division title in franchise history stands at five.

UPCOMING WEEK

Wednesday, April 16 at Belleville | 7 p.m.

The Crunch open the week with their final regular season trip to Canada to face off against the Belleville Senators on Wednesday. It's their last chance to earn a win at Belleville this season; the Crunch are 0-2-0-1 at Belleville and 1-4-1-1 overall against the Senators this season.

The Senators had their five-game winning streak snapped with an 8-2 loss at Rochester on Saturday. They currently hold the final playoff position in the North Division with 76 points (35-28-3-3), but their lead is just two points over Laval. They cannot clinch a spot on Wednesday, but their magic number stands at four entering the week.

Friday, April 20 at Utica | 7 p.m.

The Crunch and Comets renew hostilities in the opening leg of a home-and-home series Friday at the Adirondack Bank Center. It's their first head-to-head meeting in almost two months (Feb. 25); both teams have six wins over the first 12 games of the series.

The Comets sit in last place in the North Division entering a three-in-three weekend to close out the season. They are three points behind the Senators for the final playoff position. The Comets finish their regular season Sunday against Rochester.

Saturday, April 21 vs. Utica | 7 p.m.

The Crunch play their regular season finale Saturday against the Comets. Syracuse enters the final home game with an 18-11-3-3 mark at Upstate Medical University Arena. It is the second time this season the Crunch and Comets will square off on consecutive days; the Comets won both legs of a home-and-home series on Dec. 9-10.

WEEK 27 RESULTS

Friday, April 12 | Game 68 vs. Toronto | SOL, 2-1

Toronto 0 1 0 0 1 - 2 Shots: 10-8-9-2-1-30 PP: 1/4

Syracuse 0 0 1 0 0 - 1 Shots: 5-14-7-2-0-28 PP: 0/3

3rd Period-Barré-Boulet 4 (Fortier, Finley), 15:10. Shootout-Toronto 1 (Steeves G, Shaw NG), Syracuse 0 (Goncalves NG, Barré-Boulet NG, Edmonds NG). . . . Halverson 6-2-1 (29 shots-28 saves) A-6,187

Saturday, April 13 | Game 69 vs. Toronto | SOL, 6-5

Toronto 3 2 0 0 1 - 6 Shots: 13-6-10-2-1-32 PP: 0/2

Syracuse 2 2 1 0 0 - 5 Shots: 7-14-4-2-0-27 PP: 3/7

1st Period-Usau 7 (Barré-Boulet), 5:03. Merelä 13 (Crozier, Goncalves), 14:42 (PP). 2nd Period-Goncalves 13 (Crozier, Barré-Boulet), 9:34 (PP). Crozier 3 (Barré-Boulet, Goncalves), 15:16 (PP). 3rd Period-Schmiemann 2 (Robert, Day), 4:25. . . . Alnefelt ND (19 shots-14 saves), Halverson 6-2-2 (12 shots-12 saves) A-6,180

Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)

Power Play 19.8% (49-for-248) T-8th (T-11th)

Penalty Kill 83.6% (224-for-268) T-7th (T-7th)

Goals For 3.09 GFA (213) T-13th (14th)

Goals Against 2.80 GAA (193) 8th (7th)

Shots For 29.13 SF/G (2010) T-21st (22nd)

Shots Against 26.48 SA/G (1827) 3rd (3rd)

Penalty Minutes 12.35 PIM/G (852) 19th (20th)

Category Leader

Points 57 Goncalves

Goals 20 Koepke

Assists 44 Goncalves

PIM 98 Element

Plus/Minus +30 Myers

Wins 15 Tomkins

GAA 2.27 Halverson

Save % .915 Halverson

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

1. x Syracuse 69 38 23 4 4 84 0.609 213 193 852 18-11-3-3 20-12-1-1 4-4-0-2 0-1-0-2 3-4

2. x Rochester 69 37 23 6 3 83 0.601 226 233 714 17-12-3-2 20-11-3-1 8-1-0-1 1-0-0-0 4-3

3. x Cleveland 69 37 24 5 3 82 0.594 223 232 886 20-14-2-0 17-10-3-3 2-6-2-0 0-1-0-0 4-3

4. x Toronto 69 34 23 10 2 80 0.580 244 210 998 15-12-7-0 19-11-3-2 6-3-1-0 2-0-1-0 6-2

5. Belleville 69 35 28 3 3 76 0.551 202 207 1002 18-12-2-2 17-16-1-1 5-4-1-0 0-1-0-0 2-3

6. Laval 70 33 29 6 2 74 0.529 232 237 1097 19-12-3-1 14-17-3-1 6-4-0-0 1-0-0-0 3-2

7. Utica 69 31 27 5 6 73 0.529 211 217 771 15-13-1-5 16-14-4-1 5-3-1-1 1-0-1-1 2-6

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