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Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly - Vol. 30, No. 31

May 14, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


CRUNCH ADVANCE TO NORTH DIVISON FINALS

The Crunch won Game 5 of the North Division Semifinals last Friday in Rochester in a winner-take-all game to earn their spot in the North Division Finals.

Felix Robert picked up two points and Cole Koepke delivered a pair of goals as the Crunch led the whole way in front of over 10,000 fans. It was the Crunch's third ever win in a winner-take-all game, and their first on the road since 1996 vs. Baltimore.

The Crunch picked up their first series win since 2018 and now move on to the North Division Finals, where they'll face the Cleveland Monsters, who won the regular season division title on the final day of the season. The best-of-five series begins this Thursday at Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

TOP PERFORMERS

Cole Koepke delivered a two-goal performance in Game 5 to help the Crunch earn a 5-2 win in the series clincher. He is the first Crunch player since Cory Conacher in Game 5 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals versus Providence to score two goals in a series-clinching game.

Koepke finished the series with three goals over the final two games, tying for the team lead in goals against Rochester. He has five goals and nine points in 15 career Calder Cup Playoff games for the Crunch.

***

Waltteri Merelä scored his second game-winning goal of the series in Game 5 against the Amerks. His tally gave the Crunch a 3-1 lead in the second period and held up as the winner; Merelä also scored the double overtime winner in Game 3. He had two game-winning goals in 55 regular season games.

The Finnish forward rides a three-game goal streak into the division finals, making him the first Crunch player since Mathieu Joseph (2018) to score a goal in three straight playoff games.

Merelä is in his first season in North America after claiming back-to-back championships in Finland the last two seasons. He scored nine goals and had 22 points in 29 playoff games over the two years.

MOVING ON

The Crunch earned their first playoff series victory in six years with their Game 5 win against Rochester. Their previous series win came against the Amerks in the 2018 North Division Semifinals. The Crunch had lost four straight series starting with the 2018 North Division Finals versus Toronto.

The Crunch have won 12 playoff series in team history. The last time they won more than one in a season was in 2017, when they advanced to the Calder Cup Finals.

CRUNCH MEET MONSTERS IN THIRD ROUND

Game 1 - Thu., May 16 - Syracuse at Cleveland, 7:00

Game 2 - Sat., May 18 - Syracuse at Cleveland, 1:00

Game 3 - Wed., May 22 - Cleveland at Syracuse, 7:00

*Game 4 - Fri., May 24 - Cleveland at Syracuse, 7:00

*Game 5 - Sun., May 26 - Syracuse at Cleveland, 3:00

*if necessary

The Crunch face off against the Cleveland Monsters in the North Division Finals. It's the second playoff series between the clubs; the Monsters defeated the Crunch in four games during the 2019 North Division Semifinals. That was Cleveland's most recent playoff series win until they bested the Belleville Senators in this year's division semifinals.

The teams met four times in the regular season with both teams winning twice. The final two meetings - both in Syracuse - required overtime. The teams have not met since the Crunch's 3-2 shootout win on Jan. 13.

UPCOMING WEEK

Thursday, May 16 at Cleveland | 7 p.m.

The Crunch and Monsters begin their North Division Finals Thursday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Both the Crunch and Monsters rallied in their respective division semifinals despite dropping Game 1s to Rochester and Belleville. The Crunch's win over the Amerks was their first series win when losing Game 1 since the 2017 North Division Semifinals versus St. John's; they are 5-9 in series when losing the first game.

The Monsters are 6-2 all-time in Game 1s; they are 5-1 in series when winning the first game and 1-1 when losing the opening game of a series.

Saturday, May 18 at Cleveland | 1 p.m.

The Crunch and Monsters contest Game 2 of the North Divison Finals at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Saturday afternoon. The teams met twice in Cleveland during the regular season. The Crunch spoiled the Monsters' home opener with a 5-0 win on Oct. 20, but Cleveland responded with a 4-2 win the next day to earn a split of the weekend series.

The Crunch have a 4-2-2-2 record at Cleveland over the last five seasons.

WEEK 31 RESULTS

Friday, May 10 | NDSF Game 5 at Rochester | W, 5-2

Syracuse 2 1 2 - 5 Shots: 8-8-4-20 PP: 0/3

Rochester 1 1 0 - 2 Shots: 4-7-7-18 PP: 1/3

1st Period-Carlile 1 (Crozier, Goncalves), 2:28. Koepke 2 (Lilleberg, Barré-Boulet), 9:43. 2nd Period-Merelä 3 (Robert), 8:35. 3rd Period-Koepke 3 (Barré-Boulet, Stephens), 14:50. Robert 1 (Goncalves, Crozier), 16:49 (EN). . . . Halverson 3-1-1 (18 shots-16 saves) A-10,758

Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Reg)

Power Play 6.7% (1-for-15) 20th (T-9th)

Penalty Kill 70.0% (3-for-10) T-20th (T-8th)

Goals For 3.20 GFA (16) 5th (T-17th)

Goals Against 2.60 GAA (13) 7th (T-9th)

Shots For 39.40 SF/G (197) 2nd (23rd)

Shots Against 30.40 SA/G (152) 14th (3rd)

Penalty Minutes 5.20 PIM/G (26) 23rd (19th)

Category Leader

Points 6 Goncalves

Goals 2 Koepke|Merelä

Assists 5 Goncalves

PIM 6 Walcott

Plus/Minus +5 Carlile

Wins 3 Halverson

GAA 2.23 Halverson

Save % .914 Halverson

Check out the Syracuse Crunch Statistics

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