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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly

March 19, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


LAST WEEK

Fri., March 13 - Crunch vs. Adirondack - W, 7-4

Sat., March 14 - Crunch at Albany - W, 2-1

Sun., March 15 - Crunch at Bridgeport - W, 2-0

THIS WEEK

Fri., March 20 - Crunch vs. W-B/Scranton - 7 p.m.

Sat., March 21 - Crunch vs. Utica - 7 p.m.

Sun., March 22 - Crunch at Springfield - 5 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW

- Three Week 23 wins buoyed the Crunch (36-17-8-0) atop the Northeast Division, sitting third in the conference.

- Yanni Gourde scored his 24th goal Sunday, his fifth game-winner, and leads Syracuse while ranking fifth in the AHL.

- Over its last six games Syracuse is 88.2% on the penalty kill and has succeeded the last 14 times shorthanded.

Goals galore for Gourde

Crunch forward Yanni Gourde has 24 goals this season, best on the team and tied for fifth in the AHL. Gourde has been the most-prolific Crunch scorer the past month, notching eight goals and 14 points the last 11 games.

With three goals and five points in March, Gourde has already factored into two Syracuse wins this month, scoring the game-winning goal Sunday in Bridgeport and earning a secondary assist on Luke Witkowski's game-winner Friday against Adirondack.

Gourde leads Syracuse with five game-winning goals and has scored the game's first goal six times, best on the squad. Four of Gourde's last five goals are power-play markers; he leads the team with seven on the year.

Coming into this season, Gourde's career high for goals in a season was eight, set in 2012-13 over 54 games. Gourde had six goals in 43 games last year. He has tripled his previous high this season and broke his previous career high in one month, notching nine goals in November when he was the CCM/AHL Player of the Month.

Stifling penalty kill

The Crunch posted their best penalty kill numbers of the year in back-to-back games this weekend, holding Albany scoreless Saturday and Bridgeport scoreless on Sunday, both times stopping all seven attempts by the opponent. The 14-straight kills, their most consecutive kills of the season, increases the Crunch's penalty killing percentage a full point, from 79.6% to 80.7% and ranks them 25th in the league.

The Crunch also stopped 14 in a row over a three-game span the previous two weeks: the last six vs. Utica Feb. 28, all six March 6 vs. Portland and the first two March 8 at Binghamton. Over the last six games, Syracuse is 30-for-34 (88.2%) on the kill.

Netminders clamp down

Allen York and Kristers Gudlevskis combined for 62 saves on 63 shots (.984) over the last two games, Crunch victories of 2-1 at Albany and 2-0 at Bridgeport. The only stronger display of Crunch goaltending this season was Dec. 6-12, the heart of the club's 10-game win streak, when Andrei Vasilevskiy gave up one goal over three games while making 89 saves on 90 shots (.989).

Two shutouts from Vasilevskiy (Dec. 6 and 10) and two from Gudlevskis (Dec. 19 and March 15) give Syracuse four for the season. The first three came in a six-game span. Last season, Syracuse had nine shutouts, tied with Texas for the AHL lead; Gudlevskis had five, Cedrick Desjardins had two, while York and Anders Lindback had one each.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Game 59: Big third pushes Syracuse past Adirondack, 7-4

The Syracuse Crunch scored four times in the third period to rally past Adirondack, 7-4, Friday at the War Memorial Arena; seven goals marks a season high for Syracuse. Ryan Martindale scored two goals, his first goals with the Crunch, including the tying goal in the third period.

After the Crunch took a 2-0 advantage on goals by Yanni Gourde and Martindale, Adirondack struck twice to tie the score in the second period. Carter Ashton responded 50 seconds after Adirondack's tying goal to give the Crunch a 3-2 lead early in the second period.

Down 4-3 entering the final period, the Crunch used goals by Martindale, Luke Witkowski, Tanner Richard, and Jake Dotchin to push past the Flames. Dotchin's empty-net goal was his fifth of the campaign, best for Crunch defensemen.

Ten Crunch players had points in the contest, while four players had three points- Martindale, Ashton, Richard, and Gourde.

Kristers Gudlevskis nabbed 34 saves in the win, his first of two victories this weekend.

Game 60: York shuts down Devils in 2-1 Crunch win

Allen York made 33 saves and yielded just one goal with 3.6 seconds left to help the Crunch top the Devils, 2-1, Saturday at Times Union Center. Jonathan Marchessault's 12th multi-point game (1g, 1a) led the Syracuse attack, including a power-play goal in the second period that beat Albany goalie Scott Wedgewood and gave the Crunch a 1-0 edge.

Carter Ashton doubled the Crunch lead with an empty-net goal with 17.6 seconds left, his fourth point of the weekend. Marchessault fed Ashton after stealing the puck from Mike Sislo.

Raman Hrabarenka scored the only goal for the Devils with 3.6 seconds left to break York's shutout. York still earned the game's first star.

The Crunch's penalty kill did not yield a goal down a man seven times, the first of two-straight 7-for-7 efforts.

Game 61: Gudlevskis blanks Sound Tigers, 2-0

Kristers Gudlevskis' second shutout of the season earned the Crunch a 2-0 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Sunday afternoon, helping the Crunch earn a third win in as many days. Justin Courtnall sealed the win with his fifth goal of the season in the third period.

Yanni Gourde scored the game's first goal, his 24th of the season, to give Syracuse a 1-0 lead in the first period, on assists to rookies Slater Koekkoek and Cody Kunyk.

Three minutes into the third period, Justin Courtnall wired a shot past Kent Simpson to double the Crunch's lead, Courtnall's first in three games with Syracuse. Dalton Smith and Dylan Blujus garnered the assists on the goal.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Crunch vs. W-B/Scranton- Friday, 7 p.m.

ESPN Radio 97.7 FM & 1200 AM, Syracuse; 100.1 FM & 1440 AM, Oswego

Syracuse faces off against W-B/Scranton for the final time in the regular season Friday. The Crunch have taken two of the three meetings against the Penguins this season, including a 4-3 victory in the team's last meeting on Jan. 10. Each game between Syracuse and W-B/Scranton this season has been decided by one goal.

The Penguins come into Friday with 78 points, putting them in second in the East Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. W-B/Scranton is five points back of Hershey in the division standings and two points behind Syracuse in the conference standings. The Penguins have won eight of their last ten games and scored fewer than three goals in just three of their last 22 games, dating back to Jan. 17. W-B/Scranton also has the best record in the league for games in which it scored first, taking 30 out of those 35 games.

Conor Sheary paces the Penguins with 40 points (20g, 20a) in 53 games. The UMass-Lowell alum ranks fourth in the AHL in points among rookies, and is riding a five-game point streak. Tom Kostopoulos trails close behind with 37 points (13g, 24a). The All-Star's four-game point streak was snapped Sunday against Hartford. Brian Dumoulin leads the W-B/Scranton defensemen with 27 points (3g, 24a). The two-time NCAA champion with Boston College ranks third among AHL defensemen in power play assists (15).

The Penguins boast one of the top goalie tandems in the AHL. Matt Murray leads the league in goals-against-average (1.60), save percentage (.939), and shutouts (9) in 32 games. The rookie has won his last nine starts and 13 of his last 14 starts. He's posted four consecutive shutouts from Feb. 13 to March 7, and has allowed just 17 goals on 438 shots this calendar year (17 games). Jeff Zatkoff has been a capable backup, totaling a 2.37 goals-against-average and a .909 save percentage in 31 games. The All-Star took the loss against the Crunch on Jan. 10, allowing four goals on 29 shots.

Crunch vs. Utica- Saturday, 7 p.m.

ESPN Radio 97.7 FM & 1200 AM, Syracuse; 100.1 FM & 1440 AM, Oswego

Syracuse welcomes Utica to the War Memorial for the final time this season on Saturday night. The Crunch have won both home games against the Comets so far this season, a 4-1 victory on Feb. 28 and a 2-1 triumph in the Toyota Frozen Dome Classic on Nov. 22. Syracuse has split the two road games in Utica this season.

The Comets come into the weekend with 79 points, putting them in first place in the North Division and in third place in the Western Conference, three back of first place Grand Rapids. Utica has the largest division lead in the AHL; the Comets are ten points up on second-place Hamilton. Utica has split its last ten games overall. The Comets have the third best penalty kill in the league (87.7%), and are tied for the league lead in shorthanded goals (9).

Cal O'Reilly paces the Comets with 45 points (7g, 38a). The nine-year veteran comes into the weekend on a five-game point streak, and is tied for fourth in the league in assists. Bobby Sanguinetti leads Utica defensemen in points with 32 (15g, 17a). He leads all league defensemen with a plus-23 rating, and is tied for second among league defensemen in goals. Both O'Reilly and Sanguinetti were All-Stars.

Jacob Markstrom has been superb in net for Utica this season. The All-Star starter has put up a 1.91 goals-against-average and a .932 save percentage in 28 games this season. The Gî=A4vle, Sweden native had won five of his last six AHL starts, and was recalled to Vancouver on Monday. Joacim Eriksson has posted a 2.61 goals-against-average and a .907 save percentage in 34 games. The second-year Comet was returned to Utica Monday after serving as Vancouver's backup goalie on Saturday.

Crunch at Springfield- Sunday, 5 p.m.

ESPN Radio 97.7 FM & 1200 AM, Syracuse; 100.1 FM & 1440 AM, Oswego

Syracuse visits Springfield for the final time in the regular season Sunday. The Crunch have lost two of the three meetings in Springfield so far this season, including a 3-2 overtime loss in their last meeting on Dec. 28. Syracuse has dropped four of the six meetings overall against Springfield this season.

The Falcons come into the weekend with 73 points, putting them in third place in the Northeast Division, one point back of second-place Hartford and seven points back of first-place Syracuse. Springfield is three points up on Worcester for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Falcons snapped a five-game losing streak with a 1-0 win in Albany Sunday. Springfield has scored just six goals in its last six games, and hasn't scored multiple goals in a game since Feb. 28.

Luke Adam leads the Falcons with 38 total points (13g, 25a). Eighteen of those points (5g, 13a) have come in 33 games with Springfield since being acquired in a trade with the Columbus organization on Dec. 16. Adam hasn't recorded a point in five games this month. Austin Madaisky leads all Falcon defensemen with 35 points (12g, 23a). The All-Star ranks seventh in the AHL in points among defensemen. Madaisky has just three points in his last 11 games, with two of those points coming on Sunday against Albany (two assists).

Three goalies have seen significant time in the Springfield net this season. All-Star Anton Forsberg has posted a 2.01 goals-against-average and a .927 save percentage in 30 games, but has not seen action since March 1. Oscar Dansk has totaled a 3.57 goals-against-average and a .880 save percentage in 21 games. The Swede has allowed three or more goals in each of his last five starts. Scott Munroe has notched a 2.51 goals-against-average and a .915 save percentage in 16 games this season. Munroe earned his first shutout of the season Sunday against Albany.

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