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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly

April 8, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


LAST WEEK

Wed., Apr. 1 - Crunch vs. Binghamton - OTL, 3-2

Fri., Apr. 3 - Crunch at Hartford - L, 6-4

Sat., Apr. 4 - Crunch at Bridgeport - L, 3-2

THIS WEEK

Fri., Apr. 10 - Crunch vs. Bridgeport - 7 p.m.

Sat., Apr. 11 - Crunch vs. Springfield - 7 p.m.

Sun., Apr. 12 - Crunch at Utica - 3 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW

- Despite an 0-2-1-0 record in Week 26, Syracuse secured a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs and leads its division.

- With six games to play, including three in Week 27, the Crunch are four points ahead of Hartford for first place.

- Quinnipiac's Matthew Peca made his pro debut Friday and nothced his first pro point with an assist Saturday.

Crunch bound for AHL postseason

Syracuse clinched a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs Friday, becoming the third team in the Eastern Conference to earn a playoff berth. The Crunch have reached the postseason in three of the last four years and in 12 of their 21 campaigns. Syracuse missed the playoffs last year after advancing to the Calder Cup Finals in 2013, their first as Tampa Bay's top development team.

Syracuse has a four-point lead in the Northeast Division over Hartford with six games left. The Crunch have won two division championships in their 20-year history, taking the Western Conference's Central Division in 2002 and the Eastern Conference's East Division in 2013.

Peca splashes into professional career

Matthew Peca earned his first professional point Saturday, assisting on Kevin Lynch's third period goal. The former Quinnipiac captain joined Syracuse earlier in the week, playing in his first pro game Friday at Hartford.

Peca signed a two-year, two-way contract for the 2015-16 and the 2016-17 seasons, and an amateur tryout contract for the remainder of this season. The forward was originally selected by the Lightning in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL Draft.

Peca ranked first on Quinnipiac and third in the ECAC with 29 assists this season. The 21-year-old led the Bobcats in assists in three of his four seasons.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Game 69: Senators escape Syracuse with OT win, 3-2

Chris Wideman netted the overtime game-winner as the Binghamton Senators beat the Syracuse Crunch, 3-2, Wednesday at the War Memorial Arena.

Kristers Gudlevskis, who stopped 29 shots in his third overtime loss this year, was beaten on the blocker side by Wideman, the league's top-scoring defensemen, during four-on-four play three minutes into the extra frame.

Mike Angelidis and Ryan Martindale scored Syracuse's goals, as the Crunch and Sens traded markers throughout regulation. Shane Prince got the Sens ahead in the first, but Angelidis secured his 20th goal to even the score, 1-1. The marker equaled his career high in goals and points, 38. Carter Camper gave the Sens a 2-1 advantage with a power-play score late in the first period.

One minute into the second, Jonathan Marchessault made a steal on the forecheck and passed toward Cody Kunyk. He tipped it toward Martindale whose shot solved Chris Driedger on the blocker side. Driedger, playing his third AHL game of the year and first since Dec. 6, made 39 saves for his third win.

Defenseman Jared Nightingale made his Crunch season debut, his first game with Syracuse since April 21, 2013.

Game 70: Wolf Pack storm from behind to wallop Crunch, 6-4

The Hartford Wolf Pack overcame a two-goal third-period deficit and defeated the Crunch, 6-4, Friday at XL Center. However, Syracuse clinched a playoff berth because of an Albany shootout win over Springfield.

The Pack earned their first regulation win against Syracuse in eight matchups with a 3-for-7 power-play showing and a 4-for-4 penalty kill. Marek Hrivik scored two goals and Ryan Haggerty notched a goal and an assist.

Joel Vermin scored the game's first goal, unassisted, and Yanni Gourde scored his team-best 27th goal of the season from Joey Mormina and J.P. Cote to build a 2-0 Crunch lead at the end of the first period.

Ryan Martindale scored Syracuse's next two goals, his 14th and 15th of the season, to keep the Crunch in front, 4-2, early in the third. The second multi-goal game of the year for Martindale is his third multi-point performance. Yanni Gourde completed his 14th multi-point effort by assisting on Martindale's second goal.

Hartford scored four times in the last 12 minutes of regulation- twice on Kristers Gudlevskis, once on Allen York, and the last into an empty net- for a 6-4 edge.

Kristers Gudlevskis gave up four goals on 29 shots, but left the contest during a stoppage with five minutes remaining. Allen York made one save in 4:26. Mackenzie Skapski stopped 33 of 37 for his 15th win in 28 games.

Game 71: Peca collects first point, but Sound Tigers win 3-2 tussle

Syracuse fought back from a two-goal deficit in the third period, but the Bridgeport Sound Tigers scored two power-play goals to secure a 3-2 victory Saturday at Webster Bank Arena.

Matthew Peca recorded his first professional point for Syracuse, assisting on Kevin Lynch's game-tying goal seven minutes into the third. Peca placed a well-timed backhand pass at the net mouth for a crashing Lynch who jammed the puck through goalie Stephon Williams for his second marker of the year and a 2-2 tie. Charlie Dodero earned the second assist. Williams made 30 saves for his first professional win.

Jonathan Marchessault scored the other goal for the Crunch, his 22nd of the season, to lift Syracuse out of a 2-0 hole. Cody Kunyk and Jake Dotchin assisted. Marchessault is two goals shy of a career high set in 2011-12.

The Sound Tigers power play produced two goals. Johan Sundstrom scored the game-winning marker on Allen York with five minutes left in the third. York allowed one goal in each period, making 23 saves on 26 shots. He dropped to 2-3-1 in eight appearances.

Ryan Pulock scored Bridgeport's first power-play goal early in the second to make the score 2-0. His center-point blast through traffic in front gave him 13 power-play goals for the season, second most in the AHL.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Crunch vs. Bridgeport- Friday, 7 p.m.

ESPN Radio 97.7 FM, Syracuse; 100.1 FM, Oswego

With an eight-game season series not starting until Jan. 17, the Crunch have quickly become familiar with division foe Bridgeport. The clubs play six times in the season's final 30 days. The Sound Tigers notched their third win in six games versus Syracuse Saturday at Webster Bank Arena. They won again Monday, 4-1, in a makeup game against Worcester.

Kael Mouillerat and Aaron Ness have each tallied four points against the Crunch this season. Dustin Jeffrey leads the Sound Tigers in scoring with 58 points, 17 of which he's scored in 14 games since coming to Bridgeport after being traded from Vancouver to the New York Islanders at the NHL trade deadline.

Stephon Williams won Saturday vs. Syracuse and Monday vs. Worcester, his first two AHL games. Bridgeport has tried goalies Williams, C.J. Motte and Kent Simpson since dealing David Leggio to Portland. Kevin Poulin has served as the main starter between the pipes with a 16-19-7 record in 43 games, posting a .913 save percentage and 2.84 goals-against average.

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

ESPN Radio 97.7 FM, Syracuse; 100.1 FM, Oswego

In the early portion of the season, Springfield won 11-straight games and ranked among the top teams in the Eastern Conference. But with four regular season games left, the Falcons are one point behind Portland for the conference's eighth and final playoff spot.

The Crunch have lost four of seven contests against the Falcons this season and need a win in the final regular season matchup to split the season series. Former Crunch forward Dana Tyrell is one of four Falcons to post four points against Syracuse this year. T.J. Tynan leads the Falcons with 44 points (11g, 33a) and Austin Madaisky has been the most productive defenseman in Springfield with 35 points (12g, 23a).

Working with three rookies and veteran Scott Munroe between the pipes this season, Springfield has split the majority of its starts between Anton Forsberg, Oscar Dansk and Munroe. Munroe has been between the pipes for the majority of starts in March and April and is 9-10-3 in 23 games played. Forsberg has posted the strongest numbers with a 2.01 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage; both figures ranked top five in the AHL, but has been sidelined since March 1.

Crunch at Utica- Sunday, 3 p.m.

ESPN Radio 97.7 FM, Syracuse; 100.1 FM, Oswego

Syracuse can clinch the season series against Utica with a win Sunday at the Aud. They play their final regular season contest with both sides firmly in the playoffs; Utica leads the Western Conference with 93 points and has already wrapped up the North Division title.

Cal O'Reilly leads the Comets with 54 points (9g, 45a) and has collected points in 12 straight games (3g, 12a). Alex Friesen has tallied four points (1g, 3a) in five games against Syracuse this season with all three assists coming in the Comets 4-2 victory at the War Memorial on March 21.

Joacim Eriksson has played 38 games for the Comets this season with a 21-10-5 record, 2.49 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. Eriksson has started three of five games against Syracuse with a 1-1-1 record.

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