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AHL Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly

April 23, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


LAST WEEK

Wed., Apr. 15 - Crunch at Albany - L, 6-2

Fri., Apr. 17 - Crunch vs. Adirondack - OTL, 5-4

Sat., Apr. 18 - Crunch vs. Bridgeport - L, 4-2

THIS WEEK

Fri., Apr. 24 - Crunch at W-B/Scranton - 7:05 p.m.

Sat., Apr. 25 - Crunch at W-B/Scranton - 7:05 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW

- Syracuse finished its 21st regular season 41-25-10-0, 92 points, for second in the division and fifth in the conference.

- Reaching the Calder Cup playoffs for the 12th time, Syracuse meets W-B/Scranton for the third time in the postseason.

- Jonathan Marchessault closed the regular season as Syracuse's scoring leader with 67 points, fourth in the AHL.

EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS

(4) W-B/Scranton Penguins vs. (5) Syracuse Crunch - Best-of-Five

Game 1 - Fri., Apr. 24 - Syracuse at W-B/Scranton -  7:05 p.m.

Game 2 - Sat., Apr. 25 - Syracuse at W-B/Scranton - 7:05 p.m.

Game 3 - Wed., Apr. 29 - W-B/Scranton at Syracuse - 7 p.m.

*Game 4 -   Thu., Apr. 30 - W-B/Scranton at Syracuse - 7 p.m.

*Game 5 -  Sat., May 2 - Syracuse at W-B/Scranton - 7:05 p.m.

*if necessary

Third postseason meeting for Crunch and Penguins

Syracuse and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton clash in the Calder Cup Playoffs' Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, a best-of-five first-round series, starting Friday. The teams last met in the Calder Cup Playoffs in 2013 when Syracuse captured the Eastern Conference championship, four games to one.

While many of the faces have changed, 10 players from both rosters took part in the 2013 postseason battle. Mike Angelidis, J.P. Cote and Philippe Paradis remain on the Syracuse roster, though Paradis is unavailable because of injury. Paradis scored a hat trick in the clinching 7-0 Game 5 win.

Joey Mormina, who captained the 2013 Penguins, is now a Crunch alternate captain. W-B/Scranton has six players remaining from its 2013 postseason club, including Bobby Farnham, Reid McNeill, Jayson Megna, Adam Payerl, Dominik Uher and goalie Jeff Zatkoff.

W-B/Scranton captured the first Crunch-Pens playoff series in 2001, three games to two. Tom Kostopoulos, then in his second pro season, made his postseason debut against Syracuse that series. The next Calder Cup Playoffs game for the 36-year-old captain will be his 75th. He's appeared in two of the Pens' three Finals appearances.

Crunch in the first round all-time

The Crunch have won their only first-round series while affiliated with the Lightning, a three-game sweep of the Portland Pirates in 2013. During the series, Ondrej Palat led the squad with three goals and four assists, scored the game-winning overtime goal in Game 3 at Portland and finished the postseason with 26 points, most in the league. Tyler Johnson and Richard Panik scored the game-winners in Games 1 and 2 at Syracuse.

Prior to the 2013 run to the Calder Cup Finals, Syracuse won opening-round series in 1996 vs. Binghamton (3-1), 2002 vs. Philadelphia (3-0), and 2008 vs. Manitoba (4-2) when five of six games were decided in overtime. In their 11 postseason berths, the Crunch have been eliminated in the first round seven times.

Syracuse and W-B/Scranton head-to-head

The Crunch won three of four meetings with the Penguins in the regular season. Syracuse lost the opening match, 5-4 in overtime, Nov. 9 in Wilkes-Barre, but won the most recent affair, 2-1 in overtime, March 20 in Syracuse. All four contests have been decided by one goal.

While Jayson Megna led the Penguins with 26 regular season goals in 63 games, Conor Sheary led the Pens with 45 points (20g, 25a). On the defensive front, four of W-B/Scranton's blueliners have been called up to Pittsburgh in recent weeks: Brian Dumoulin, Derrick Pouliot, Scott Harrington, and Taylor Chorney.

The Penguins tout the top goaltender in the AHL, Matt Murray. In 40 regular season games, Murray posted 12 shutouts, a 1.58 goals-against average, and a .941 save percentage, all ranked best in the league. He also collected an AHL record shutout streak of 304 minutes, nearly 36 minutes better than the previous record. He posted four consecutive shutouts during the streak, which stretched six games from Feb. 8 to March 8.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Game 74: Devils third-period eruption burns Crunch, 6-2

A five-goal third period powered Albany past Syracuse, 6-2, Apr. 15. The Devils outburst in the third tied a franchise record for most goals in a period.

Yanni Gourde opened the scoring 3:41 into the first, unassisted, firing home a loose puck from the slot. Albany tied the game later in the period during 4-on-4 play, courtesy top scorer Joe Whitney. The game remained tied until the final period, when the Devils began their onslaught with two goals in the first two minutes of the frame.

Seth Helgeson scored his first goal in 18 games at the 1:03 mark, and Ben Thomson added another 54 seconds later. Whitney and Matt Lorito added power-plays goals at the 7:33 and 13:30 marks respectively, and Stefan Matteau finished the five-goal flurry with a tally 16:16 into the third. The Devils' five goals came on just eight shots in the final frame. Lorito totaled five points (1g, 4a) and Whitney had three (2g, 1a).

Tanner Richard scored a power-play goal on a rebound of a Carter Ashton shot at the 18:52 mark.Kristers Gudlevskis took the loss for Syracuse, allowing six goals on 24 shots. Scott Clemmensen earned the win, stopping 26 of 28 shots. The Crunch took the season series against the Devils, winning six of eight.

Game 75: Flames comeback stuns Crunch in OT, 5-4

Despite holding a two-goal lead with 6:17 left to go in the game, Syracuse fell to Adirondack, 5-4, in overtime Friday. The Crunch were outshot 15-8 in the third period.

Joel Vermin recorded the game's first goal 4:39 into the first. The rookie took a feed from Matthew Peca down the slot and beat Flames netminder Joni Ortio on a semi-breakaway. Emile Poirer tied the game in the period's final minute, slipping his own rebound through the five-hole of Kristers Gudlevskis.

The Crunch scored two goals in the first five minutes of the second to grab a 3-1. At 0:47, Brayden Point took a pass out of the right corner from Jonathan Marchessault and scored his second professional goal. At 4:52, Yanni Gourde tapped a loose puck across the goal line after Henri Ikonen's right-wing shot was saved. Point added an assist on Gourde's goal for his first multi-point game as a professional. The Flames slashed the lead to 3-2 later in the second when Nolan Yonkman's slap shot found its way through traffic.

Syracuse regained its two-goal advantage 3:29 into the final stanza when Jonathan Marchessaultscored his 24th goal of the season, tying his career high. Peca and Jake Dotchin had the helpers; Peca's two-point night was his first as a professional.

Adirondack struck twice late in the period to tie the game. David Wolf scored off a fortuitous bounce off the backboards at the 13:43 mark, and Turner Elson potted an unassisted goal 16:31 into the third to knot the game and force extra minutes. The Flames needed just 39 seconds to win the game in overtime, when Kenny Agostino scored on a wide two-on-one opportunity.

Kristers Gudlevskis lost his third start in a row, stopping 29 shots. All-star Joni Ortio took the victory, making 35 saves in his first AHL contest since Feb. 20. Adirondack won the season series with three victories in four meetings.

Game 76: Crunch suffer 4-2 loss to Bridgeport in regular season finale

Syracuse's struggles in the third period continued Saturday as Bridgeport scored three times in the final frame, defeating the Crunch 4-2. The game was tied 1-1 entering the third. Syracuse has been outscored 11-4 in the final period in its current five-game losing streak.

Matthew Peca started the scoring with a spectacular goal 5:11 into the first. Joel Vermin set up Henri Ikonen in the right circle, and Ikonen found Peca emerging from the right corner. Peca danced in front, backed his way to the crease, turned forehand, and flipped a shot past goalie Stephon Williams for his first professional goal.

Bridgeport tied the game less than two minutes later when Dustin Jeffrey fired home a mid-slot shot for his eighth goal in a Bridgeport sweater. The game remained tied until halfway through the third, when Kael Mouillierat deflected a Ryan Pulock shot past Adam Wilcox. Bridgeport added an insurance goal 15:19 into the final frame as Colin Markison scored his first professional goal. Dylan Blujus got one back for the Crunch on the power play with 22 seconds left, but the Sound Tigers' Scott Mayfield capped the scoring with an empty-net goal with just four ticks left. The goal was Mayfield's first of the season.

Adam Wilcox took his second loss in as many tries since turning pro, saving 15 shots. Stephon Williams earned his third victory, making 31 saves. Syracuse and Bridgeport split the season with each side earning nine points versus the other (4-3-1-0).

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