Syracuse Crunch Weekly
January 24, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release
CRUNCH FINISH WHIRLWIND NINE DAYS
The Crunch earned five of six possible points in Week 15 to cap their six games in nine days stretch with a 5-0-1-0 record.
Syracuse pushed its winning streak to five games by opening the week with wins over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Utica Comets. The Crunch earned a 3-2 win over the Penguins in Wilkes-Barre Wednesday night. On Friday, Max Lagace posted a 25-save shutout for a 2-0 Crunch win over the Comets. In the rematch in Syracuse the next night, Utica pulled out a 3-2 win in overtime as the Crunch's point streak reached six games.
The Crunch moved into third place in the North Division with 42 points and an 18-13-3-3 record. They tackle their second three-in-three weekend of the season starting Friday against the Comets.
TOP PERFORMERS
Alex Barré-Boulet posted three points (1g, 2a) in three games, and in the process established the Crunch's franchise record for most points in team history. His first assist in Friday's win at Utica was his 242nd career point for the Crunch, breaking the tie with Brad Moran for the Crunch record. Barré-Boulet reached that mark in 236 games.
The week before, Barré-Boulet moved past Moran for the most assists in team history with number 144. He is also five goals away from becoming the third player in team history with 100 goals.
Barré-Boulet, who is in his fifth season in Syracuse, leads this year's squad with 44 points (10g, 34a) in 35 games. He ranks fifth in the league in scoring and second overall in assists.
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Gabriel Dumont scored goals in the opening two games of Week 15 to extend his scoring streak to seven games before that came to an end in the weekend finale Saturday. His goal Wednesday against the Penguins put the Crunch ahead for good and was his 400th career AHL point; Dumont ranks eighth among active AHL players with his 177 goals (177-224-401).
Dumont also scored the game-winning goal Friday in Utica when he gave the Crunch a 1-0 lead late in the second period. His 10th goal of the season made Dumont the sixth different Crunch player to reach double digits.
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Max Lagace made one start for the Crunch in Week 15 and secured his first shutout of the season. He made 25 saves to blank the Comets, 2-0, Friday at the Adirondack Bank Center. It gives Lagace wins in back-to-back starts for the second time this season.
It was the Crunch's second shutout this season (also Nov. 5 at Charlotte) and their first against Utica since March 8, 2019 (Eddie Pasquale). Lagace, who had four shutouts for the Crunch last season, becomes the 11th goalie in Crunch history to notch at least five shutouts for the franchise.
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Hugo Alnefelt won his lone start of the week, turning aside 26 shots in a 3-2 win over the Penguins on Wednesday. He pushed his personal win streak to six games dating to Dec. 10. In that span he leads the AHL with a 1.84 goals-against average and ranks second with a .938 save percentage. He is 10-4-1/2.43/.918 this season.
UPCOMING: UTICA|HARTFORD|PROVIDENCE
The Crunch open a three-in-three weekend with another match against the Utica Comets, the Crunch's third straight game against Utica. The Crunch have earned a standings point in all five games against the Comets (4-0-1-0) following Utica's overtime win in Syracuse on Saturday.
Syracuse heads to New England for back-to-back games at Hartford and Providence Saturday and Sunday. The Wolf Pack have earned points in 14 of the last 18 games (10-4-2-2) to overcome a 6-10-1-4 start to the season.
The Bruins, who are in the middle of five-straight games against Hartford, remain in the race for the best record in the AHL at 23-8-6-2.
WEEK 15 RESULTS
Wednesday, January 18 | Game 35 at W-B/Scranton | W, 3-2
Syracuse 0 2 1 - 3 Shots: 7-12-9-28 PP: 0/1
W-B/Scranton 0 1 1 - 2 Shots: 5-12-11-28 PP: 0/3
2nd Period-Barré-Boulet 10 (Myers, Carrick), 2:27. Dumont 9 (Goncalves, Carlile), 19:21. 3rd Period-Walcott 8 (Goncalves, Carrick), 12:28. . . . Alnefelt 10-4-1 (28 shots-26 saves) A-3,208
Friday, January 20 | Game 36 at Utica | W, 2-0
Syracuse 0 1 1 - 2 Shots: 10-9-3-22 PP: 0/0
Utica 0 0 0 - 0 Shots: 6-9-10-25 PP: 0/2
2nd Period-Dumont 10 (Barré-Boulet, Carrick), 17:02. 3rd Period-Dureau 1 (Barré-Boulet), 12:52. . . . Lagace 7-7-4 (25 shots-25 saves) A-3,917
Saturday, January 21 | Game 37 vs. Utica | OTL, 3-2
Utica 1 1 0 1 - 3 Shots: 13-12-6-1-32 PP: 1/4
Syracuse 1 0 1 0 - 2 Shots: 12-6-12-0-30 PP: 0/2
1st Period-Ryfors 15 (Smith, Raddysh), 4:01. 3rd Period-Thompson 4 (Fortier, Carlile), 4:39. . . . Fulcher 0-0-1 (32 shots-29 saves) A-6,233
Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play 19.0% (23-for-121) 16th (16th)
Penalty Kill 80.0% (120-for-150) T-17th (20th)
Goals For 3.65 GFA (135) 5th (4th)
Goals Against 3.32 GAA (123) 21st (23rd)
Shots For 31.81 SF/G (1177) 6th (6th)
Shots Against 30.41 SA/G (1125) 17th (17th)
Penalty Minutes 17.54 PIM/G (649) 3rd (3rd)
Category Leader
Points 44 Barré-Boulet
Goals 15 Ryfors
Assists 34 Barré-Boulet
PIM 76 Smith
Plus/Minus +20 Carlile
Wins 10 Alnefelt
GAA 2.43 Alnefelt
Save % .918 Alnefelt
North Division GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT GF GA PIM HOME ROAD LAST 10 STREAK S/O
1. Toronto 38 27 9 1 1 56 0.737 143 121 492 11-6-0-1 16-3-1-0 9-1-0-0 8-0-0-0 3-1
2. Utica 38 20 12 5 1 46 0.605 120 114 452 10-5-2-1 10-7-3-0 6-3-1-0 1-0-0-0 1-1
3. Syracuse 37 18 13 3 3 42 0.568 135 123 649 10-5-3-1 8-8-0-2 5-3-1-1 5-0-1-0 1-3
4. Rochester 36 19 14 2 1 41 0.569 113 121 350 10-7-1-0 9-7-1-1 4-5-1-0 0-3-1-0 1-1
5. Laval 40 16 18 4 2 38 0.475 141 148 488 10-5-4-2 6-13-0-0 5-3-1-1 3-0-0-1 1-2
6. Cleveland 38 15 18 3 2 35 0.461 124 150 478 6-8-2-0 9-10-1-2 3-5-2-0 1-0-0-0 3-2
7. Belleville 39 15 20 3 1 34 0.436 129 145 623 9-11-0-1 6-9-3-0 3-5-1-1 0-4-0-1 4-1
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