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Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch Weekly

March 14, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release


CRUNCH TAKE HOME THREE OF FOUR POINTS

The Crunch split their two home games in Week 22, going 1-0-1-0 against North Division competition to maintain their position in the standings.

The week began Friday for the Crunch, who hosted the Laval Rocket. Daniel Walcott's third period shorthanded goal forced overtime, but the Crunch fell, 2-1, to the Rocket for their first home defeat against Laval this season. Syracuse bounced back the next night with a 4-2 win over Rochester. The Crunch are 3-0-1-0 on home ice in March, with four more home games on the docket this month.

The Crunch are 7-2-1-0 in their last 10 games to remain in third place in the North Division. The Crunch are 28-20-5-3 and have 64 points; they are two points behind Utica and have two games in hand on the Comets.

TOP PERFORMERS

Goaltender Max Lagace started both games for the Crunch in Week 22. His strong outing Friday against Laval earned the Crunch a standings point in a 2-1 overtime loss. He made 34 saves, including 18 total over the first two periods to keep the Crunch in the game. He got the start again the following night against Rochester, and made 33 more saves to earn a 4-2 win.

In the two starts, Lagace played to a 1.98 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage, stopping 67 of 71 shots against. Lagace is 5-0-1 in his last six starts, with a 2.31 goals-against average and .924 save percentage since Feb. 18.

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Forward Simon Ryfors picked up three assists over the weekend to lead the Crunch in scoring in Week 22. Ryfors earned an assist on the Crunch's lone goal Friday against Laval and then followed that up with a pair of helpers Saturday. He set up Trevor Carrick for the eventual game-winning goal against the Amerks.

Ryfors, 25, ranks third on the team with 46 points (20g, 26a) this season. His three assists last week now give him a new AHL career high in assists, passing last year's 24. Ryfors also leads the Crunch with 20 goals.

***

Defenseman Phil Myers grabbed an assist in both games to extend his scoring streak to three games. After earning the primary assist on the Crunch's shorthanded goal Friday, Myers added another assist on Trevor Carrick's game-winning goal to help the Crunch defeat the Americans.

Myers, 26, has notched 23 points (6g, 17a) in 36 games, ranking third among Crunch defensemen. He also leads the team with four shorthanded points (3g, 1a) after his assist Friday against the Rocket.

***

Defenseman Trevor Carrick kept up his scoring pace with his ninth multi-point performance of the season Saturday against the Amerks. Carrick scored a goal-his first game-winning tally of the season-and added an assist in the 4-2 win.

Carrick, 28, ranks sixth on the team, and second among defensemen, with 32 points. His goal on Saturday was his 10th of the season, marking the fourth time in his career he's reached double figures; Carrick's career high is 11 goals in 2017-18.

UPCOMING: PRO|BRI|WBS

The Crunch face off against three Atlantic Division teams in Week 23, starting with their final trip to Providence Wednesday night. The Bruins are coming off a two-game weekend sweep at home against Hershey, which catapulted the Bruins ahead of the Bears into first place. They are 34-14-8-2 and have 78 points, good for a three point cushion for the top spot in the Atlantic. The Bruins won their two appearances in Syracuse in November, but the Crunch answered with a 4-0 shutout Jan. 29 in Providence.

The Crunch make their only trip to Bridgeport on Friday to wrap up their two-game season series with the Islanders. The Crunch won the first match, 4-3, on Dec. 17 in Syracuse. The Islanders currently hold the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division with 62 points (27-23-7-1).

The team returns home for a Saturday clash with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. It will be the third of four head-to-head matches, with the Crunch snagging two victories so far. With just two wins in their last 10 games (2-6-2-0) entering the week, the Penguins have slipped to last in their division with 55 points. They are seven points out of a playoff spot.

The Crunch are 10-5-2-0 against Atlantic Division teams this season.

WEEK 22 RESULTS

Friday, March 10 | Game 55 vs. Laval | OTL, 2-1

Laval 1 0 0 1 - 2 Shots: 14-14-6-2-36 PP: 0/6

Syracuse 0 0 1 0 - 1 Shots: 10-8-9-0-27 PP: 0/4

3rd Period-Walcott 10 (Myers, Ryfors), 6:34 (SH). . . . Lagace 12-9-6 (36 shots-34 saves) A-5,079

Saturday, March 11 | Game 56 vs. Rochester | W, 4-2

Rochester 0 1 1 - 2 Shots: 7-11-17-35 PP: 2/7

Syracuse 0 2 2 - 4 Shots: 18-13-8-39 PP: 0/6

2nd Period-Thompson 6 (Dumont, Barré-Boulet), 9:55. Balcers 4 (Carrick, Ryfors), 10:30. 3rd Period-Carrick 10 (Ryfors, Myers), 3:08. Dumont 17 (Unassisted), 9:38. . . . Lagace 13-9-6 (35 shots-33 saves) A-6,066

Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)

Power Play 18.9% (34-for-180) 17th (13th)

Penalty Kill 81.3% (187-for-230) T-14th (T-15th)

Goals For 3.50 GFA (196) 5th (5th)

Goals Against 3.21 GAA (180) 21st (21st)

Shots For 31.93 SF/G (1788) 4th (4th)

Shots Against 30.04 SA/G (1682) 14th (11th)

Penalty Minutes 16.55 PIM/G (927) 3rd (3rd)

Category Leader

Points 67 Barré-Boulet

Goals 20 Ryfors

Assists 48 Barré-Boulet

PIM 89 Smith|Walcott

Plus/Minus +24 Carlile

Wins 14 Alnefelt

GAA 2.54 Alnefelt

Save % .913 Alnefelt

North Division GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT GF GA PIM HOME ROAD LAST 10 STREAK S/O

1. Toronto 59 40 16 2 1 83 0.703 205 176 754 19-8-0-1 21-8-2-0 7-3-0-0 3-0-0-0 3-1

2. Utica 58 29 21 6 2 66 0.569 176 174 660 14-9-3-2 15-12-3-0 6-3-1-0 0-1-0-0 1-2

3. Syracuse 56 28 20 5 3 64 0.571 196 180 927 14-9-5-1 14-11-0-2 7-2-1-0 1-0-1-0 2-3

4. Rochester 56 27 24 4 1 59 0.527 186 192 646 14-11-2-0 13-13-2-1 4-4-2-0 0-2-0-0 1-1

5. Laval 58 24 24 7 3 58 0.500 205 211 775 14-6-5-3 10-18-2-0 4-4-1-1 0-1-0-0 1-3

6. Belleville 59 25 27 6 1 57 0.483 188 214 966 15-13-1-1 10-14-5-0 5-3-2-0 3-0-2-0 4-1

7. Cleveland 56 25 25 4 2 56 0.500 183 210 694 13-12-3-0 12-13-1-2 4-5-1-0 2-0-0-0 4-2

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