Syracuse Crunch Weekly
April 11, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch News Release
CRUNCH LOCK UP 17th PLAYOFF APPEARANCE
The Crunch secured their 17th playoff berth in franchise history in Week 26.
Syracuse opened the week with a home-and-home series Wednesday and Friday against the Rochester Americans. Both games were decided in overtime - the Crunch won, 3-2, in Rochester on Wednesday and the Amerks answered back by the same score in Syracuse on Friday. They also marked the fourth and fifth straight Crunch games to require overtime, which is the second longest stretch in team history. That ended Saturday when the Crunch lost, 5-3, to the Laval Rocket.
The Crunch are 34-25-6-4 and have 78 points, which is good for third place in the North Division. The final three games of the season will decide the Crunch's seeding in the playoffs; they can finish either second, third or fourth.
TOP PERFORMERS
Alex Barré-Boulet extended his scoring streak to seven games with an assist in all three games last week. Barré-Boulet has racked up a career high with 58 assists and 81 points - he has tied the single season franchise record for assists and is one point shy of the team record.
Barré-Boulet opened the week with the primary assist on Phil Myers' overtime game-winning goal Wednesday at Rochester. He then notched another primary assist Friday to help spark the Crunch's rally in the third period. He ended the week with another primary helper as the Crunch nearly rallied from three goals down against Laval.
He trails Tucson's Michael Carcone by three points in the race for the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the AHL's leading scorer. Only one player in team history - Carter Verhaeghe in 2018-19 - has won that award.
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Ilya Usau broke through with a pair of goals in Week 26. He potted an early tally on Wednesday in Rochester during the Crunch's overtime win against the Amerks. Two days later, he whacked home a rebound to tie the game in the third period, helping the Crunch earn the standings point that secured a playoff berth.
Prior to Wednesday, Usau hadn't scored a goal since Nov. 26 - a span of 35 games. The 21-year-old has collected 16 points (4g, 12a) in 54 games this season, with six coming in the last 14 games.
PLAYOFF BOUND
The Crunch have clinched a playoff berth for the fifth straight season (excluding the Covid-effected 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons).
The Crunch have earned a playoff spot every year of eligibility since head coach Ben Groulx took over the helm ahead of the 2016-17 season. The Tampa Bay-Syracuse affiliation joins the Boston-Providence affiliation as the only two to make both the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Calder Cup Playoffs in each eligible season since 2017-18. The Calder Cup Playoffs have been held nine times (including the upcoming 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs) since the Crunch's affiliation with the Lightning began in 2012-13, and this will be their seventh appearance in the playoffs in that span.
Syracuse can still finish second, third or fourth in the division. Finishing second or third will put the Crunch in the best-of-5 North Division Semifinals. If they drop to fourth, they will play in a best-of-3 first round series.
UPCOMING WEEK
Wednesday, April 12 at Utica | 7 p.m.
The Crunch's final trip to Utica in the regular season pits the teams in a showdown with two points separating them in the standings.
Friday, April 14 at Laval | 7 p.m.
The Crunch look for their first regular season win in Laval since March 13, 2019 (0-7-2-0 in that span). It is the Rocket's regular season finale, and they currently have a one point lead for the final playoff position.
Saturday, April 15 vs. Utica | 7 p.m.
The Crunch's final home game of the season - fan appreciation night - puts the Crunch and Comets in a match that could decide playoff seeding.
WEEK 26 RESULTS
Wednesday, April 5 | Game 67 at Rochester | W, 3-2 (OT)
Syracuse 2 0 0 1 - 3 Shots: 10-8-11-1-30 PP: 0/2
Rochester 1 1 0 0 - 2 Shots: 11-6-3-0-20 PP: 1/5
1st Period-Finley 11 (Fortier, Walcott), 1:07. Usau 3 (Edmonds, Robert), 4:38. Overtime-Myers 8 (Barré-Boulet, Ryfors), 0:31. . . . Lagace 16-12-6 (20 shots-18 saves) A-4,942
Friday, April 7 | Game 68 vs. Rochester | OTL, 3-2
Rochester 1 1 0 1 - 3 Shots: 19-11-7-4-41 PP: 1/4
Syracuse 0 0 2 0 - 2 Shots: 11-11-17-5-44 PP: 0/3
3rd Period-Carlile 7 (Barré-Boulet, Goncalves), 6:00. Usau 4 (Robert, Jones), 9:16. . . . Lagace 16-12-7 (41 shots-38 saves) A-5,980
Saturday, April 8 | Game 69 vs. Laval | L, 5-3
Laval 2 2 1 - 5 Shots: 6-17-9-32 PP: 1/1
Syracuse 1 2 0 - 3 Shots: 12-8-19-39 PP: 1/1
1st Period-Thompson 7 (Ryfors), 1:14. 2nd Period-Ryfors 22 (Barré-Boulet, Carrick), 9:41 (PP). Finley 12 (Walcott, Crozier), 11:43. . . . Alnefelt 17-11-2 (12 shots-8 saves); Lagace ND (19 shots-19 saves) A-6,023
Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play 18.6% (42-for-226) T-16th (18th)
Penalty Kill 79.9% (215-for-269) T-21st (18th)
Goals For 3.46 GFA (239) 5th (5th)
Goals Against 3.28 GAA (226) 22nd (22nd)
Shots For 32.22 SF/G (2223) 4th (4th)
Shots Against 29.88 SA/G (2062) 12th (11th)
Penalty Minutes 15.39 PIM/G (1062) 5th (4th)
Category Leader
Points 81 Barré-Boulet
Goals 23 Barré-Boulet
Assists 58 Barré-Boulet
PIM 101 Walcott
Plus/Minus +26 Carlile
Wins 17 Alnefelt
GAA 2.72 Alnefelt
Save % .906 Alnefelt
North Division GP W L OTL SOL PTS PCT GF GA PIM HOME ROAD LAST 10 STREAK S/O
1. y Toronto 69 41 22 4 2 88 0.638 217 210 867 20-12-0-2 21-10-4-0 1-6-2-1 0-1-1-0 3-2
2. x Rochester 69 35 25 6 3 79 0.572 225 221 727 18-11-4-1 17-14-2-2 7-0-2-1 7-0-2-1 4-3
3. x Syracuse 69 34 25 6 4 78 0.565 239 226 1062 17-11-6-1 17-14-0-3 5-3-1-1 0-1-1-0 4-4
4. Utica 69 33 26 6 4 76 0.551 204 211 759 17-10-3-4 16-16-3-0 4-4-0-2 0-1-0-0 2-4
5. Laval 70 31 29 7 3 72 0.514 248 241 924 16-10-5-3 15-19-2-0 7-3-0-0 2-0-0-0 1-3
6. Cleveland 69 32 30 5 2 71 0.514 214 245 823 16-15-4-0 16-15-1-2 6-4-0-0 1-0-0-0 5-2
7. Belleville 69 29 30 6 4 68 0.493 217 245 1086 18-14-1-3 11-16-5-1 4-3-0-3 1-0-0-1 4-4
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