Game Notes: 3/29/08 v. Lake Erie Monsters
Crunch Tie Franchise Record with Eight Straight Win
Syracuse, N.Y. (March 29, 2008)—The wins, they just keep coming.
Syracuse, N.Y. (March 29, 2008)—The wins, they just keep coming.
The Syracuse Crunch pulled out a 6-5 win over the Lake Erie Monsters in yet another overtime thriller Saturday at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
It was the eighth straight win, tying a franchise record for consecutive wins.
Once again an obscure scoring member of the team emerged to take his turn in the heroes’ role. This time it was Mark Methot. Methot, always consistent on defense, made like Bobby Orr for the game winner.
In the overtime, Methot stayed out during a line change clearing the puck away from the front of the Syracuse bench. Methot found he had some skating room and away he went, down the left boards and into the Monsters zone, behind their net and found Monsters’ goalie Tyler Weiman out of position and the short side of the wide open for a wrap-around goal and the team’s eighth straight win.
Syracuse had to consistently battle back from one-goal deficits most of the game but call it divine intervention, fate or just plain luck, Syracuse prevailed once again, now earning points in 23 of its last 24 games and has moved to within four points of second place Manitoba with seven games remaining as the Toronto Marlies beat the Moose 6-1.
Adam Munro was back in net for the Crunch for the first time in, coincidently enough, 23 games. The Monsters Brad Richardson had Munro’s number scoring a hat trick for Lake Erie. Richardson opened the scoring midway through the first and then tied the game at 3-3 in the second period and gave Lake Erie a 5-4 lead in the third but Syracuse battled back.
Andrei Plekhanov has turned into a scoring machine for Syracuse. In the 3-2 ot win Friday he had a goal and an assist so to top that the defenseman netted a pair and added an assist. His blast from the top of the right circle tied the game at 4-4. He also tied the game at 1-1 in the first period with a snap-shot from the high slot.
Derick Brassard also netted a pair, his second of the game on a blast just to the right of were Plekhanov scored tied the game at 5-5 and forced the extra session.
The win was also the 39thof the season, the second most in team history, tying the 2001-02 season. Syracuse had 47 wins in 2005-06.
3-Stars, No. 1, Brassard, No. 2, Plekhanov, No. 3, Methot.