Game Notes: 4/13/08 v. Hamilton Bulldogs
Syracuse, N.Y. (April 13, 2008) - Mark your calendars for Friday, April 18, 2008 for the first game of the Syracuse vs. Manitoba Calder Cup Playoffs at the Onondaga County war Memorial.
The Syracuse Crunch needed its 15th straight win to secure second place in the North Division and home-ice advantage. They delivered with a convincing 7-1 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs Sunday in front of a raucous crowd of 5,871.
The Crunch marketing gurus set the tone for the season and with the theme of “Don’t Stop Believing”. Near the bottom of the league back in November, Syracuse has risen like a Phoenix and pushed itself into a position where it stands to make a serious run for the Calder Cup to a city that hasn’t seen it since 1937.
Derek MacKenzie and Duvie Westcott scored first period goals. Clay Wilson and Gilbert Brule added second period markers while Zenon Konopka netted a pair in the third and Derick Brassard finished off the game with his 15th of the year.
While Syracuse was taking care of its own business, the Manitoba Moose needed a late goal in the third period to pull out a 4-3 win over Toronto. Despite the effort, Manitoba still finds itself in third place as the regular season comes to a close.
Get your tickets now, the real season starts Friday.
3-Stars—No. 1, Mark Rycroft, No. 2, Duvie Westcott, No. 3, Zenon Konopka.
They Said It—
“Everyone showed up to play in front of me and it made my job a lot easier. It’s been a lot of fun, winning like we have but now both teams are even and we have to focus on Manitoba. We knew the game was in our hands and we stayed focused on what we needed to do.” Crunch goalie Karl Goehring post-game thoughts.
“We were fortunate to string together 15 in a row and now we have two evenly matched teams. One team is going to have to steal a game in the other team’s barn and will have to travel, so it will come down to who the better team is. All our guys are playing confident right now and guys are hungry. When you have those two things and 20 guys that believe in each other, that’s the path to success.” Derek MacKenzie post-game reactions.
“We knew we had to win tonight. We never thought about Manitoba losing. If you would have told me a couple of months ago that we would have won 15 games in a row and got second place going into the playoffs I wouldn’t ‘t have believed you. It is a great feeling and it’s great to have the momentum. It’s just good all around.” Clay Wilson on the 15-game streak.
“We wouldn’t switch our seeding, our position or our season with anyone else. We have all the confidence in the world right now. We’ll use that confidence to motivate us through the first series. Last year I told the guys at the end of the year that if we win 14 of 15 down the stretch that we could make the playoffs and everyone thought that was impossible but we almost pulled it off. Everyone looked at me like I had three eyes when I said that. What it comes down to is that if you show up every night and have 22 guys playing hard it comes down to who wants it more. Everyone has their free agents and first round picks but this group of players wants it more and we play the best team game. It’s tough to draw Manitoba in the first round. They are very good. We understand what a great hockey club they are.” Captain Zenon Konopka’s post-game thoughts.