Game Notes: 4/18/08 v. Manitoba Moose
Crunch Take Game One in Overtime
Syracuse, N.Y. (April 18, 2008) - It took roughly 47 minutes for the Syracuse Crunch to register its first playoff goal that tied Game One of the best-of-seven series with the Manitoba Moose at 1-1.
Syracuse, N.Y. (April 18, 2008) - It took roughly 47 minutes for the Syracuse Crunch to register its first playoff goal that tied Game One of the best-of-seven series with the Manitoba Moose at 1-1.
It only took 37 seconds of overtime to put up the first win.
Joakim Lindstrom took a drop pass from Zenon Konopka and fired a shot from the right circle into the short side, high on the glove of Manitoba goalie Cory Schneider as Syracuse skated away with a hard fought 2-1 win in front of 5,107 jubilant fans at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a better or thrilling scenario for the first game of the series. The fans were as jazzed up as the players. The trash talking by the players started from the opening drop of the puck and the hits them kept coming.
Hard hits, solid checks and a few face washes were the order of the night.
Manitoba drew first blood when Juraj Simek fired home a rare rebound by Syracuse goalie Karl Goehring in the second period. Goehring made 29 saves.
David Cullen tied the game seven minutes into the third on the power play. Cullen blasted a shot from the right point that deflected off Zack FitzGerald’s stick and found the back of the net.
Syracuse limited all of the Moose top scorers with its cloaking defense. Former Crunchie Brad Moran had a Crunch jersey draped all over him every time he touched the puck as did Moose captain Mike Keane. Colby Genoway didn’t favor much better. He did have a couple of good scoring chances in the third but Goehring was equal to the task.
3-Stars—No. 1, Lindstrom, No. 2, Goehring, No. 3, Schneider.
They Said It –
“We’re up against a good hockey team there’s no doubt there. I really liked our third period. Once again we found a way to win to tie it up and come back and win it in overtime. We’re going to be in for a long series. It’s one game. We have to forget about it and concentrate on tomorrow’s game.” Syracuse Head Coach Ross Yates.
“I tried to shoot close to Zenon’s (Konopka) legs to try and get a screen. I hoped it was at the net and I was lucky enough it went in.” Lindstrom on his game-winning goal.
“Everyone was revved up and ready to go. That’s the way we have been winning, playing hard and tough. We were going hard to the net. I know my roll and what I have to do. I went out and finished all my checks and got in the face of the opponent and I think I did it pretty well tonight.” Derek Dorsett on trash talking and playing his game.
“I wanted to let everyone know right from the start of the game that we were ready. They have great forwards, so we needed to chirp at them to try and get them off their game. They have a great team so it’s going to be an exciting series.” Alexandre Picard on chirping at the Moose players.
“It was a great feeling to get the first win especially in overtime like that. We worked hard for two months straight so it’s a great way to start the playoffs.” Lindstrom on getting first win.