When: April 20, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Where: War Memorial Arena
Listen: The Score 1260
Watch: Time Warner Cable Sports, AHL Live
 
Playoff Series: This is the first game of the five-game Eastern Conference quarterfinals series between the St. John's IceCaps and the Syracuse Crunch. The Crunch won the regular season series, defeating the IceCaps in three out of four games. Syracuse won the last three straight meetings, including a 5-4 shootout win at the War Memorial on March 23. Patrick Maroon and Luca Caputi scored in the skills competition, beating rookie Eddie Pasquale. Igor Bobkov shut the door on St. John's, blanking them through four rounds. J.F. Jacques, Riley Holzapfel and Mathieu Carle finished with two points in the win. Jason King and Jason DeSantis recorded two points in the loss for St. John's.
 
Kyle Palmieri led the Crunch with eight points (5g, 3a) against St. John's. His five goals were the most of any skater in the series. Maroon led the team with five assists. Syracuse had four skaters who recorded five or more points against the IceCaps this season. In three games against St. John's, Iiro Tarkki is 1-1-0 with a 5.20 goals-against average and a .874 save percentage.
 
Aaron Gagnon and DeSantis led the IceCaps with six points against the Crunch. Both players finished with two goals and four assists, tied for the team lead in those categories. Jason King and Patrice Cormier also scored twice in the series. In two starts against Syracuse, Pasquale is 0-1-1 with a 2.29 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
 
Syracuse is 3-1-0 all-time against St. John's. This is the first time the two teams are meeting in the playoffs.
 
Crunch at a Glance: Syracuse clinched seventh in the Eastern Conference, finishing fourth in the East Division. The team went on a 15-3-1-1 run in their last 20 games, jumping from 14th in the conference into the seventh seed. The turning point of the season came against the IceCaps on March 3 at the War Memorial. Down, 4-2, after two periods, the Crunch scored four unanswered goals in the final period, completing the come-from-behind victory.
 
Syracuse clinched the seventh seed on the final day of the regular season, defeating the Albany Devils, 2-1, at the Times Union Center. Emerson Etem scored the game-winning goal, netting his first professional goal in the middle period. John Mitchell also scored for Syracuse. Iiro Tarkki stopped 34 shots in the win.
 
Patrick Maroon finished the season the team leader in points. His 74 points (32g, 42a) ranked him third in the league. Maroon also led the team in assists. Kyle Palmieri led the team with 33 goals. He finished the regular season tied for third in the league in goals. Tarkki finished off a stellar rookie campaign, moving into a tie for seventh place in Crunch history in single season wins by a goaltender. His 24 wins are the sixth highest total in Crunch history.
 
The Crunch are back in the postseason for the first time since 2008, when they lost in the Divisional Finals to the Toronto Marlies in seven games. This is the 10^th time in 18 seasons the Crunch have reached the Calder Cup playoffs. 
 
Crunch Leaders
Goals: Kyle Palmieri – 33
Assists: Patrick Maroon – 42
Points: Patrick Maroon – 74
Plus/Minus: Patrick Maroon - +17
PIM: Patrick Maroon – 120
Wins: Iiro Tarkki – 23
G.A.A: Iiro Tarkki - 2.45
Save %: Iiro Tarkki - .925
Shutouts: Iiro Tarkki – 2
 
Recent Crunch Transactions
4/12/2012 Dale Mitchell (RW) Syracuse ADD Reassigned by Anaheim (NHL) from Reading (ECHL)
4/12/2012 Emerson Etem (RW) Syracuse ADD Reassigned by Anaheim (NHL) from Medicine Hat (WHL)
4/11/2012 Nat Guenin (D) Syracuse ADD Returned on loan from Anaheim (NHL)
4/06/2012 Jeff Deslauriers (G) Syracuse ADD Returned on loan from Anaheim (NHL)
4/04/2012 Mat Clark (D) Syracuse ADD Returned on loan from Anaheim (NHL)
 
Who's Hot
Riley Holzapfel - Five points (1g, 4a) in his last eight games
Kyle Palmieri - Three points (1g, 2a) in his last five games
Iiro Tarkki - Four wins in his last five starts
 
St. John's at a Glance: St. John's finished the regular season second in the Eastern Conference, and won the Atlantic Division. They were in the top three teams in the conference for most of the season. The IceCaps stumbled as the season came to a close, losing six of their last 10 games. The Manchester Monarchs were the latest team to defeat St. John's, beating them 4-2 on the final day of the regular season. Manchester scored three times in the first period, putting the game out of reach. Patrice Cormier and Spencer Machacek led St. John's with two points (1g, 1a). Eddie Pasquale allowed four goals on 26 shots.
 
Machacek finished the regular season leading St. John's with 50 points (18g, 32a). He finished the season tied with Jason DeSantis for the team lead in assists. Jason King led the IceCaps with 22 goals. Pasquale, a rookie goaltender, led the team with 23 wins.
 
St. John's Leaders
Goals: Jason King - 22
Assists: Spencer Machacek and Jason DeSantis - 32
Points: Spencer Machacek - 50
Plus/Minus: Arturs Kulda - +18
PIM: Garth Murray - 112
Wins: Eddie Pasquale - 23
G.A.A: Eddie Pasquale - 2.41
Save %: Eddie Pasquale - .911
Shutouts: Eddie Pasquale - 4
 
Recent St. John's Transactions
4/16/2012 Chris Carrozzi (G) St. John's ADD Reassigned by Winnipeg (NHL) from Ontario (ECHL)
4/13/2012 Joe Marto (D) St. John's ADD Recalled from loan to Colorado (ECHL)
4/13/2012 Joey Sides (LW) St. John's ADD Signed to PTO
4/09/2012 Josh Lunden (LW) St. John's DEL Released from PTO
4/09/2012 Kyle Rogers (RW) St. John's DEL Released from PTO
 
Who's Hot
Spencer Machacek - Three points (1g, 2a) in his last two games
Eric O'Dell - Six points (6g) in his last five games
John Albert - Eight points (2g, 6a) in his last eight games