Game 52: Syracuse Crunch (19-23-4-5) vs. Hershey Bears (29-17-3-3)
5 p.m., Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
East Division foes Syracuse and Hershey face off in the AHL Showcase 5 p.m. Sunday at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. When the rivals met at Giant Center Saturday the Crunch halted a five-game skid and short-circuited the Bears' five-game win streak in a 5-0 victory, the biggest road win for Syracuse this season. Friday's results lifted the Crunch from 14th to 12th in the Eastern Conference while the Bears dropped from fourth to sixth.
Both the Crunch and Bears are playing in an NHL venue for the second time this season. Syracuse played the Hamilton Bulldogs at Montreal's Belle Centre in November, losing 4-1. Hershey played the Adirondack Phantoms at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia Feb. 1, also losing 4-1.
Broadcast Coverage
4. The Patriot-News:Â
Hershey Bears-Syracuse Crunch scouting report
2. Post-Standard:Â
Night of firsts help Syracuse Crunch stop skid with 5-0 win over Hershey
3. Post-Standard:Â
Syracuse Crunch-Utica Comets game Friday at the War Memorial begs for more of the same
Last time out
Syracuse goalie
Allen York made 39 saves to shut out the Bears Saturday in Hershey, 5-0. York's first win with the Crunch is his second AHL shutout this season and third of his AHL career (40 games). Five different goals scorers paced the Crunch with
Luke Witkowski and
Jon DiSalvatore in the first,
Richard Panik in the second (power play), and
Vladislav Namestnikov and Max Parent in the third. The markers for Witkowski and Parent were the first of their AHL careers; Panik's was his first with the Crunch since last year's Calder Cup Finals.
Namestnikov and DiSalvatore both had two-point nights with a goal and an assist each. Namestnikov, who'd not registered a point in his previous seven games with Syracuse, tied
Cedric Paquette for the Crunch lead in goals (14) and points (32). The second-year pro also leads Syracuse in multi-point games (10). DiSalvatore now has five points in five games against his old team.Â
Scouting the Bears
The Bears had won 12 of 14 games before falling to Syracuse last night, ending the team's five-game win streak. The loss dropped Hershey from fourth to sixth in the Eastern Conference. The Bears had been as low as the 11th following a Jan. 17 loss to Syracuse, 3-2.
Brandon Segal paces the Bears with 38 points (14g, 24a) in 46 games. He's followed by Jeff Taffe's 34 points (14g, 20a) and Ryan Stoa's 29 (10g, 19a). Meanwhile, Dane Byers had a five-game scoring streak stopped Saturday (3g, 4a) and Michael Latta saw his four-game scoring streak ended (1g, 4a).
David Leggio has played the majority of the games between the pipes this season, but Philipp Grubauer has played in nine of the last 13 games since being reassigned from the Washington Capitals. Leggio is 15-13-2 in 30 games, along with a 2.70 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. Grubauer is 11-6-1 in 18 games, with a 2.31 goals-against average and .922 save percentage. Before losing to Syracuse Saturday, he'd won five starts in a row and seven of eight since returning to Hershey.
Syracuse Crunch GM
Julien BriseBois explains the benefits of playing in the NHL venues, such as the Verizon Center. BriseBois also examines the play of prospects
Kristers Gudlevskis,
Vladislav Namestnikov,
Richard Panik and others.
