Game 58: Syracuse Crunch (23-26-4-5) at Hershey Bears (30-22-3-4)
7:00 p.m., War Memorial Arena, Syracuse, N.Y.
The Crunch open another three-in-three weekend with a home date against the Hershey Bears, closing out the eight-game season series with their East Division rival. The Crunch have won four of the first seven, including back-to-back wins in Hershey and at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., in February.
Starting with those two losses against Syracuse, the Bears have lost seven of their last eight, with a 3-2 win March 7 in Norfolk the only reprieve from that stretch. Hershey has fallen three points out of a playoff spot, currently sitting ninth with 67 points. With 55 points, the Crunch remain 15 points out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
Broadcast Coverage
In the hunt |Â
AHL Standings |
In 13th place at 55 points, Syracuse is 15 points out of a playoff spot, needing to jump at least five teams to secure a berth. The Crunch have 18 contests remaining and need to pass, Hartford (56pts), Bridgeport (58 points), Worcester (58pts), Hershey (67pts) and Albany (70pts). In the season's final seven weeks, the Crunch play Hershey once (tonight) and Albany four times. | AHL Standings |
Gourde to debut, Cote ready to return
New Crunch forward
Yanni Gourde is set to see his first action with the Crunch tonight. The left winger signed a contract with the Lightning organization Sunday, after playing out a 25 game PTO with Worcester, producing 24 points. The 23-year-old has 83 AHL games under his belt since 2012, scoring 41 points (13g, 28a) in addition to 44 points (19g, 25a) in 38 ECHL games with Kalamazoo and San Francisco.
The blueline will see a boost, as
J.P. Cote is expected to return from an injury that has sidelined the veteran since Februray. He last played Feb. 14 at Norfolk, before serving a five-game suspension and then missing five with an injury.
Last time out
The Crunch overcame a two-goal third-period deficit to stun the Senators, 4-3, Sunday at the War Memorial Arena. It was the second time this season the Crunch won when trailing after two periods (2-22-1-1). The last time was Nov. 1 when Syracuse beat Rochester 5-4 in a shootout after trailing 4-1 in the second.
Binghamton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, on a pair of power-play goals. The Crunch cut into the deficit in the second as
Cedric Paquette snapped in a power-play goal of his own to make it 2-1 with Vlad Namestnikov assisting to extend his scoring streak to five games. Goalie
Kristers Gudlevskis added the secondary assist, his first in the AHL. The Senators upped the lead back to two with a goal less than four minutes later.
Phil Paradis began the comeback with a power-play goal to make it 3-2 at 7:42 of the third.
Brett Connolly tied the game at 3-3 with 7:01 remaining. With 2:42 remaining, Namestnikov gave the Crunch their first lead, one-timing a pass from
Jonathan Marchessault to go up 4-3. Gudlevskis got his first victory for the Crunch since Feb. 5 at Rochester.
Slump Busters
Week 23 turned into a week that ended several droughts for the Crunch.
Cedric Paquette, who had gone eleven games without a goal, snapped that stretch with a goal Saturday night. The rookie, who is second on the team with 16 goals, added another Sunday, and now has goals in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
Brett Connolly also shook free of his goal slump, breaking a 12-game goal-less stretch with a game-tying goal Sunday. Prior to the goal, Connolly hadn't scored since Feb. 5 at Rochester and had one marker in a span of 19 games. The 21-year-old has 14 tallies this season, after scoring 31 last year.
Points Across the Board
With
Jonathan Marchessault and
Kristers Gudlevskis both recording assists in Sunday's 4-3 win over Binghamton, 33 different players have scored at least a point while with the Crunch. Only three skaters have played for the Crunch and not added at least a point, and only one (
Dalton Smith) is on the active roster.
Last season, 35 different players recorded a point with the Crunch, including three goalies (
Cedrick Desjardins,
Dustin Tokarski, and
Riku Helenius). Only four skaters who logged a game with Syracuse did not record a point.
The Crunch and Bears have met seven times this season, with Syracuse winning four, including the last two. One of those includes a 5-2 win in Washington, D.C. Feb. 23. In the series, the Crunch have outscored the Bears 22-17, bolstered by a 10-2 margin in the last two wins. Neither power play has been effective, with Heshey going 1-for-32 (3.1%) while the Crunch are 3-for-34 (8.8%). Both teams are 0-for-9 in two games at the War Memorial.
In six games against his former club, Crunch forward
Jon DiSalvatore has six points (4g, 2a), tied with
Mike Angelidis (2g, 4a), for the team lead in the season series against Hershey.
Meanwhile defenseman David Kolomatis is tied for the most points against the Crunch this season recording five points (1g, 4a) in six games. Winger Michael Latta leads all Bears in goals scored against the Crunch with three.
Scouting the Bears
Jeff Taffe (17g, 22a) and Brandon Segal (14g, 25a) are tied for the team lead with 39 points. Taffe had his three-game scoring streak (1g, 2a) snapped in Saturday's loss to Norfolk. Michael Latta has points in back-to-back games (2g, 1a).
In net David Leggio and Philipp Grubauer have each seen time but Leggio has started each of the last three games. Leggio, who is 2-2-0 against the Crunch, has appeared in 36 contests posting a record of 16-16-3 to go along with a .909 save percentage and a 2.77 goals-against average. Grubauer, who saw action in 17 games with Washington this season, has appeared in 20 games for the Bears with an 11-8-1 record and a .909 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against average. The German netminder was pulled from his last start after allowing four goals on 19 shots March 1 vs. Charlotte.Â
Special Teams
After being held off the board on the power play for three straight games (0-for-11), the Bears have connected on the man advantage in each of the last two, making them 2-for-17 (11.8%) over the last five games. Overall, Hershey slots just ahead of the Crunch in the AHL, 20th, at 16.1%.
The Hershey penalty kill has allowed goals in six of the last eight games, including three in six opportunities March 2 vs. Charlotte. In that span, the Bears are 27-for-36 (75.0%), pulling them down to 10th in the AHL at 83.2%.
With power-play goals in back-to-back games, the Crunch now look to do something they haven't done since Dec. 28-Jan. 8, score power-play goals in at least three straight games. They scored with the man advantage in five straight to ring in the new year. In the last five, however, the Crunch are 4-for-25 (16.0%). The Crunch power play comes in at 21st in the league, converting 15.9% of their opportunities.
The Crunch penalty kill, which has dipped from 11th to 16th in the league, at 82.4%, has allowed goals in four of the last five. They are 17-for-24 (70.8%) in those five games, allowing multiple power-play goals in three of the five.
