Skip To Main Content

Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch

Crunch IceCaps

Syracuse Crunch

Crunch look to chill streaking IceCaps

Game 65 vs. STJ

Game 65: Syracuse Crunch (25-29-4-6) vs. St. John's IceCaps (41-20-1-3)
7:00 p.m., War Memorial Arena, Syracuse, N.Y.

The Crunch play their fourth game in six days, hosting the St. John's IceCaps Wednesday. This is the fourth and final meeting; the Crunch have one win and the IceCaps have two. They haven't played since Dec. 11, the second game of a back-to-back in St. John's, when the IceCaps won twice by a combined score of 11-3.

St. John's has won 13 of its last 14 games, surging to within six points of Eastern Conference and AHL-leading Manchester. The IceCaps are in fourth place in the conference because they trail Manchester in the Atlantic Division.

Despite a win Sunday, the Crunch are still in 13th place in the Eastern Conference, 17 points out of a playoff spot.

Broadcast Coverage
Countdown to Crunch Time at 6:45 p.m.
Radio: ESPN CNY 97.7 FM Syracuse; 100.1 FM Oswego | Listen Live |
Mobile: Free audio on your mobile device with the TuneIn App
Streaming: Pay-to-watch video on AHL LIve.com and on your mobile device with the AHL Live App

Press Clips
1. Post-Standard: Syracuse Crunch forward Jon DiSalvatore is ditching Eric Neilson's wallet for a good cause
2. Post-Standard: Adirondack's double trouble no problem for Syracuse Crunch's Witkowski
3. Post-Standard: Injury relief in sight for Syracuse Crunch

In the hunt | AHL Playoff Primer |
Syracuse remains 13th in the Eastern Conference despite a 3-0 win Sunday against Adirondack. With a 25-29-4-6 record, the Crunch are at 60 points. Eighth-place Providence, keeper of the last playoff spot, has 77 points. Between the clubs lie Hershey (72pts), Worcester (66pts), Hartford (63pts) and Bridgeport (61pts). Only Portland (56pts) and Adirondack (55pts) are behind Syracuse in the conference.

Last time out
Evan Rankin supplied a first-period, power-play tip-in that turned out to be his first game-winning goal of the year as Syracuse downed Adirondack, 3-0, Sunday at Glens Falls Civic Center.
Kristers Gudlevskis turned aside all 31 shots he faced for his fifth shutout and 14th win of the season. He stoned multiple breakaway chances including a Tyler Brown penalty shot in the first. Meanwhile, the Crunch peppered Phantoms netminder Cal Heeter with 19 shots in the first, most for the Crunch in any road period this year, and 28 for the game.

Brett Connolly added a power-play marker in the third, his third point in two games, to extend the Syracuse lead to 2-0 while tying Vladislav Namestnikov for the team lead in goals, 17. Nikita Nesterov and Phil Paradis assisted. Paradis registered his first multi-point game of the season later in the third, scoring his fourth goal after a steal by Mike Angelidis. Rankin's goal was set up by Dmitry Korobov and Jonathan Marchessault, who leads Syracuse with 44 points and 22 power-play points.

With 2-for-5 power-play efforts in each of the last two games, the Crunch have multiple-power play goals in consecutive contests for the second time this year and first since Oct. 30 (2-for-4) and Nov. 1 (2-for-6).

Shutouts Galore
In the last two regular seasons, since Tampa Bay brought its prospects to Syracuse, the Crunch have shut out more opponents than any other American Hockey League team. In 2012-13 Syracuse goalies compiled 10 regular season shutouts, the league's most (tied with Charlotte). So far in 2013-14, including a 3-0 shutout win Sunday in Glens Falls, Syracuse has blanked opponents nine times, again leading the league. Albany is second in the AHL with eight, but no other team has more than six.

Kristers Gudlevskis picked up the team's ninth shutout Sunday with 31 saves at Adirondack. The rookie owns five shutouts, tied for most in the AHL individually with Norfolk's John Gibson and Chicago's Jake Allen. Syracuse's other four shutouts belong to Cedrick Desjardins (2), Anders Lindback and Allen York.

In 2012-13 the Crunch racked up 10  shutouts from Riku Helenius (4), Desjardins (3) and Dustin Tokarski (3). Desjardins added three more shutouts in the postseason to set a new franchise single playoff record.

The Syracuse regular season shutout record is held by Jean-Francois Labbe who recorded nine shutouts in the 2001-02 season. Labbe and Karl Goehring both have 11 career Crunch shutouts for the franchise record. Gudlevskis and Desjardins are tied for fourth in team history with five each, along with three others.

Scouting the IceCaps
Andrew Gordon (22g, 27a), Kael Mouillerat (18g, 31a), and Jason Jaffray (17g, 32a) are all tied for the IceCaps scoring lead with 49 points. Rookie Brenden Kichton has the second highest total on the team with 45 (10g, 35a). Forward John Albert (19g, 16a) enters Week 26 on a three-game goal-scoring streak with five markers in that span. Gordon, Jaffray, and Kichton are the only players who have appeared in all 65 games for the IceCaps this season.

Eddie Pasquale, who started two of the first three games against the Crunch, had season-ending surgery in early March. He appeared in 31 games for the IceCaps including 30 of the first 39. Michael Hutchinson appeared in 22 games prior to being recalled to Winnipeg on March 15. With Pasquale injured and Hutchinson in the NHL the IceCaps goaltending tandem consists of Jussi Olkinuora and Tyler Beskorwany. Olkinuora, who has appeared in one game against the Crunch, is 5-3-1 with a 3.25 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage. Beskorowany has appeared in four games since signing a PTO on Feb. 8 going 4-0-0 with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.

Head-to-Head
Cedric Paquette leads the Crunch with four points (2g, 2a) against the IceCaps this season. In the first meeting against St. John's on Nov. 29, Syracuse's only win in the season series, Paquette notched the game-winning goal.

Brett Connolly is the only Syracuse player with points in all three games vs. the IceCaps (3a), which leads the Crunch.

Syracuse goaltenders Cedrick Desjardins and Kristers Gudlevskis have each played against the IceCaps this season. Desjardins has appeared in all three games, including a relief effort for Gudlevskis in a 6-2 loss to the IceCaps Dec. 10. That was Gudlevskis's lone appearance against St. John's. He surrendered four goals in just over one period.

IceCaps forward Jason Jaffray leads all players with three goals in the season series. He has tallied one goal in each game, and is second among St. John's players with four points in the series. Like Jaffray, IceCaps defenseman Zach Redmond also has points in every game against the Crunch this season, leading the IceCaps with five points (1g, 4a).

Nine IceCaps have multiple points against the Crunch this season; five Crunch players have done the same.

Special Teams
The IceCaps have scored on the man advantage in six of the last eight games. St. John's ranks 11th in the AHL on the power play (19.3%). On the road they have been more successful than at home converting 21.1% of opportunities away from home compared to 17.3% at the Mile One Centre.

On the penalty kill St. John's has allowed power-play goals in four of the last five games (17-for-23) including two goals on Sunday against Springfield. The IceCaps rank ninth in the AHL killing off 83.8% of penalties. Only Binghamton (16) has scored more shorthanded goals than St. John's (11) this season.

With two power-play goals Saturday and Sunday (4-for-10) the Crunch netted multiple power-play goals in back-to-back games for the first time since Oct. 30 and Nov. 1. The Crunch power play has risen from 24th to 19th (16.3%). Prior to Saturday the Crunch power play had been held scoreless in four straight games (0-for-8).

Despite giving up a power-play goal in two of three games last weekend the Crunch penalty kill rose four spots to 11th (83.1%). Syracuse killed off 22 of 24 opponent power plays (97.7%) including all seven Phantoms chances on Sunday.

Print Friendly Version