Game 14: Syracuse Crunch (7-5-0-1) at St. John's IceCaps (8-5-2-1)6 p.m., Mile One Centre, St. John's, Newfoundland
Syracuse visits St. John's Friday for the first time since December of 2013. Since the clubs last met, the IceCaps have become Montreal's AHL affiliate and switched to the Eastern Conference's North Division. St. John's is one spot better than the Crunch in the division and conference standings with a .594 points percentage.
Three former Crunch players dot St. John's roster in defenseman Mark Barberio, forward
Eric Neilson and goalie Dustin Tokarski who all came to Syracuse when the Lightning affiliated with the Crunch in 2012.
Broadcast Coverage | Countdown to Crunch Time at 5:45 p.m.Radio: ESPN Radio | 1200 AM Syracuse | 1440 AM Oswego |
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AHL Live AppSocial: @SyracuseCrunch for in-game updates and @Dan_DUva for insights from the broadcast booth. | #BelieveInBlueLast time out The Portland Pirates potted two first-period goals and secured a 4-1 win over Syracuse Wednesday at the War Memorial in the first of two meetings.
Philippe Paradis scored the lone Syracuse goal at 7:59 of the third, his third of the season, with assists to
Yanni Gourde and
Tanner Richard.
Gourde, who had a five-game home assist streak snapped in the previous game, improved to eight points (2g, 6a) tied for fourth on the team. Richard's sixth assist of the year, tied for second on the Crunch, is his fifth in the last three games.
Kristers Gudlevskis, coming off a career-best 47-save victory, suffered the loss (3-2-0, 2.42) and made 21 saves on 24 shots. Pirates netminder Mike McKenna, playing his 103rd career game with Portland, earned his 57th Pirates win with 20 saves, as the 21-shot total for Syracuse was a season low.
Scouting the IceCapsThrough 16 games (four more than Syracuse), seven IceCaps have more points than Syracuse's top scorers. Veteran Bud Holloway leads the team with 19 points (5g, 14a), third in the AHL. Michael McCarron is the AHL's top rookie with 17 points (8g, 9a) and Mark Barberio ranks third among AHL defensemen with 12 points (1g, 11a).
Original IceCap Eddie Pasquale (0-1-1, 3.00) is expected to start Friday, having been recalled from ECHL Brampton. R
ookie Zachary Fucale (6-2-0, 3.56). has seen more time than Pasquale since Dustin Tokarski was recalled my Montreal Nov. 1. Tokarski (2-2-1, 3.45) was reassigned to the IceCaps Thursday.Lightning flash Valtteri Filppula scored a shorthanded goal in the final minutes of regulation to help the Lightning defeat the New York Rangers, 2-1, Thursday at Amalie Arena. J.T. Brown helped spring the go-ahead score. Alex Killorn scored earlier in the game, his third of the year. Ben Bishop made 20 saves and was the game's first star. At 9-9-3, Tampa Bay has 21 points, third in the division. With their nine-game win streak snapped, the Rangers are tied with Montreal for the conference's most points (30).
Joel Vermin made his NHL debut in the contest, registering one shot in 10:24 of ice time, joining other Crunch call-ups,
Mike Blunden,
Jonathan Marchessault,
Luke Witkowski and
Mike Angelidis.
Matt Taormina, who had been with the Bolts since last weekend, was returned to the Crunch Thursday.
