ST. JOHN'S, NL – After rallying back from a two-goal deficit with minutes remaining in the third period, Tye McGinn netted the game-winner in double overtime to lift the Syracuse Crunch over the St. John's IceCaps, 4-3, and even the five-game series, 1-1, tonight at the Mile One Centre.
 
For the second night, St. John's was first on the board, but Slater Koekkoek quickly responded. The IceCaps then built a two-goal lead and held it through the final six minutes of regulation before the Crunch went on a rally. Matt Taormina and Cory Conacher both found the back of the net to extend the contest into overtime. Following a scoreless overtime frame, McGinn lit the lamp with 9:23 remaining in the stanza to give the Crunch their first double overtime victory in franchise history.
 
Mike McKenna earned the win with a 41-save performance between the pipes for the Crunch. Charlie Lindgren turned aside 46-of-50 shots on goal for the IceCaps. Syracuse was unable to convert on three power-play opportunities, but went a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
 
The IceCaps broke the stalemate at the 8:33 mark of the middle frame. Max Friberg set Stefan Matteau and Jacob de la Rose up for a 2-on-1 as they sped through the neutral zone. After crossing the blueline, Matteau fired a pass ahead for de la Rose to redirect into the net.
 
Less than two minutes later, the Crunch evened the score. Peca faked a shot and came charging down the right side. He pulled Lindgren out of position and backhanded a feed across the zone for Koekkoek to one-time from his knee through an open backdoor. Eric Condra tallied a point on the equalizer.
 
The IceCaps regained the lead 4:46 into the third period. Charles Hudon forced a turnover on a misplayed puck in the slot. Once he gained control, he turned and fired top shelf. Chris Terry and Nikita Scherbak recorded the helpers. At the 8:30 mark, St. John's made it a two-goal game. Friberg threw a centering feed from the corner for Matteau to send home as he crossed the slot. Zach Redmond collected the secondary assist.
 
With 4:17 remaining in the game, the Crunch kicked off a comeback. Taormina received a pass from Condra at the boards. Lindgren caught a piece of his shot from the point, but the puck trickled behind him and across the goal line. Conacher tallied the secondary helper. Just over a minute later, Conacher blew a rocket from the right circle into the far corner off assists from Taormina and Ben Thomas.
 
McGinn snuck behind Lindgren halfway through second 20-minute overtime period to pick up a pass from Peca and easily pot the game-winner from the left goal post. Taormina earned his third point of the game with an assist on goal.
 
The teams travel to Syracuse to finish the best-of-five North Division Semifinals series. Game 3 is at the War Memorial Arena this Wednesday at 7 p.m.
 
Single game tickets for the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs presented by NAPA Auto Parts are on sale now and can be purchased in person at the Crunch office located inside the War Memorial Arena at 800 S. State St. in Syracuse, by calling the office at 315-473-4444 or by logging on to Ticketmaster. For the latest Crunch news, visit www.syracusecrunch.com or follow the club on Facebook (www.facebook.com/syracusecrunch), Twitter (@SyracuseCrunch) and Instagram (@syracusecrunch) using #SyrCrunch and #FIN15H.
 
Crunchables: Slater Koekkoek recorded his first career post-season goal tonight…Tye McGinn has scored in both playoff games this post-season…This is the first double overtime win in franchise history…Matt Taormina assisted on the team's last post-season overtime goal on May 2, 2013 when Ondrej Palat scored in Portland to clinch the series with a 4-3 victory.