SYRACUSE, N.Y.  – The Syracuse Crunch topped the Cleveland Monsters, 2-1, in Game 3 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse tonight to extend the North Division Semifinals series.
 
Alex Barre-Boulet paced the Crunch with a goal and an assist as the Crunch took their first victory of the series.
 
Netminder Eddie Pasquale recorded the win with 25 saves between the pipes for the Crunch. Brad Thiessen turned aside 25-of-27 in net for the Monsters. Syracuse went 1-for-4 on the power play and a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
 
The Crunch opened scoring 12:10 into the first period to take their first lead of the series. Barre-Boulet grabbed the puck behind the net and wrapped around to jam it in at the post. Assists went to Mitchell Stephens and Carter Verhaeghe.
 
Syracuse doubled their lead with a power-play goal 31 seconds into the third period. Verhaeghe set up Barre-Boulet for a one-timer from the right circle that went off the post, but Andy Andreoff was there to sweep in the rebound.
 
The Monsters came back within one with a shorthanded breakaway by Justin Scott at the 12:47 mark with the help of Zac Dalpe, but the Crunch smothered the effort and held on for the win.
 
The Crunch and Monsters play Game 4 on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Cleveland.
 
Single game tickets and packages for the 2018-19 season 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 online through 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.
 
Crunchables: Carter Verhaeghe has collected a point on each of Syracuse's six postseason goals (1g, 5a).