CRUNCH LOOK TO EVEN SERIES IN CLEVELAND
 
The Crunch and Cleveland Monsters face off in Game 2 of the North Division Finals this afternoon at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
 
The Monsters lead the best-of-five series, 1-0, following a 1-0 win in Game 1 Thursday night in Cleveland.
 
CRUNCH BLANKED IN GAME 1 LOSS
 
Jet Greaves turned aside all 28 Crunch shots as the Cleveland Monsters won Game 1 of the North Division Finals, 1-0, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Thursday.
 
The teams were held scoreless through 40 minutes by goaltenders Greaves and Brandon Halverson. Greaves made 20 saves through two periods, while Halverson had 18 saves in the first two frames for the Crunch.
 
Cleveland broke the ice early in the third period with a shorthanded goal. Justin Pearson picked off an errant drop pass in the Crunch zone, knifed through two Crunch skaters and shoveled a shot past Halverson for a 1-0 lead. That score held as the final, with the Crunch unable to equalize despite a 6-on-4 advantage with just over two minutes left to play in regulation. 
 
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
 
After playing four one-goal games in the division semifinals against Rochester, the Crunch had another one-goal contest to begin the division finals. The Crunch are now 2-3 in one-goal games during the playoffs after posting a 16-4-4-5 record in those situations during the regular season. 
 
Brandon Halverson stopped 23 of 24 shots in the Game 1 loss for the Crunch. Halverson has started all six games during the playoffs for the Crunch, playing to a 2.06 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage in his first Calder Cup Playoff experience.
 
Halverson began the season on an ECHL contract with the Orlando Solar Bears before signing a PTO with the Crunch in early November. He earned an AHL contract later that month en route to a 7-3-3 record with AHL career-bests in goals-against average (2.18) and save percentage (.913) in 14 appearances. 
 
POWER FAILURE
 
The Crunch power play has struggled so far through six games in the Calder Cup Playoffs. After finishing tied for ninth in the regular season with a 19.4% conversion rate, they are 1-for-19 (5.3%) in the playoffs. Their lone goal was a strike by Alex Barré-Boulet in Game 4 against the Rochester Americans.
 
To make matters worse, the Crunch allowed a shorthanded goal – which turned into the lone tally in a 1-0 game – in Cleveland's Game 1 win on Thursday. The Crunch allowed nine shorthanded goals in the regular season, while the Monsters scored only three in 72 regular season games.
 
COMING FROM BEHIND  
 
For the second straight series, the Crunch will need to come from behind after dropping Game 1 on the road. After falling in Game 1 of the division semifinals against Rochester, the Crunch won the next two games - both in overtime - en route to winning the series in five games. They are 5-9 in series when losing the first game after beating the Amerks last round.
 
The Monsters are now 7-2 all-time in Game 1s; they are 5-1 in series when winning the first game. Cleveland lost Game 1 in its series against Belleville before winning three straight to clinch the series.
 
SHUT DOWN  
 
The Crunch were held scoreless in Game 1, marking their first playoff shutout since Game 4 of last year's North Division Semifinals against Rochester. The Crunch were shut out twice in the regular season (Nov. 10 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and March 27 vs. Rochester). They scored 10 combined goals in the two games immediately following their regular season shutout losses.
 
Game 1 marked the first playoff loss in Crunch history by a 1-0 score. It's also the first time they've been shut out in Game 1 of a playoff series.
 
The Monsters had three shutouts during the regular season, most recently on April 6 vs. Lehigh Valley.
 
SCOUTING THE MONSTERS
 
After falling in Game 1 of the North Division Semifinals versus Belleville, the Monsters have rattled off four straight wins after taking a 1-0 series lead on the Crunch with their win Thursday.
 
All-Star Jet Greaves earned his first career Calder Cup Playoffs shutout in a 28-save performance in Game 1. Greaves has stopped 159 of the 167 shots he's faced in the playoffs, posting a league-best .952 save percentage in five appearances. 
 
Game 1 marked the fourth playoff shutout in Monsters history, and their first since Brad Thiessen's series-ending shutout against the Crunch in Game 4 of the 2019 North Division Semifinals. Their only other 1-0 playoff win was their Calder Cup clinching win against the Hershey Bears in 2016.  
 
GOTTA GET ONE  
 
Game 1 was the third playoff game contested between the Crunch and Monsters in Cleveland. The Crunch have been shut out in the last two playoff games against the Monsters dating back to Game 4 of the 2019 North Division Semifinals. They earned a 2-1 win in Game 3 of that series, meaning they've scored two total goals in three playoff games all-time in Cleveland.
 
Syracuse has been held scoreless in its last 139:29 against the Monsters in the playoffs. The Crunch's last goal was what turned into the Game 3 winner by Andy Andreoff 31 seconds into the third period. Only one player who played in that game – Alex Barré-Boulet – also played in Game 1 on Thursday; Barré-Boulet scored the Crunch's other goal that night.
 
THE ONLY OFFENSE  
 
Cleveland's Justin Pearson netted the lone goal in Game 1. His shorthanded tally - the first of his career - is his second goal and fourth point in five games this postseason. 
 
The rookie, who turned 26 years old yesterday, leads Cleveland in playoff scoring. He had 10 goals and 22 points in 66 regular season games.