CRUNCH ROAD TRIP OFF TO STRONG START
The Syracuse Crunch began their season-high six-game road stretch on a positive note to enter the Holiday Break tied for first place in the North Division.
Syracuse went 2-1-0-0 while playing three games in four days in three different cities in Week 11. The Crunch shut out the Bridgeport Islanders, 5-0, on Wednesday and then bested the Hartford Wolf Pack, 5-3, on Friday to extend their winning streak to four games. That was snapped on Saturday in a tight 3-1 loss to the Providence Bruins.
The Crunch are 17-10-1-0 and are tied with the Laval Rocket for first place in the division with 35 points. Syracuse returns from the break with a pair of contests this weekend in Laval.
TOP PERFORMERS
Goaltender
Ryan Fanti stopped 46-of-48 shots over his two starts for a .957 save percentage in Week 11. Fanti posted a 1-1-0 record during the week and played to a 1.01 goals-against average.
Fanti posted his second shutout of the season with 18 saves in the Crunch's 5-0 win in Bridgeport on Wednesday. He then stopped 26 out of 28 on Saturday in Providence, but the Crunch lost to the Bruins, 3-1.
The Thunder Bay, Ontario native is 6-6-1 with a 2.31 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage in an AHL career-high 13 appearances this season.
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Defenseman
Max Groshev led all Crunch skaters in scoring with four points (1g, 3a) in three games during Week 11. He notched his second three-point game of the season — and the third of his AHL career — Wednesday at Bridgeport. He scored his first goal of the season that night. He followed up with another assist on the Crunch's first goal in their 5-3 win at Hartford on Friday.
Groshev has 12 points (1g, 11a) in 27 games this season — his first full-time as a defenseman. He leads all Crunch blueliners in scoring and his plus-8 rating ranks fourth on the team.
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Lucas Mercuri scored goals in the first two games of Week 11 to extend his goal streak to a career-high three games. He potted a third period goal Wednesday in Bridgeport and a go-ahead goal in the second period of Friday's win at Hartford. He also picked up an assist against the Wolf Pack for his first career multi-point game.
Mercuri leads Crunch rookies with 10 points (6g, 4a) in 24 games this season. He has a plus-7 rating and has accrued 32 penalty minutes, the most among active Crunch players.
SABOURIN'S TIMLEY OFFENSE
Veteran forward
Scott Sabourin scored goals in the first two games on his return from an NHL recall with Tampa Bay. He scored on the power play via a deflection on Wednesday then went between the legs on a breakaway goal Friday.
Both tallies held up as game-winning goals. He has a team-leading four game-winning goals this season and six goals in total for the Crunch. His four winners are a new career-high for the 33-year-old who has 18 career AHL game-winning goals.
UPCOMING WEEK
Saturday, December 27 at Laval | 3 p.m.
Sunday, December 28 at Laval | 3 p.m.
The Crunch return from the Holiday Break with a two-game set against the Laval Rocket at Place Bell. It's the fourth straight season that the Crunch play a two-game set in Laval following the break; last season the Crunch swept the two-game series.
The games are the second and third head-to-head meetings of the season between the clubs who are currently tied for first place in the North Division. The Crunch won in Laval, 3-2, on Nov. 19, for their third straight win at Place Bell dating to last season.
The Rocket have lost three straight games and have scored three goals total in those games. They are 1-4-0-1 in the last six games.
WEEK 11 RESULTS
Wednesday, Dec. 17 | Game 26 at Bridgeport | W, 5-0
Syracuse 1 2 2 - 5 Shots: 7-12-10-29 PP: 1/5
Bridgeport 0 0 0 - 0 Shots: 6-8-4-18 PP: 0/1
1st Period-Sabourin 5 (
Groshev, Finley), 14:40 (PP). 2nd Period-Chaffee 7 (
Furry, Stachowiak), 8:34. Duke 10 (
Finley, Allard), 10:20. 3rd Period-Mercuri 5 (
Gauthier, Groshev), 9:18. Groshev 1 (
Lundmark), 15:24. . . .
Fanti 6-5-1 (18 shots-18 saves) A-2,467
Friday, Dec. 18 | Game 27 at Hartford | W, 5-3
Syracuse 2 1 2 - 5 Shots: 16-7-7-30 PP: 0/4
Hartford 0 2 1 - 3 Shots: 2-8-7-17 PP: 1/4
1st Period-Furry 6 (
Groshev, Halverson), 10:31. Chaffee 8 (
Abruzzese, Pietroniro), 17:31. 2nd Period-Mercuri 6 (
Unassisted), 17:32. 3rd Period-Sabourin 6 (
Mercuri), 2:29. Duke 11 (
Unassisted), 19:52 (EN|SH). . . .
Halverson 10-4-0 (17 shots-14 saves) A-5,792
Saturday, Dec. 20 | Game 28 at Providence | L, 3-1
Syracuse 1 0 0 - 1 Shots: 8-10-6-24 PP: 0/0
Providence 1 1 1 - 3 Shots: 8-7-14-29 PP: 0/0
1st Period-Geekie 7 (
Abruzzese, Chaffee), 15:16. . . .
Fanti 6-6-1 (28 shots-26 saves) A-5,833
| Category |
Average/Total |
AHL Rank (Prev) |
| Power Play |
21.8% (24-for-110) |
8th (9th) |
| Penalty Kill |
81.4% (70-for-86) |
16th (15th) |
| Goals For |
3.46 GFA (97) |
4th (5th) |
| Goals Against |
2.64 GAA (74) |
7th (8th) |
| Shots For |
28.25 SF/G (791) |
18th (19th) |
| Shots Against |
25.00 SA/G (700) |
3rd (4th) |
| Penalty Minutes |
13.14 PIM/G (368) |
17th (18th) |
| Category |
|
Leader |
| Points |
31 |
Pelletier |
| Goals |
15 |
Pelletier |
| Assists |
20 |
Abruzzese |
| PIM |
32 |
Mercuri |
| Plus/Minus |
+14 |
Pietroniro |
| Wins |
10 |
Halverson |
| GAA |
2.31 |
Fanti |
| Save % |
.909 |
Fanti |
| North Division |
GP |
W |
L |
OTL |
SOL |
PTS |
PCT |
GF |
GA |
PIM |
HOME |
ROAD |
LAST 10 |
STREAK |
S/O |
| 1. Syracuse |
28 |
17 |
10 |
1 |
0 |
35 |
0.625 |
97 |
74 |
368 |
7-3-0-0 |
10-7-1-0 |
5-4-1-0 |
0-1-0-0 |
0-0 |
| 2. Laval |
28 |
17 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
35 |
0.625 |
90 |
71 |
468 |
9-3-0-1 |
8-7-0-0 |
5-4-0-1 |
0-3-0-0 |
1-1 |
| 3. Rochester |
28 |
15 |
10 |
2 |
1 |
33 |
0.589 |
94 |
86 |
373 |
6-5-1-1 |
9-5-1-0 |
5-2-2-1 |
1-0-0-0 |
0-1 |
| 4. Belleville |
31 |
12 |
14 |
5 |
0 |
29 |
0.468 |
98 |
116 |
421 |
5-9-2-0 |
7-5-3-0 |
2-5-3-0 |
1-0-3-0 |
2-0 |
| 5. Toronto |
28 |
13 |
13 |
1 |
1 |
28 |
0.500 |
84 |
96 |
420 |
6-5-0-1 |
7-8-1-0 |
5-5-0-0 |
0-1-0-0 |
1-1 |
| 6. Cleveland |
26 |
12 |
10 |
3 |
1 |
28 |
0.538 |
63 |
69 |
336 |
5-5-2-1 |
7-5-1-0 |
6-4-0-0 |
0-1-0-0 |
0-1 |
| 7. Utica |
26 |
7 |
15 |
3 |
1 |
18 |
0.346 |
57 |
81 |
294 |
4-9-1-1 |
3-6-2-0 |
5-4-1-0 |
1-0-0-0 |
1-1 |
