SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse Crunch were defeated by the Laval Rocket, 5-1, today at Place Bell.
The loss puts the Crunch on a three-game skid as they move to 17-18-4-1 on the season and 1-3-1-0 in the eight-game season series against the Rocket.
Goaltender Amir Miftakhov stopped 20-of-24 shots in net for the Crunch. Kevin Poulin turned aside 38-of-39 between the pipes for the Rocket. Syracuse went 0-for-3 on the power play, but a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
The Rocket opened scoring 6:14 into the game. Miftakhov made the initial save on Joel Teasdale’s shot during an odd-man rush, but Justin Ducharme followed behind the play and chipped in the second chance.
Laval doubled their lead during 4-on-4 play at the 14:26 mark. Sami Niku deked around the Crunch defense and cut toward the net to fire a close-range shot on net. His attempt was blocked, but the rebound came out for Jean-Sébastien Dea to send in.
The Rocket continued building their lead 1:34 into the second period. Gabriel Bourque grabbed a misplayed puck along the goal line and centered it for Teasdale to score from between the circles. At 10:43, Bourque made it 4-0 on a shorthanded breakaway.
The Crunch finally responded 8:21 into the final frame. Gabe Fortier ripped a shot from the high slot that went wide and ricocheted off the end boards for Charles Hudon to put into the net.
With 1:36 remaining in the game, Dea hit the empty net to make it a 5-1 victory for the Rocket.
The Crunch and Rocket travel to Syracuse for a fourth consecutive game on Friday.
Single game tickets and ticket packages for the 2021-22 season are on sale now and can be purchased in person at the Crunch office located inside the Upstate Medical University Arena at Onondaga County War Memorial 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).
Crunchables: Gabriel Dumont had a three-game goal scoring streak snapped today…The Crunch penalty kill is 8-for-8 in the last two games.
