CRUNCH KEEP MOMENTUM GOING INTO APRIL
The Crunch earned two wins in three games last week to close out a successful March. Syracuse posted a 9-4-0-1 mark in 14 games and the Crunch end the month riding a five-game home winning streak.
The two Crunch wins came on home ice; Syracuse blanked the Cleveland Monsters, 4-0, Wednesday and then ended the week with a 5-1 triumph against the Rochester Americans. Between those two wins was their lone loss of the week, a 3-1 setback against the Utica Comets.
In the very close North Division, the Crunch are currently in fourth place at 30-23-6-2, good for a 0.557 points percentage. They have reached 30 wins in 18 straight seasons, excluding the 32-game 2020-21 campaign.
TOP PERFORMERS
Goaltender Max Lagace continued his stellar stretch in the Crunch crease. He started all three games and earned a pair of wins. The veteran goaltender made 21 saves en route to his second shutout of the season Wednesday against Cleveland. He was strong in a Friday loss at Utica, but responded with a 26-save win Saturday to earn his 100th career AHL win.
A 2-1-0 week with a 1.01 goals-against average and .958 save percentage capped a month which saw Lagace go 8-2-1 with a 1.96 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage with two shutouts.
He is 14-8-1 this season with a 2.68 goals-against average, which ranks 15th in the AHL.
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Forward Riley Nash made an immediate impact after joining the Crunch last week. The veteran made his Crunch debut Wednesday and collected an assist against the Monsters. He then powered the team to Saturday’s win, leading the way with a team-high three points, including a pair of first period goals. It was his first two-goal game in the AHL since March 23, 2013, which was also his last regular season AHL game prior to last week.
Nash has seen action for three NHL teams this season, starting in Winnipeg before moving to Tampa Bay and then Arizona via waivers. The Lightning re-acquired the 32-year-old prior to the NHL trade deadline last Monday and assigned him to the Crunch.
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Anthony Richard was one of two Crunch players to register a point in all three games in Week 24. After notching assists in both games to begin the week, the speedy forward collected one goal and one assist Saturday for his third multi-point performance for the Crunch this season. With five points in the last five games, Richard has 28 points (11g, 17a) this season.
UPCOMING: UTICA|HARTFORD|PROVIDENCE
The Crunch kick off a four-game road trip with a stiff three-in-three weekend, their fourth of five such instances this season.
For the second straight Friday, the Crunch head to Utica to face the Comets in the 13th of 14 head-to-head matches. Utica defeated the Crunch, 3-1, last week and the Crunch are now just 3-8-1-0 this season against the Comets; Syracuse is 27-15-5-2 against all other teams. The Crunch are 2-3-0-0 in the last five games against the Comets, who lead the Eastern Conference with a 38-14-6-1 record while riding a three-game win streak.
The Crunch head to New England for the final two games of the weekend. On Saturday, the Crunch conclude their two-game season series with the Hartford Wolf Pack. The Crunch knocked off the Wolf Pack, 4-2, in Syracuse on March 16. Hartford has stumbled to a 3-7-0-0 record in its last 10 games, leaving the Wolf Pack in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a 30-24-5-4 record.
The weekend wraps up in Providence on Sunday as the Crunch and Bruins meet for the first time since Feb. 1, 2020. The Bruins are 3-4-0-3 in the last 10 games and are embroiled in a tight race near the top of the Atlantic Division. They are currently in second place with a 0.605 points percentage (30-18-3-6). The teams’ first scheduled match (Dec. 22) was postponed and rescheduled to April 27 due to Covid-19.
WEEK 24 RESULTS
Wednesday, March 23 | Game 59 vs. Cleveland | W, 4-0
Cleveland 0 0 0 – 0 Shots: 9-5-7-21 PP: 0/3
Syracuse 1 2 1 – 4 Shots: 16-15-10-41 PP: 0/4
1st Period-Labrie 6 (Day, Green), 18:45. 2nd Period-Koepke 18 (Hudon, Barré-Boulet), 13:42. Barré-Boulet 12 (Claesson, Nash), 17:42. 3rd Period-Goncalves 14 (Raddysh, Richard), 0:17. . . . Lagace 13-7-1 (21 shots-21 saves) A-3,367
Friday, March 25 | Game 60 at Utica | L, 3-1
Syracuse 0 1 0 – 1 Shots: 5-4-11-20 PP: 0/2
Utica 0 2 1 – 3 Shots: 5-12-7-24 PP: 0/5
2nd Period-Goncalves 15 (Richard), 0:51. . . . Lagace 13-8-1 (23 shots-21 saves) A-3,917
Saturday, March 26 | Game 61 vs. Rochester | W, 5-1
Rochester 0 0 1 – 1 Shots: 8-5-14-27 PP: 0/2
Syracuse 3 0 2 – 5 Shots: 15-7-15-37 PP: 1/3
1st Period-Nash 1 (Goncalves, Ryfors), 5:33 (PP). Hudon 22 (Unassisted), 11:10. Nash 2 (Richard, Claesson), 17:33. 3rd Period-Richard 11 (Goncalves, Nash), 7:46. Hudon 23 (Barré-Boulet, Raddysh), 18:14 (EN). . . . Lagace 14-8-1 (27 shots-26 saves) A-5,178
| Category | Average/Total | AHL Rank (Prev) |
|---|---|---|
| Power Play | 18.9% (39-for-206) | 18th (16th) |
| Penalty Kill | 78.1% (157-for-201) | 25th (T-25th) |
| Goals For | 3.03 GFA (185) | 18th (T-18th) |
| Goals Against | 3.15 GAA (192) | 23rd (24th) |
| Shots For | 32.21 SF/G (1965) | 6th (6th) |
| Shots Against | 26.31 SA/G (1605) | 3rd (3rd) |
| Penalty Minutes | 11.33 PIM/G (691) | 24th (24th) |
| Category | Leader | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 49 | Dumont |
| Goals | 24 | Dumont |
| Assists | 31 | Barré-Boulet |
| PIM | 86 | Dumont |
| Plus/Minus | +14 | Claesson |
| Wins | 14 | Lagace |
| GAA | 2.68 | Lagace |
| Save % | .895 | Miftakhov |
| North Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS | PCT | GF | GA | PIM | HOME | ROAD | LAST 10 | STREAK | S/O |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Utica | 59 | 38 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 83 | 0.703 | 208 | 159 | 654 | 20-7-3-1 | 18-7-3-0 | 5-3-1-1 | 3-0-0-0 | 2-1 |
| 2. Laval | 55 | 30 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 64 | 0.582 | 187 | 177 | 688 | 20-7-2-1 | 10-14-1-0 | 6-3-0-1 | 4-0-0-1 | 2-1 |
| 3. Toronto | 57 | 30 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 64 | 0.561 | 190 | 188 | 763 | 15-13-2-1 | 15-10-1-0 | 5-5-0-0 | 0-1-0-0 | 3-1 |
| 4. Syracuse | 61 | 30 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 68 | 0.557 | 185 | 192 | 691 | 17-10-1-2 | 13-13-5-0 | 7-2-0-1 | 1-0-0-0 | 1-2 |
| 5. Belleville | 57 | 30 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 63 | 0.553 | 174 | 177 | 700 | 14-13-2-0 | 16-11-1-0 | 5-3-2-0 | 1-0-0-0 | 5-0 |
| 6. Rochester | 62 | 30 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 68 | 0.548 | 207 | 230 | 790 | 15-11-3-2 | 15-13-2-1 | 3-4-2-1 | 0-1-1-1 | 2-3 |
| 7. Cleveland | 61 | 23 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 58 | 0.475 | 169 | 208 | 800 | 10-14-4-1 | 13-12-4-3 | 4-4-2-0 | 0-1-0-0 | 2-4 |
