The Syracuse Crunch are going somewhere they haven’t been since 2018, the second round of the playoffs (or the third, if you believe the play-in series counts as a round). Cole Koepke had two goals, including an important third-period insurance goal while Felix Robert had three points including two assists as the Syracuse Crunch defeated the Rochester Americans, 5-2, in a series-clinching Game 5 in Rochester. Brandon Halverson stopped 16 of 18 shots for his third victory in the series.
After watching a three-goal lead evaporate in the third period of Game 4, the Crunch had six days to think about their inability to close out the series. The overtime loss made it three straight series-clinching games that they had lost to Rochester, going back to last year’s first round. Heading into a sold-out Blue Cross Arena it would be understandable if they might be a little tentative to start out the game.
They were the opposite of that. In fact, they had the first nine shots on goal. Even more important, two of those shots went into the net. The first came off of the stick of Declan Carlile. Just 2:28 into the game, Carlile let one go that hit something in front of Devon Levi and deflected into the net. The referee by the net immediately signaled a goal, but it took a review to make sure it went into the net.
Declan Carlile (1) [Max Crozier, Felix Robert]
They kept the pressure on, and seven minutes later (with Rochester still holding a big fat zero on the shot counter) Cole Koepke wristed one through traffic and inside the far post. You will notice a big pile up in front of Levi, and with the rate that officials have been reviewing goals this series, you would think this one would go to the headsets. It did not. They correctly ruled that Gabe Fortier did not initiate contact with the netminder and the goal stayed on the board without a review.
Cole Koepke (2) [Emil Lilleberg, Alex Barre-Boulet]
Things were rolling, especially when the Crunch went on the power play. Not only could they put a chokehold on the game with another goal but they took a too-many-men on the ice call that negated the power play. That shifted the play on the ice in favor of the home team. Rochester started to find the net with their shots and for a moment it looked like they were on the board. They caught a break when the officials waved off an apparent goal by Justin Richards as they ruled he kicked the puck into the net.
There would be no help a few minutes later when the Americans won a face-off and Jeremy Davies was able to get inside position on Alex Barre-Boulet and deflect home a centering feed from Joseph Cecconi.
Jeremy Davies [Joseph Cecconi, Lukas Rousek]
The period ended with the Crunch on another power play. Which meant the second period started with the Crunch on the power play, an advantage that they failed to..well…take advantage of. Rochester came out much stronger in the neutral zone and had Syracuse on their heels for a bit. However, they kept the trouble to a minimum.
Not only that, but a strong play in their own zone led to a two-on-one with Felix Robert and Walterri Merelä. Robert was able to slip the pass over to the first-year Finn and Merelä finished it off for his third goal of the series.
Walterri Merelä (3) [Felix Robert]
The two-goal lead would prove crucial as Max Groshev was sent to the penalty box for slashing and the Amerks capitalized. Their captain, Michael Mersch, slid through the slot on his knee and redirected a centering feed from Jiri Kulich to cut the lead back down to one goal.
Michael Mersch [Jiri Kulich, Brandon Biro] Power Play
To their credit, the Crunch didn’t succumb to the pressure of the moment. They closed out the period with five of the last six shots and drew yet another penalty. They wouldn’t score on the power play, a reoccurring theme in the series, but they also didn’t concede any shorthanded goals.
In the third period, well, they were almost perfect. At least, they were as perfect as a team playing on the road with a one-goal game in a series-determining game could be. They allowed two shots against in the first ten minutes of the final frame. It wasn’t fancy defending, but it was solid. When they had the puck, they got it out of the zone. If they had it in the neutral zone they got it deep. They forechecked. They broke up passes.
When they had an opportunity, they took advantage. With just over five minutes to go, they gained control of the puck in their zone and caught the Amerks out of position. Barre-Boulet and Koepke streaked down the ice on an odd-man rush and Koepke flung it past a stretched out Levi for the biggest goal of the season for the Crunch.
Cole Koepke (3) [Alex Barre-Boulet, Devante Stephens]
Rochester pulled Levi, who finished the game with 15 saves on 19 shots, at the 16:32 mark. Robert only needed 17 seconds to make them pay for that move as he hit the empty net with assists from Gage Goncalves and Max Crozier.
Down by three, and with “Lets go Crunch” cheers echoing in their building, Rochester mustered three more shots on net, but none of the challenged Halverson (who did attempt a shot at the empty net, but failed to clear the defense) and time ticked off of the clock. For the first time since 1996, against the now defunct Baltimore Bandits, the Crunch won a winner-take-all playoff game on the road.
With the victory, the Crunch move on to the North Division Finals where they will take on the Cleveland Monsters. It’s the first playoff meeting between the two teams since 2019 when Cleveland beat Syracuse in the first round in four games.
