Much like their NHL brethren, the Syracuse Crunch did not have to win a game to clinch a spot in the AHL playoffs. Prior to the drop of the puck in their match against the Belleville Senators, Syracuse punched their ticket to the postseason when the Utica Comets lost to the Toronto Marlies.
With their spot secured, the Lightning’s AHL-affiliate can focus on grabbing one of the top two seeds in the North Division which would keep them out of the best-of-three opening round and give them a little bit of a break after the regular season.
Syracuse head coach should get some consideration for the Louis AR Pieri Memorial Award which is given to the most outstanding coach in the league. He’s taken the Crunch to the top of the North Division despite seeing some of his top talent either injured (Gabriel Dumont), traded (Jack Thompson) or called up to Tampa (Mitchell Chaffee). He’s also managed a defensive unit that seemingly has at least one player on a PTO in every game.
The Crunch have had some strong offensive performances especially from Gage Goncalves (54 points) and Cole Koepke (20 goals), but it’s been their ability to keep goals out of their own net that has propelled them to the top of the heap. Heading into last night’s game they had allowed just 180 goals through 66 games, ranking 6th in the league in goals against at 2.73/game.
In net Matt Tomkins and Hugo Alnefelt have played the 1a/1b rotation pretty well as Tomkins has appeared in 29 games with a 2.53 GAA and Alnefelt in 28 games with a 2.59 GAA. Some credit must be given to Brandon Halverson, who has been called up from Orlando about eleventy billion times. He’s posted a 6-2-0 record with a 2.62 GAA and .902 SV%.
They are a solid, hardworking team that has given a constant effort all season long. Now that they’ve made it to the postseason, how far can they go?
Other Hockey News
Lightning drop matinee game, 5-4 [Raw Charge]
No one likes to lose, because losing isn’t fun, but we’ll give the Bolts a bit of a break in this one. A lot of factors were going against them, but they still almost pulled it out with a furious third-period comeback.
Referee Steve Kozari was stretchered off of the ice after a collision with Haydn Fleury in the game. Following the game, the league announced that Kozari was alert and expected to make a full recovery. Fleury did not return to the game after the collision.
Which players do we want to see more of this season [The Athletic]
They picked Emil Lilleberg for the Lightning. He could be a key to a long playoff run. If he holds his own on the third pairing, that could be huge for the Bolts. Personally, I’d like to see more of Mitch Chaffee down the stretch.
Crunch drop game to Senators, 5-2 [The AHL]
Their season-long issues with the Senators continued as the Crunch lost 5-2 on Saturday night. Gage Goncalves and Jack Finley scored while Hugo Alnefelt took the loss, surrendering 4 goals on 26 shots.
Jack Thompson reunited with a friend in San Jose [The AHL]
After getting over the shock of being traded, Jack Thompson is finding the joy in playing with an old friend in San Jose. Thompson and forward Ethan Cardwell first played together when they were 7-years-old. After playing for different teams in the OHL, they reunited in Sweden during COVID and are now together in California. Thompson has a goal and five assists in thirteen games with the Barracuda.
Devin Cooley became the first Californian-born player to win a game for a California-based team in NHL history. Who did he save his Hockey Hug for? Sharkie, of course.
