The Syracuse Crunch kicked off the opening (first? second? first non-wild card?) round of the playoffs much in the same fashion that they did last year, with a 3-2 loss to the Rochester Americans. Will the future play out like the past with the Crunch storming back to take the next three games? Only time will tell.
After a scoreless first period, Conor Sheary opened the scoring just 21 seconds into the middle frame, beating Devon Levi with a wrister from the slot after he turned the defenseman with a nifty little move.
SHEARS WITH THE MOVES
— Syracuse Crunch (@syracusecrunch.com) April 25, 2025 at 8:23 PM
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That was Sheary’s first AHL playoff goal in a decade, and his 21st over all as a member of the Crunch. After the teams started the game with a combined 26 shots and no goals in the first period, Sheary’s goal touched off a bit of a stampede. Dylan Duke doubled the lead three minutes later with a Dylan Duke-esque goal.
A little wraparound 🚨
— Syracuse Crunch (@syracusecrunch.com) April 25, 2025 at 8:25 PM
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Rochester responded less than a minute later as Brendon Warren scored. Ridley Fiddler-Schultz tied the game on the power play a few minutes later on a broken play after Max Crozier had the puck roll off of his stick on a clearing attempt.
In the third period, the Amerks struck on the power play once again as Kale Clague notched his first career postseason goal with a blast that beat Brandon Halverson cleanly just after a Rochester power play had expired. Syracuse pushed for the equalizer, but Levi, who finished with 25 saves, shut the door on them.
Game 2 will be on Sunday at 3:00 pm in Rochester before the best of five series moves to Syracuse for Game 3 on Thursday. All games will be broadcast through the Flosports app.
