All in all, it wasn’t a good weekend for the Syracuse Crunch.
Friday night, Syracuse lost in rather stunning fashion to the Binghamton Senators. The final 5-0 score only really hinted at the damage that could have happened. Short on true AHL blue line help with defenseman Luke Witkowski recalled–a move that happened right before the game–the Crunch floundered in the first, allowing the B-Sens to score four unanswered goals. Starting goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was pulled not long into the second period after allowing a fifth goal. He faced 19 shots. Mercifully, Kristers Gudlevskis then saved all 21 shots he faced, keeping the damage to just five goals against. The Crunch’s offensive squad was held scoreless and was also held to just 18 shots on goal.
Saturday night, the Crunch seemed to rebound with an energized game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers that got off to a great start thanks to a couple of Syracuse’s defensemen. Joey Mormina scored nine minutes into the first and then Slater Koekkoek added his own tally eleven seconds later. Mike Blunden, Tanner Richard, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Mike Angelidis would also add their own goals to the volley. The 6-2 final helped starting goalie Gudlevskis improve to 13-6-0. He stoped 24 of 26 Bridgeport shots. The Crunch had 35 shots on goal, and four Crunch players had multi-point games: Dylan Blujus (2a), Angelidis (1g,1a), Jonathan Marchessault (3a) and Blunden (1g, 2a).
Unfortunately, Sunday afternoon, the Crunch allowed the Sound Tigers to get the best of them, losing 2-1. Syracuse gave up a season-high 10 power plays to Bridgeport over the course of the contest, who was able to capitalize on two of them. The Crunch itself was unable to score on any of their five power plays. Crunch goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 21 shots, while Syracuse ended the game with 33 shots on goal. Forward Dalton Smith scored the Crunch’s only goal. Former Syracuse Crunch and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cory Conacher assisted on both Bridgeport tallies.
After playing eight of nine games on the road, Syracuse plays at home Friday against Lehigh Valley and Saturday vs. Hartford.
Latest Stats for the Syracuse Crunch:
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Regular season record (wins-losses-OT losses-SO losses): 24-11-5-0
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Place in Eastern Conference (top 8 make the playoffs): 4th
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Place in Northeast Division: 2nd
- Top scorer: Jonathan Marchessault (10-26-36)
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Top scoring defenseman: Nikita Nesterov (3-11-14)
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Top scoring defenseman still on roster: Slater Koekkoek (3-8-11)
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Top defenseman, +/-: Jean-Philippe Cote, +9
- Top rookie: Joel Vermin (7-8-15)
Other transactions and player news:
-Defenseman Dan Milan was recalled to the Crunch from ECHL Wichita on Friday
-Defenseman Charlie Dodero was signed to a professional tryout contract on Friday and made his Crunch debut Friday night at Binghamton.
Syracuse Crunch media highlights:
The Crunch’s SoundCloud has been updated with broadcasts and player interviews from the past week.
