All good things must come to an end, right?
The Syracuse Crunch was able to extend their winning streak to an even ten games on Friday before being handed their first loss in close to a month on Saturday. The biggest question now is how this young squad is able to respond. In any circumstance, we paid witness to the potential of this group of players sooner than we anticipated.
Weekend scores:
Friday December 15th
Crunch – 5
Bruins – 3
Saturday December 16th
Crunch – 2
Phantoms – 4
What worked?
The one constant over the course of the Crunch’s monumental run has been the widespread scoring abilities of the Syracuse rookies and veterans. They welcomed the Providence Bruins to town on Friday night for the first time since routing them 7-to-2 in game 4 of the eastern conference championship last season, and they continued right where they left off last May.
The Baby Bruins were greeted with a barrage of scoring from four different Crunch players. Carter Verhaeghe and Adam Erne found the back of the net to stay hot offensively, Kevin Lynch scored the first of what ended up being a two goal weekend for the Michigan alum, and Michael Bournival got back in the scoring column.
Four of Syracuse’s five goals came in the opening 20 minutes. Even though Ben Groulx’s squad struggled defensively on Saturday against Lehigh Valley, the ten game run that was fueled by the offense is more than encouraging as the Crunch heads into the months that mark the mid-point of the season.
What needs work going forward?
I’m not going to waste anyone’s time in this category this week. Short and simple: Fresh off a win streak that spanned nearly a month, there isn’t much to complain about.
Going into Saturday’s meeting with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Crunch had been firing on all cylinders. The offense was clicking, goaltenders Louis Domingue and Connor Ingram were nearly flawless, and the defense finally found their stride. But, of course, it couldn’t last forever.
After Matthew Peca opened the scoring on Saturday, the Phantoms rattled off three unanswered tallies in the second period. The Crunch were able to pull within two after Kevin Lynch batted in a rebound for his second goal of the weekend but it wasn’t enough. Still, despite the loss Crunch fans should have zero complaints. The Crunch are on the upswing.
Let’s see how they respond to the loss in the coming games.
First star of the week:
Adam Erne – 2G
After a painfully slow start to the campaign, Adam Erne has hit full stride and once again has become a big piece of the Crunch roster. The 22-year-old power forward is coming off a hat trick a few weeks back against the Utica Comets and another multi-goal game this past Friday against Providence. He is a leader on and off the ice and a lot of the continued success of the Crunch will fall on his shoulders.
Erne on the team’s chemistry during the 10-game streak: “We have confidence in each other. It’s a whole team effort.” pic.twitter.com/QoUVB3dnqo
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) December 16, 2017
Honorable mentions:
Kevin Lynch – 2G
Michael Bournival – 1G, 2A
Looking ahead:
Wednesday December 20th @ Laval (10-13-4-2)
Friday December 22nd @ Belleville (11-14-0-3)
Saturday December 23rd vs Utica (11-11-4-1)
