LAST WEEK
Fri., Oct. 19 – Crunch at Binghamton – W, 4-0
Sat., Oct. 20 – Crunch vs. Utica – L, 4-3
THIS WEEK
Fri., Oct. 26 – Crunch at Toronto – 7 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 27 – Crunch vs. Charlotte – 7 p.m.
CRUNCH SPLIT TWO GAMES IN WEEK 3
The Crunch earned a win and a loss in Week 3. Syracuse slid to 2-3-0-0 on the season, dropping to eighth place in the North Division and 16th in the Eastern Conference; Syracuse’s five games played are the fewest in the conference and tied for the fewest in the AHL.
The Crunch opened the week with a 4-0 shutout win in Binghamton Friday night. Connor Ingram’s 27 saves and Andy Andreoff’s two goals guided the Crunch to victory, improving Syracuse’s record in Binghamton to 5-0-0-1 dating back to last season. The next night, Syracuse dropped a tight 4-3 game to the Utica Comets. The Crunch’s rally from 3-0 down fell short despite 18 shots in the third period as they fell to 0-2-0-0 at the War Memorial Arena to begin the season.
Syracuse plays twice in Week 4. The Crunch face the defending Calder Cup Champion Toronto Marlies Friday and host the Charlotte Checkers Saturday.
TOP PERFORMERS
Forward Andy Andreoff paced the Crunch with three goals in two games in Week 3. The 27-year-old netted his first Crunch goal with a shorthanded tally Friday in Binghamton. He then batted a puck out of the air for a power-play goal later in the game for his first multi-goal game in the AHL since Dec. 19, 2014 for the Manchester Monarchs. That was his last AHL game prior to this season; Andreoff spent the last three seasons in the NHL with Los Angeles.
The Pickering, Ontario native rounded out the week with a second power-play goal in Saturday’s loss to Utica. Through five games, Andreoff leads the Crunch with three goals and is tied for second with four points (3g, 1a). He has 100 career points (46g. 54a) in 321 games between the NHL and AHL.
***
Cory Conacher was reassigned to the Crunch Oct. 18 and made his season debut with the Crunch Saturday against Utica. He recorded a multi-point game with one goal and one assist. After assisting on Cameron Gaunce’s first Crunch goal at 10:10 of the second period, Conacher was awarded a penalty shot after goaltender Ivan Kulbakov threw his stick at him. Conacher converted on the penalty shot, recording his first career shorthanded goal.
The 28-year-old is in his fourth season with the Crunch; he has 105 points (37g, 68a) in 111 career games with Syracuse. He has 230 points (92g, 138a) in 241 career AHL games.
NOT SO MAGIC NUMBER
Last season when the Crunch scored at least three goals in a game they posted a 39-0-1-5 record. In the 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs, the Crunch went 3-1 when scoring at least three goals.
Through five games this season, the Crunch have scored at least three goals in four games. After losing to the Utica Comets, 4-3, Saturday night, the Crunch’s record in those games is 2-2-0-0.
Their Oct. 10 loss to Rochester was the Crunch’s first regulation loss when scoring at least three goals in a regular season game since March 17, 2017.
UPCOMING: TORONTO, CHARLOTTE
The Crunch have another two-game week in Week 4, battling the Toronto Marlies and Charlotte Checkers.
The week begins Friday with a rematch of the last two North Division Finals when Syracuse visits Toronto for the first of six head-to-head matches this season. The defending Calder Cup Champions are 2-4-0-1 entering the week, sitting in seventh place in the North Division. Last season the Marlies were the best defensive team in the AHL, but they currently rank 29th, allowing 4.86 goals per game.
The Crunch wrap up the week Saturday at home against the Charlotte Checkers. The Checkers (5-1-0-0) are the first team the Crunch face for the second time this season; Charlotte spoiled the Crunch’s home opener with a 4-1 win in Syracuse Oct. 13.
INJURY BUG
Crunch captain Gabriel Dumont joins a growing list of injured players early in the season. Dumont was injured in the first period Saturday against Utica and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks.
Dumont joins Kevin Lynch, Michael Bournival, Daniel Walcott, Ben Thomas, Olivier Archambault and Otto Somppi as potential Crunch skaters sidelined due to injury.
Week 3 Results
Friday, October 19 | Game 4 at Binghamton | W, 4-0
Syracuse 1 1 2 – 4 Shots: 11-9-11-31 PP: 2/3
Binghamton 0 0 0 – 6 Shots: 7-10-10-27 PP: 0/6
1st Period-Andreoff 1 (Dumont, Gaunce), 4:07 (SH). 2nd Period-Stephens 1 (Cernak, Dumont), 12:59 (PP). 3rd Period-Andreoff 2 (Martel, Verhaeghe), 9:46 (PP). Katchouk 1 (Stephens), 19:41 (SH)(EN). . . . Ingram 1-1-0 (27 shots-27 saves). A-2,508
Saturday, October 20 | Game 5 vs. Utica | L, 4-3
Utica 1 3 0 – 4 Shots: 11-13-6-30 PP: 2/5
Syracuse 0 2 1 – 3 Shots: 7-13-18-38 PP: 1/8
2nd Period-Gaunce 1 (Barré-Boulet, Conacher), 10:10. Conaher 1 (Unassisted), 12:30 (SH)(PS). 3rd Period-Andreoff 3 (Barré-Boulet, Cernak), 12:41 (PP). . . . Ingram 1-2-0 (30 shots-26 saves). A-5,812
Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play 21.4% (6-for-28) 14th (17th)
Penalty Kill 69.6% (16-for-23) 28th (31st)
Goals For 2.80 GFA (14) 26th (26th)
Goals Against 3.20 GAA (16) 15th (T-23rd)
Shots For 33.60 SF/G (168) 5th (T-8th)
Shots Against 31.00 SA/G (155) 19th (23rd)
Penalty Minutes 12.80 PIM/G (64) 14th (21st)
Category Leader
Points 5 Barré-Boulet
Goals 3 Andreoff
Assists 4 Dumont
PIM 10 Dumont
Plus/Minus +2 Masin, Sosunov, Yan
Wins 1 Ingram, Pasquale
GAA 2.71 Ingram
Save % 0.911 Ingram
