Syracuse Crunch Weekly Release
LAST WEEK
Wed., Jan. 24 – Crunch at Laval – W, 3-2
Fri., Jan. 26 – Crunch vs. Belleville – W, 5-2
Sat., Jan. 27 – Crunch vs. Toronto – L, 4-2
THIS WEEK
Fri., Feb. 2 – Crunch at Utica – 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 3 – Crunch vs. Utica – 7 p.m.
Crunch take four of six points in Week 17
Syracuse won two of three games in Week 17 to head into the All-Star Break with four out of a possible six points. The Crunch sit at 26-15-2-2, third in the North Division coming out of the All-Star Break with a 0.622 points percentage, four points behind second-place Rochester.
Syracuse opened the week with a 3-2 win in Laval, earning a victory in their final trip to Place Bell this season. The Crunch dressed a season-high 10 rookies en route to ending a three-game losing streak. The Crunch followed that with a 5-2 win at home over Belleville Friday before dropping a 4-2 decision to AHL-leading Toronto Saturday.
Syracuse comes out of the All-Star Break with a home-and-home series against Utica Friday and Saturday.
Top Performers
Rookie forward Anthony Cirelli extended his goal-scoring streak to a career-high three games and his point streak to a career-best five games with a four-point Week 17. He scored a goal in all three games and also added an assist Friday vs. Belleville for his fifth multi-point game.
With six points (3g, 3a) over the last five games, the 20-year-old is third on the Crunch with 29 points (9g, 20a) in 39 games; he is tied for ninth among AHL rookies in scoring.
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Mathieu Joseph tied for the Crunch lead with five points—all assists—in Week 17 to surge into a tie for the Crunch’s scoring lead with 31 points (8g, 23a). Among rookies, he ranks eighth in points and tied for third in assists.
In 24 games since Dec. 2, Joseph leads the Crunch in scoring with 24 points (5g, 19a). His two multi-point games last week give him seven on the season, tied with Matthew Peca and Michael Bournival for the most on the team.
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Defenseman Mat Bodie logged four assists in three games, including his first three-point game since Jan. 25, 2017, a 69-game span. He leads Crunch defenseman with 22 points (4g, 18a) and is one of two players (Ben Thomas) to appear in all 45 games this season.
All-Star Performance
Mitchell Stephens capped Week 17 with his first career appearance in the AHL All-Star Classic presented by Turning Stone Resort Casino. The rookie was named the Crunch’s replacement for Matthew Peca, who remains on recall with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In three games leading up to the All-Star Classic, the 20-year-old netted five points (2g, 3a) in a three-game scoring streak. He logged his second three-point game of the season Wednesday in Laval. He leads the Crunch with 16 goals and is tied for fourth with 27 points.
During the Skills Competition at the AHL All-Star Classic, Stephens was the first-leg of the Eastern Conference’s winning relay team during the Puck Control Relay. He then logged a time of 14.072 seconds during the Fastest Skater event. Finally, he scored in his lone attempt during the Breakaway Relay.
In the 3-on-3 tournament, Stephens tied for the North Division lead with five points (2g, 3a) in four games; the North won the championship, 1-0, over the Pacific.
Upcoming: Utica
The Crunch begin their post All-Star Break stretch run with a home-and-home series against the Utica Comets, beginning Friday at the Adirondack Bank Center.
The two matches will be the seventh and eighth in the Galaxy Cup series, which includes 12 total head-to-head meetings between the Crunch and Comets. Both teams have three wins in the series with Utica winning the most recent one Jan. 20. The Crunch have outscored Utica, 17-14, over six games. Friday will be the third straight game in Utica before the teams return to Syracuse Saturday night for the first time since Dec. 30.
The Comets (22-14-6-3) trail the Crunch by three points in the North Division standings, gaining ground on the strength of a 6-0-2-0 run in their last eight games. Utica’s Nikolay Goldobin has only played in two games in the series, but has five points (1g, 4a) with a multi-point performance in both games. Anthony Cirelli (6a) and Carter Verhaeghe (3g, 3a) pace the Crunch with six points in five games played.
Week 17 Results
Wednesday, January 24 | Game 43 at Laval | W, 3-2
Syracuse 0 2 1 – 3 Shots: 9-11-5-25 PP: 2/8
Laval 1 0 1 – 2 Shots: 7-11-9-27 PP: 1/7
2nd Period-Yan 7 (Stephens), 7:03. Cirelli 7 (Joseph, Stephens), 16:25 (PP). 3rd Period-Stephens (Joseph, Bodie), 2:47 (PP). . . . Ingram 11-7-2 (27 shots-25 saves). A-6,203
Friday, January 26 | Game 44 vs. Belleville | W, 5-2
Belleville 0 0 2 – 2 Shots: 5-6-13-24 PP: 1/4
Syracuse 2 1 2 – 5 Shots: 14-10-12-36 PP: 0/6
1st Period-Cirelli 8 (Joseph, Bodie), 1:56. Tammela 3 (Bodie, Volkov), 15:28. 2nd Period-Archambault 3 (Cirelli, Joseph), 1:09. 3rd Period-Thomas 3 (Bodie, Tammela), 4:03. Stephens 16 (Unassisted), 17:02 (EN). . . . Ingram 12-7-2 (24 shots-22 saves). A-5,424
Saturday, January 27 | Game 45 vs. Toronto | L, 4-2
Toronto 1 3 0 – 4 Shots: 15-8-8-31 PP: 1/4
Syracuse 1 0 1 – 2 Shots: 6-5-7-18 PP: 0/3
1st Period-Cirelli 9 (Joseph, Archambault), 16:05. 3rd Period-Volkov 12 (Stephens, McBain), 19:04. . . . Domingue 11-5-0 (31 shots-27 saves). A-6,271
Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play 15.9% (34-for-214) 17th (16th)
Penalty Kill 85.2% (201-for-236) 7th (7th)
Goals For 3.29 GFA (148) 5th (6th)
Goals Against 2.69 GAA (121) 5th (5th)
Shots For 29.82 SF/G (1342) 16th (16th)
Shots Against 25.93 SA/G (1167) 1st (1st)
Penalty Minutes 16.44 PIM/G (740) 3rd (3rd)
Category Leader
Points 31 Peca, Joseph
Goals 16 Stephens
Assists 23 Peca, Joseph
PIM 137 Gallant
Plus/Minus +24 Cernak
Wins 12 Ingram
GAA 2.20 Domingue
Save % 0.917 Domingue
