Syracuse Crunch Weekly Release
Presented by Penske Truck Rental
LAST WEEK
Wed., Nov. 21 – Crunch at Binghamton – W, 4-1
Fri., Nov. 23 – Crunch vs. Binghamton – W, 5-3
Sat., Nov. 24 – Crunch at Springfield – W, 3-0
THIS WEEK
Fri., Nov. 30 – Crunch at Cleveland – 7 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 1 – Crunch at Cleveland – 1 p.m.
CRUNCH EXTEND WINNING STREAK TO SEVEN STRAIGHT
The Crunch outscored their opponents, 12-3, and rattled off three straight wins in Week 8. Syracuse now possesses the longest active overall winning streak (7), home winning streak (6), road winning streak (3) and points streak (10); it’s seven-game winning streak and 10-game points streak are both league-longs this season. The Crunch (11-5-1-0) sit in second place in the North Division with 23 points.
The Crunch opened the week with a 4-1 win Wednesday in Binghamton, scoring the final four goals after trailing 1-0. Friday, the Crunch blitzed Binghamton with four unanswered goals in the first period-the sixth straight game Syracuse scored four or more consecutive goals-and beat the Devils, 5-3. Syracuse pushed its winning streak to seven games with a 3-0 shutout win Saturday in Springfield.
The Crunch open their four-game season series against the Monsters with back-to-back games in Cleveland Friday and Saturday.
TOP PERFORMERS
Second-year goaltender Connor Ingram was named CCM/AHL Player of the Week for his efforts in Week 8. Ingram, 21, won all three starts, pushing his personal winning streak to six games since Nov. 2. Last week, the Imperial, Saskatchewan native went 3-0-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and a .956 save percentage.
After collecting two wins over Binghamton to begin the week, Ingram posted his third shutout of the season, which is tied for the AHL lead. It was his seventh career shutout in 45 career starts, an average of one shutout every 6.43 starts. He is 7-3-0 with a 2.52 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.
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Cory Conacher continued his torrid pace with his second consecutive seven-point (2g, 5a) week. Conacher, 28, is on a nine-game scoring streak (8g, 14a), with eight multi-point games, including seven in a row. He has two assists in each of the last five games.
Conacher opened the week with back-to-back three-point games (1g, 2a) against Binghamton. Friday in Syracuse, the Burlington, Ontario native connected on his 100th career AHL goal and also collected his 150th career AHL assist. After his two-assist game Saturday in Springfield, Conacher has 253 points (100g, 153a) in 253 career AHL games. He currently leads the AHL in scoring with 25 points (9g, 16a), despite playing only 13 games.
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Alex Barré-Boulet extended his points streak to a career-high seven games by logging a point in all three games in Week 8. The rookie had an assist Wednesday in Binghamton, then netted insurance goals Friday and Saturday. His three insurance goals are tied for the most in the AHL this season. Barré-Boulet has goals in five of seven games during his scoring streak.
The 21-year-old is fourth on the Crunch and tied for seventh among AHL rookies with 15 points (7g, 8a). He paces first-year players and is tied for fifth overall in the league with 11 power-play points (5g, 6a).
UPCOMING: CLEVELAND
The Crunch head to Cleveland for a pair of games against the Monsters in Week 9.
It’s the first two games of a four-game season series between the new North Division foes; Cleveland has played in the Western Conference since its inception prior to the 2007-08 season. The Crunch and Monsters have not squared off since the 2012-13 season, when the then Lake Erie Monsters swept both games in a two-game season series, including a 5-4 overtime win in Cleveland April 9, 2013. The Crunch are 11-10-4-1 in 26 all-time matches with the Monsters
Cleveland (10-7-2-0) trails the Crunch by one point in the North Division standings entering the week. The Monsters have points in their last three games (2-0-1-0); they play the third of three straight games over a six-day stretch against the Toronto Marlies Wednesday at home. Zac Dalpe leads Cleveland with 21 points (12g, 9a) in 18 games.
WEEK 8 RESULTS
Wednesday, November 21 | Game 15 at Binghamton | W, 4-1
Syracuse 0 3 1 – 4 Shots: 7-12-8-27 PP: 2/5
Binghamton 1 0 0 – 1 Shots: 9-8-13-30 PP: 0/8
2nd Period-Verhaeghe 6 (Conacher, Barré-Boulet), 9:41 (PP). Katchouk 2 (Dumont), 10:38. Andreoff 8 (Conacher, Verhaeghe), 17:23 (PP). 3rd Period-Conacher 8 (Unassisted), 19:06 (EN). . . . Ingram 5-3-0 (30 shots-29 saves). A-2,895
Friday, November 23 | Game 16 vs. Binghamton | W, 5-3
Binghamton 0 3 0 – 3 Shots: 6-16-11-33 PP: 1/8
Syracuse 4 0 1 – 5 Shots: 11-5-10-26 PP: 2/7
1st Period-Dumont 1 (Labrie, Verhaeghe), 0:21. Verhaeghe 7 (Conacher, Gaunce), 5:31 (PP). Conacher 9 (Gaunce, Verhaeghe), 11:33 (PP). Dumont 2 (Gaunce, Bournival), 12:19 (SH). 3rd Period-Barré-Boulet 6 (Gaunce, Conacher), 19:10. . . . Ingram 6-3-0 (33 shots-30 saves). A-5,639
Saturday, November 24 | Game 17 at Springfield | W, 3-0
Syracuse 1 0 2 – 3 Shots: 8-9-11-28 PP: 1/2
Springfield 0 0 0 – 0 Shots: 5-11-11-27 PP: 0/5
1st Period-Andreoff 9 (Conacher, Hults), 7:28. 3rd Period-Barré-Boulet 7 (Raddysh, Conacher), 14:35 (PP). Bournival 1 (Unassisted), 19:48 (SH)(EN). . . . Ingram 7-3-0 (27 shots-27 saves). A-5,233
Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play 30.8% (28-for-91) 1st (1st)
Penalty Kill 81.5% (75-for-92) 16th (23rd)
Goals For 3.82 GFA (65) 5th (8th)
Goals Against 2.71 GAA (46) 5th (T-9th)
Shots For 27.82 SF/G (473) 26th (25th)
Shots Against 29.41 SA/G (500) 12th (13th)
Penalty Minutes 17.35 PIM/G (295) 2nd (5th)
Category Leader
Points 25 Conacher
Goals 9 Andreoff, Conacher
Assists 16 Conacher
PIM 34 Andreoff
Plus/Minus +9 Conacher
Wins 7 Ingram
GAA 2.52 Ingram
Save % 0.918 Ingram
