BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The Syracuse Crunch took down the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 5-3, in a penalty-riddled contest tonight at the Webster Bank Arena.
The Crunch jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period off goals from Brian Hart, Yanni Gourde and Jeremy Morin just 1:02 apart. The Sound Tigers climbed back with three goals of their own in the second period, but Mike Halmo and Adam Comrie added additional markers for Syracuse to take the win and push the Crunch to 16-6-0-3 on the season. The teams split the two-game season series.
Kristers Gudlevskis stopped 12-of-13 shots for the Crunch before Adam Wilcox came in after Gudlevskis recorded a game misconduct following a goalie fight. Wilcox went on to turn aside 8-of-10. Eamon McAdam allowed three goals before being relieved by Stephon Williams in the first period. Williams made five saves before an altercation with Gudlevskis brought McAdam back into the game. He turned aside a total of 15 shots. Syracuse went 2-for-5 on the power play and killed all four Bridgeport man-advantages.
The Crunch were first to strike in the opening frame and built up a 3-0 lead in just 1:02. At the 14:01 mark, Hart scored his second in as many games. Ben Thomas’s shot from the left point was tipped by Hart and flew past McAdam while on the power play. Matthew Peca tallied a point on the opening marker. After a series of tic-tac-toe passing, Michael Bournival sent a centering pass for Mathieu Brodeur to fire on net. His shot was turned aside, but Gourde was there to clean up the rebound from the right side of the crease. Morin potted the team’s third goal when he chipped in a rebound from the left wing. Assists went to Jake Dotchin and Matt Taormina.
The Sound Tigers evened with score with three unanswered goals of their own in the second period. At 9:24, Gudlevskis was unable to control a rebound and left it out for Stephen Gionta to put Bridgeport on the board. Kellen Jones and Connor Jones tallied the assists. Ryan Pulock pulled the Sound Tigers within one with a one-timer from the left point with the help of Devon Toews and Bracken Kearns. The equalizer came at the 17:32 mark. Scott Mayfield beat the netminder from the slot. Kearns and Travis St. Denis earned points on the goal.
With four seconds remaining in the middle frame, the Crunch went back on top. Taormina sent a pass to the slot for Halmo to redirect into the back of the net. Gourde made it a multi-point night with the secondary assist.
Five minutes into the third period, the Crunch added an insurance goal. While on the power play, Comrie sent a slap shot top shelf. Taormina and Peca grabbed the assists and secured two points for Syracuse.
The Crunch complete the weekend’s three-in-three against the Providence Bruins tomorrow at 5:05 p.m.
Syracuse Crunch single game and ticket packages for the 2016-17 season are on sale now and can be purchased either in person at the Crunch office located in the War Memorial Arena at 800 S. State St. in Syracuse or by calling the office at 315-473-4444. For the latest Crunch news, visit www.syracusecrunch.com or follow the club on Facebook (www.facebook.com/syracusecrunch), Twitter (@SyracuseCrunch) and Instagram (@syracusecrunch) using #SyrCrunch, WeAreOne and BLUnited.
Crunchables: Defenseman Ben Thomas is on a four-game points streak (1g, 3a)…Mathieu Brodeur tallied his first point with the Crunch tonight…Kristers Gudlevskis and Stephon Williams dropped the gloves for the first Crunch goalie fight since the 2012-13 season.
