Archive for the ‘Crunch News’ Category
Helped along by a Tyler Johnson hat trick–the first hat trick in Syracuse Crunch playoff history–the team now heads back to Syracuse with a 2-0 series lead. The Crunch also had goals from Richard Panik (his third of the playoffs) and Mike Angelidis tonight. Cedrick Desjardins made 28 saves, while rival Curtis McElhinney stopped 20 of 25 shots. The final score was 5-3.
Springfield put up a bit of a better fight tonight, but the Crunch never once surrendered their lead. This is the Crunch’s fifth consecutive playoff win, which ties a franchise record. The AHL.com also has their game summary up already, as does syracuse.com. The latter article points out the exciting fact that the Crunch is now the only undefeated team left in this year’s Calder Cup playoff race.
Random notes: Radko Gudas was good to go tonight, coming back from an injury he sustained last night after being struck with a puck during warm ups. In an interesting twist, special teams seem to be making a huge difference for Syracuse. Over five playoff games, the Crunch has 8 power play goals and two short handed goals.
All right, guys n’ gals, here we go!
Tonight’s win by Providence means the Crunch is set to play Springfield in round two of the Calder Cup Playoffs. The Crunch does not have home ice advantage against the Falcons, so they’ll be starting on the road. Dates are as follows:
Game 1 – Friday – Syracuse at Springfield, 7 p.m.
Game 2 – Saturday – Syracuse at Springfield, 7 p.m.
Game 3 – Wed., May 15 – Springfield at Syracuse, 7 p.m.
Game 4 – Fri., May 17 – Springfield at Syracuse, 7 p.m.
*Game 5 – Sat., May 18 – Springfield at Syracuse, 7 p.m.
*Game 6 – Tue., May 21 – Syracuse at Springfield, 7 p.m.
*Game 7 – Wed., May 22 – Syracuse at Springfield, 7 p.m.
*as needed
Please note the change in the time for the weekend home game on 5/17.
Remember, being ALLin these playoffs includes giving the Crunch support over on http://www.Syracuse.com/Crunch. Brent Axe posted a fantastic interview with defenseman Radko Gudas over there today. If you haven’t checked it out, do so! If we can do it, so can you. Please.
News has just broken that defenseman Radko Gudas was signed to a three-year contract today. It has been confirmed by several sources that the contract is strictly a one-way–which was pretty much a given–so it’s certainly expected that he’ll be up in Tampa for the duration of the contract. This is a well-deserved step forward in Gudas’ career, and many congratulations to him!
The Crunch is still waiting to find out their opponent for the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Providence came from behind to force a game five against Hershey, which means the Crunch will have to wait until Wednesday to see whether they’ll be playing WBS or Springfield in round two. The series is supposed to start next weekend no matter the team, and tickets went one sale today. The kicker is that the Crunch has home ice against WBS but not against Springfield. Check out yesterday’s post for more info!
I told you there would be more, but I needed to get this last week at school done first.
This was originally posted over at Raw Charge, so if you visit there (and if you don’t….YOU SHOULD!) you’ve already read it. But I also know I owe it to my regular people–and I haven’t said this lately, but thank you so, so much–to share it here, too. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy!
The Syracuse Crunch has been really good at giving fans heart attacks all season, and the team doesn’t seem to want to stop that now. The good news is, the tactic is obviously working. Although some might wish for a more calm series, I’m not sure these boys would have it any other way.
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