Syracuse Crunch fans got a little more hockey action than they were planning for in the first home game of the postseason. The Crunch and Rochester Americans treated them to 90:18 of hockey action before Walterri Merela sent them home happy by scoring the game-winner on a breakaway to give the Crunch the 2-1 win. The two goaltenders were the stars for most of the night as Brandon Halverson won his second game of the series with 33 saves on 34 shots. Devon Levi was spectacular for most of the night for the Amerks, stopping 60 of 62 shots.
After a scoreless first period, Alex Barre-Boulet opened the scoring with his first goal of the series. With the Rochester defender in front of the net mauling a Crunch forward, Barre-Boulet slid into the vacated lane and redirected a perfect pass from Declan Carlile for the lead.
Alex Barre-Boulet (1) [Declan Carlile, Phillipe Myers]
The lead almost made it out of the middle frame, but Emil Lilleberg, playing in his first game with the Crunch since March 13th, hauled down Isak Rosen and the young forward was awarded a penalty shot, which he converted on Halverson’s glove side.
Isak Rosen (unassisted) Penalty Shot
That would be it for scoring for a long, long time. Buoyed by two power plays, Syracuse continued to pepper the net as they had 19 shots in the first overtime period, while Mason Jobst thought he had the winner for Rochester on a two-on-one, but was denied by Halverson.
Midway through the second overtime, Merela decided that enough hockey had been played. Gabriel Fortier and Gage Goncalves combined to create a turnover in their own zone and Overage Gage sprung Merela with the pass in the neutral zone. The rookie made a quick deke to the backhand before stringing Levi out and popping a forehand winner into the back of the net.
Walterri Merela (1) [Gage Goncalves]
Not a bad way to record your first playoff goal, eh?
With the win, the Crunch take a 2-1 lead in the series and have a chance to close it out at home in Game 4.
Other Hockey News
‘Nothing is off the table’ – JBB has some decisions to make [Raw Charge]
Once he topples the first domino (Steven Stamkos) things will fall into place. Will they be the right ones to bring glory back to Tampa? We won’t know until next summer.
Jon Cooper on keeping the Lightning together for more Cup runs [The Athletic]
It was really good to have Joe Smith back in town for a few days as he covered the exit interviews for the Lightning. He also sat down with Coach Cooper to talk about this year and the what’s ahead for the team and the coach. In the article, Joe confirms that Coop is signed through the 2025-26 season.
Daniel Walcott selected as winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award [The AHL]
The Crunch forward was voted as the winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, which recognizes an AHL player for his “outstanding contributions to his local community and charitable organizations.”
Leafs force Game 7 with 2-1 victory [Pension Plan Puppets]
Well, this is going to be fun. The Leafs somehow are back in this series after Boston went up 3-1. Are the Bruins destined to collapse in the postseason for the second year in a row or is Toronto just setting their fans up for a bigger heartbreak? Tune in on Saturday to find out!
Hurricanes Announce Agreement with Chicago Wolves [Canes Country]
This is why you never talk bad about your friend’s ex. A year after dissolving their affiliation, the Hurricanes and the Wolves have gotten back together as they announced a three-year deal. It appears the Hurricanes will oversee the hockey decisions during their time together, which was a major sticking point for the Wolves during their last affiliation. As an independent franchise, Chicago struggled to a 23-35-7-7 record.
If analytics decided the 2023-24 NHL awards, who would win? [Daily FaceOff]
An analytical approach doesn’t favor Nikita Kucherov (mostly due to a better defensive ranking for his rivals).
NHL names Masterton Memorial Trophy finalists [NHL.com]
Frederik Andersen, Connor Ingram, and Oliver Kylington were named the finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which recognizes “the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey”.
