For the majority of the game, the Syracuse Crunch played an almost perfect road playoff game. They kept the puck in Cleveland’s zone for much of the game. They earned four power plays. Brandon Halverson stopped 23 shots while the defense in front of him kept the Monsters’ talented forwards at bay. Unfortunately, one bad turnover led to a Justin Pearson shorthanded goal and Jet Greaves was perfect in next as the home team took Game 1 by a score of 1-0.
Greaves, who had 28 saves on the night, was the star of the show, constantly thwarting the Crunch, especially at the end of the game when Syracuse had a 6-on-4 power play with Stefan Matteau in the penalty box. Despite several good chances, the Crunch weren’t able to find the equalizer and Cleveland took the early lead in the series.
Outside of Greaves’ play, the story of the game was Cleveland’s ability to keep Syracuse from scoring on the power play. Special teams has been a bit of a soft spot for the Crunch so far this postseason as they are now 1-for-19 with the extra skater after going 0-for-4 Friday night. To add insult to injury, Pearson’s goal came on one of Syracuse’s advantages.
Max Crozier failed to get enough on the drop pass to Cole Koepke which allowed Pearson to pick it off. The 26-year-old forward swerved in front of Halverson and beat him cleanly. It was the only time that Halverson blinked all night long as he finished with 23 saves on 24 shots. His best of the night came early in the second period as he denied Owen Sillinger on a breakaway.
It was a physical game from the moment the puck dropped with both teams playing at a high tempo. Max Groshev was the most notable Crunch forward on the ice as he was a forechecking nightmare all night long. With the propensity of power plays, Alex Barre-Boulet racked up a team-high five shots (everyone on the club except for Walteri Merela recorded a shot on Greaves). Niko Huuhtanen was moved to the first power-play unit and showed off his heavy shot on a one-timer from the left circle that forced Greaves into making a tough save.
The two teams will be back on the ice Saturday afternoon for Game 2. The puck will drop at 1:00 PM EST.
