CRUNCH CLOSE OUT 2023 IN LAVAL
The Crunch play their final game of 2023 this afternoon in a rematch against the Laval Rocket at Place Bell.
The Rocket fended off the Crunch for a 3-2 win last night in the opening game of this two-game set, giving them two straight head-to-head wins in barely over a week.
LAST TIME OUT
The Crunch fired 38 shots on goal, but lost to the Laval Rocket, 3-2, last night at Place Bell.
Syracuse grabbed the opening goal in the first period on a redirect by Gabe Fortier at 11:49. Late on a power play, Gage Goncalves collected a puck on the right wall and passed toward Fortier for the tip to convert a power-play goal. The Rocket answered late in the period on their first power play when Philippe Maillet fired a shot from the right circle to tie the score.
It remained deadlocked late in the second period until Joshua Roy cashed in a rebound. A point shot was blocked in front, but Roy beat everyone to the loose puck and deposited his ninth of the season for a 2-1 lead. Nathan Legare upped the lead to 3-1 8:32 into the third when he deked around a defender and roofed a shot for his fourth of the year.
The Crunch surged looking for a two-goal comeback and ended with 18 third period shots, but only Gage Goncalves’ rebound strike at 19:28 bested Kasimir Kaskisuo, who made 36 saves for the win in his first appearances of the season.
SCOUTING THE CRUNCH
The Crunch have lost four of their last five games (1-2-2-0) heading into the final game of 2023. Syracuse remains in second place in the North Division with 36 points (16-10-2-2). The Crunch are six points clear of Toronto, but five points behind Cleveland in the standings.
With his third multi-point performance in the last four contests, Gage Goncalves extended his scoring streak to six games, matching a career high (Jan. 7-18, 2023). He has nine points (3g, 6a) in that span and leads the Crunch with 28 points (7g, 21a) this season. He is now tied for eighth overall in the AHL in scoring.
Tonight marks the 75th and final regular season game of the calendar year. So far, the Crunch are 38-25-7-4 in 2023, good for 87 standings points and a 0.588 points percentage during the year.
SCOUTING THE ROCKET
The Rocket have won five of their last seven games entering the final contest of 2023. The team has also split the first…
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