Barberio, Mark

Syracuse punches their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals, and they've made it look easy to this point.

SPR-2
SYR-5

Syracuse Wins the Series 4-0

Cedrick Desjardins allowed 2 goals on 30 shots for the victory.

First Period
SYR Wyman, (1) (Devos), 6:04
SYR Barberio, (3) (Namestnikov, Panik), 7:52

Second Period
SPR Craig, (2) (Savard, Jenner), 2:38 (PP)
SYR Wyman, (2) (Brown, Cote), 17:20

Third Period
SPR Joudrey, (1) (Savard, Jenner), 8:35
SYR Taormina, (1) (Connolly), 9:45
SYR Sexton, (2) (Namestnikov), 18:01 (EN)

J.T. Wyman, Mark Barberio, and Matt Taormina were the game's three stars.

You would think with the PTP line held to just 1 point that Springfield would finally get a win in the series, right? Wrong. Syracuse's second and third lines carried the mail and delivered the squad to the next round.

The core of this team that was also in Norfolk for their championship run last season, AKA SyraNo, has won 17 straight playoff games. It's a ridiculous level of success that will be difficult for the league and the media to officially recognize because of the affiliation change. But, it's one of those things that really, in my opinion, gives this group the argument to say they're one of the best in league history. In fact, if they "repeat", I'd say they probably are the best multi-season collection of players in AHL history.

Syracuse's next opponent will probably be top seeded Providence, which holds a 3-1 series lead over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after a Penguins win tonight. This is where taking care of an opponent and getting the sweep can pay dividends. Every game Wilkes-Barre/Scranton can extend that series depletes Providence's energy and possibly leads to more injuries while Syracuse can conserve theirs and stay healthy. There's the added dimension of Boston still being alive in the playoffs and injury call-ups that comes into play, too. Playoff hockey can be about attrition, and bear in mind Providence went the distance in their first round series against Hershey, too. Advantage Syracuse if Providence can't handle their business in Game Five of their series tomorrow.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

Syracuse withstands Portland's best punch.

POR-3
SYR-4 (OT)

Syracuse Leads the Best-of-Five Series 1-0

Cedrick Desjardins allowed 3 goals on 31 shots for the victory. 2 of those goals were softies on wrap-arounds that Desjardins needs to wipe out of his game quickly moving forward in these playoffs. He scares me. Point blank, the guy scares me.

First Period
POR Dziurzynski, (1) (Werek), 10:53
POR Rundblad, (1) (Gormley, Martinook), 17:16 (PP)

Second Period
SYR Johnson, (1) (Panik, Palat), 6:37 (PP)
POR Brown, (1) (Lane, Miele), 8:23
SYR Barberio, (1) (Palat, Johnson), 13:32 (PP)

Third Period
SYR Sexton, (1) (Sustr, Devos), 7:54

Overtime
SYR Panik, (1) (Palat, Johnson), 6:36 (PP)

Richard Panik, Tyler Johnson, and Radko Gudas were the game's three stars. While not terribly visible at even strength, Panik showed great hands around the net on the PP setting up Johnson's goal and outwaiting Portland's netminder on the game winner. Panik attack, y'all.

That, I suspect, was Portland's best chance to seize upset momentum in this series. They got a couple of softies out of Desjardins and had the 2 goal lead on the road with a chance to steal home ice in a short 5-game series. The Crunch kept chipping away at it though and eventually wore out the Pirates, who now may have to go without Boris Valabik for a few games after a vicious elbowing major that led to Panik's winner. Syracuse now just has to make sure Brett Connolly, the recipient of that elbow, is healthy along with Johnson and Mark Barberio, each of whom also got banged up during the game. All three returned to action, so hopefully everything is going to be fine.

As quiet as a 3 assist night can be, I thought Ondrej Palat along with Johnson were Syracuse's best players tonight. Palat also drew three penalties out of Portland on top of his scoresheet production.

Game Two is tomorrow night. We'll see what Portland has in the tank.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

Syracuse wins the AHL East Division title... barely.

WOR-3
SYR-4 (SO)

Cedrick Desjardins allowed 3 goals on 22 shots before stopping all 3 shooters he faced in the penalty shot session for the SOW.

First Period
SYR Connolly, (31) (Sexton, Barberio), 11:39

Second Period
SYR Devos, (7) (Connolly, Namestnikov), 3:50
SYR Johnson, (37) (Brown, Cote), 5:40

Third Period
WOR Gogol, (4) (Comrie, Demelo), 6:37
WOR Hayes, (3) (Comrie, Tarasov), 8:20
WOR Tarasov, (14) , 12:26

Overtime
NO SCORING

Shootout
WOR- NONE
SYR- Sexton, Connolly, Wyman

Brett Connolly and Tyler Johnson were the game's first and second stars.

My God, they made that so much harder than it needed to be. Syracuse needed the win tonight to nail down the division title with Binghamton defeating Hershey, and they looked in good shape holding a 3-0 lead heading into the final frame against a non-playoff team. And then the bottom fell out. Thank goodness they were able to get the extra point in the skills gimmick, because if they didn't Binghamton coming to town tomorrow could've stole the division title with a regulation win.

Now tomorrow's game looks to be rather meaningless, and I wouldn't be surprised if certain key players like Mark Barberio, Connolly, and Johnson find most of their ice time given to younger players for precautionary reasons.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

Wow. I feel like we need to issue a formal apology to all our friends in Norfolk for that savage beat down tonight.

NOR-1
SYR-6

Cedrick Desjardins allowed 1 goal on 27 shots for the victory. For those wondering, Pat Nagle has been backing up Desjardins because Riku Helenius had some family issues back in Finland that required attention. Hopefully Riku will be back for the playoffs.

First Period
SYR Angelidis, (11) (Wyman, Brown), 14:20
SYR Johnson, (34) (Sexton, Wyman), 14:58
SYR Wyman, (13) (Palat, Johnson), 19:02

Second Period
SYR Namestnikov, (7) (Devos, Connolly), 11:56
NOR Maroon, (25) (Guenin), 13:32
SYR Johnson, (35) (Palat, Sexton), 19:11

Third Period
SYR Johnson, (36) , 7:48

Tyler Johnson, J.T. Wyman, and Mike Angelidis were the game's three stars. The freshly minted AHL MVP, Johnson, celebrated with an incredible 3 goal, 4 point effort to start off a 3 game weekend set that will be so critical for playoff position.

Brian Lee was +4 in the contest. Several members of the Bolt Prospects message board's heads just exploded after reading that. Mind you, he also took a major for slashing and got kicked out of the game. I would suspect a suspension may follow.

Two games remain in the regular season. Providence toppled Springfield tonight 5-3, which clinches the top seed in the East for Providence. However, with Springfield going down and Syracuse winning, the Crunch now move to within 2 points of the Falcons with a game in hand. The Crunch also expanded their division lead over Binghamton to 3 points after Bingo lost to Manchester tonight. Each team has 2 games left on their schedules, including the head-to-head matchup Sunday. The loss for Norfolk was a particularly bad one with the Admirals, at this moment, in a 4-way tie at 79 points for one of the last 2 playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. How deeply ironic would it be if Syracuse had to face Norfolk in the first round? That prospect looks much more remote after tonight, but it's still at least on the edge of the table right now.

So here's the schedule for Saturday: Springfield draws Adirondack (eliminated from playoff contention), Binghamton gets Hershey (one of the clubs in that 4-way tie), and Syracuse gets Worcester (eliminated from playoff contention). Syracuse can make the division elementary with a win, thereby clinching not less than the 3 seed for the playoffs. Jumping Springfield may be a harder task for the Crunch with the Falcons likely holding the tiebreak at the finish line with a 2 game lead in the regulation win column right now.

Some other accounting issues heading into the end of the regular season:
- Syracuse still leads the AHL in goals scored by 10.
- Tyler Johnson is 8th in the AHL in scoring and Brett Connolly is currently tied for 10th.
- Mark Barberio is in 6th amongst AHL defensemen in scoring.
- Johnson also leads the league in goals by 3 with Connolly tied for 4th.
- Johnson is also 6th in power play goals.
- Connolly is tied for tops in game winning goals.
- Ondrej Palat is tied for 8th in the league in helpers.
- Despite being in Tampa for about a month, Radko Gudas is still 6th in the AHL in penalty minutes.
- Gudas is also still leading the league in +/- with teammates Johnson, Palat, and J.P. Cote all tied for 3rd. Dmitry Korobov is tied for 8th.
- Barberio is 9th in the league in shots on goal.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

Back on track.

RCH-1
SYR-5

Cedrick Desjardins allowed 1 goal on 21 shots for the victory.

First Period
SYR Connolly, (28) (Namestnikov, Korobov), 1:37

Second Period
SYR Connolly, (29) (Johnson, Palat), 8:28 (PP)
SYR Johnson, (33) (Palat, Taormina), 10:11 (PP)
SYR Wyman, (12) (Angelidis, Cote), 19:33

Third Period
SYR Connolly, (30) (Paradis, Lee), 2:08
RCH Biega, (5) (Ellis, Mancari), 4:53

Brett Connolly, Tyler Johnson, and Ondrej Palat were the game's three stars.

The cavalry arrived, and just in time. Brett Connolly threw in a hat trick, his first as a pro, to get to 30 goals. For my money, this guy needs to be in the AHL MVP discussion prominently. He's been the most consistent Crunch player all year long, even more so than Tyler Johnson whose stats sagged a little after coming back from Lightning camp midway through the year. Connolly and Johnson are tied for 8th in the league in scoring at 60 points.

Binghamton absolutely throttled Albany 5-0 to start the day, which put huge pressure on Syracuse to win. Meanwhile, Providence beat Springfield 2-0 in a head-to-head matchup that was advantageous for the Crunch. Syracuse remains 4 back of the Bruins, pulls into a tie with Springfield at 93 points, and remains 2 up on the Senators. All three teams have a game in hand on Syracuse, though. Next weekend, starting Friday, will be a 3-games-in-3-nights set to complete the regular season, all at home: Norfolk, Worcester, and a game against Binghamton that may well decide the East Division title. With Mark Barberio out of the lineup for Tampa Bay tonight and Victor Hedman back in, I would think more reinforcements are on the way, too.

Box score from TheAHL.com.