2
0
Clutch performance by Lagace closes out wildly successful weekend.
WBS-0
SYR-1
Max Lagace stopped all 48 shots he faced for the shutout victory. He raised his save percentage four points to .899, now flirting with .900 mark.
First Period
NO SCORING
Second Period
2:56 SYR Smith (2), (Perbix, Walcott)
Third Period
NO SCORING
Lagace, Fredrik Claesson, and Darren Raddysh were the game’s three stars.
Syracuse managed to get five of six points this weekend and they probably absolutely needed every single one of them. The balance of the night’s games seemed to run against the Crunch as Laval knocked off Utica and Rochester whipped Belleville. The latter is a mixed bag because it probably helps the Crunch’s pursuit of a first round bye but it doesn’t help in the overall pursuit of clinching a playoff spot as soon as possible. The one clear area of help was Toronto falling to Grad Rapids.
Where we sit now is with the Crunch sitting in third, which gets them a bye. They’re struggling to pick up ground on Laval, but they’ve gotten a little more space on Belleville and Toronto. Rochester’s the first team out behind those two clubs, but Syracuse really only has a two point lead on Rochester with a game in hand. The Crunch have nine games left to play. Their strength of schedule has been among the hardest in the AHL and it’s not getting any easier next week. Wednesday they travel to the top team in the Atlantic, Springfield. Friday they draw the top team in the North in Utica. Then they’re home Saturday for a critical matchup with Toronto. Every point is so precious heading into these final three weeks, and this next week may be their biggest test yet.
Box score from TheAHL.com.
