3
0
Just when you thought the North Division couldn’t get any tighter.
BEL-5
SYR-6 (SO)
Hugo Alnefelt allowed five goals on 37 shots in regulation and OT before blanking three shooters in the penalty shot session for the SO win.
First Period
1:02 SYR Goncalves (11), (Ryfors, Myers)
1:45 SYR Fortier (11), (Finley, Carlile)
7:16 BEL Sokolov (19), (Crookshank, Jarventie)(PP)
8:19 BEL Cassels (8), (Heatherington, Quenneville)
18:44 BEL Lucchini (17), (Cassels, Guenette)(SH)
Second Period
13:04 SYR Barre-Boulet (21), (Goncalves, Carrick)(PP)
Third Period
0:23 SYR Finley (9), (Thompson)
2:31 SYR Robert (17), (Edmonds, Usau)
5:34 BEL Crookshank (25), (Sokolov, Guenette)
8:35 BEL Cassels (9), (Heatherington, Sabourin)
Overtime
NO SCORING
Shootout
BEL- NONE
SYR- Goncalves
Gage Goncalves and Jack Finley were the game’s first and second stars.
I don’t love blowing a pair of two goal leads, but as long as the job gets done who am I to judge. Unfortunately, Utica melted down and blew a three goal lead to Rochester in their game with the Americans eventually pulling it out in the Shootout in their game. A three point game there was suboptimal and it lead to a wild result in the standings. Syracuse, Rochester, and Utica are now all tied on 72 points with Syracuse technically holding second place for the moment because they have a game in hand on the Comets and the Americans.
Eight games remain in Syracuse’s regular season as the calendar shifts to April. They have Wilkes-Barre Scranton tomorrow night before a pivotal stretch of three games where they face Utica on Sunday and then a home-and-home against Rochester on Wednesday and Friday. Reminder of the stakes: top three teams in the division get an opening round bye. Fourth place team drops into a best-of-three series against the five seed, which right now remains Cleveland.
Box score from TheAHL.com.
