4
0
Duke helps Crunch clinch the three seed.
SYR-3
UTI-2
Ryan Fanti allowed two goals on 28 shots for the victory. 3-1-0, 1.46 GAA, .945 sv%. He’s been a bit of a revelation, in my opinion.
FIrst Period
NO SCORING
Second Period
0:38 UTI Schmelzer (22), (Squires, Dello)
6:24 SYR Sheary (20), (Dumont)
7:45 SYR Duke (19), (Sheary, Crozier)(PP)
10:51 UTI Schmelzer (23), (Squires, Reid)
Third Period
0:53 SYR Duke (20), (Crozier, Sheary)(PP)
Conor Sheary was the game’s second star.
If he doesn’t score another point this weekend, Dylan Duke will finish his rookie pro season at 20-20-40. And he’s got a +11 rating. That’s a rock solid maiden campaign. Living, breathing net front presence.
The best Toronto could do is tie Syracuse at 86 points and the Crunch have a three game advantage in the regulation wins tiebreaker, so the Crunch have locked down the three seed in the North Division. They’ll bypass the play-in round and proceed directly to a best-of-five series against Rochester. It’s not the most favorable matchup for the club on paper, but this team has thrived on defying expectations the last couple of months.
But first, the home regular season finale tomorrow against Utica. I expect a very prospect-heavy lineup. I would think you’ll see a lot of new guys like Mercuri, Kurth, Flinton, and Gauthier.
Box score from TheAHL.com.
