The Syracuse Crunch came into this game against the Hershey Bears as underdogs with a playoff spot. on the line, after missing out on two chances last week to clinch. The Bears, the second-best team in the league, are chasing down the Laval Rocket for the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy, while the Crunch chased down a playoff berth. At the end of more than 60 minutes of hockey, the Crunch came out with a playoff berth and a win. Unfortunately for the Bears, their chase for the regular season champions award was put on hold, and they’re three points behind the Rocket with two games remaining.
The Crunch were flat to start the game in the first few minutes. They had a minor offensive spurt about three minutes in, but other than that, nothing. It came back to bite them when Brandon Halverson couldn’t do any more when the Bears scored and got on the board first. The Bears carried the puck over the blue line, and the shot from the circle got blocked and went wide. Alex Limoges got to it first and proceeded to chop the puck up off the boards to the point. Nicky Leivermann received the chop and fired one on the net, which Hendrix Lapierre tipped it in.
No game is complete without a Roman Schmidt fight, as he and Andrew Perrott dropped the gloves midway through the first. Perrott probably got the best of Schmidt in this fight, even though Schmidt landed some good blows as well, which is rare.
The Crunch got a few more quality scoring chances in the back end of the first period, but Hershey goalie Hunter Sheppard stood tall. The Bears went into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead, leaving Syracuse wondering what they had to do to get one past Sheppard.
Syracuse, like last week, came out on fire in the second frame. The first minor penalty of the game was handed out nine minutes into the period when Dylan Duke was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalty was killed off, and when Duke came out of the box, ‘Cuse caught the Bears off guard and tied the game up. The second Duke stepped on the ice after coming out of the box, he received a feed from Max Crozier. Crozier then went towards the net, and Duke found him. Crozier, down low near the left post, whilst being pressured by Hershey, spun around and made a centering pass to Gabriel Sturcz, who put it home.
Just after the goal, the Crunch had another chance, but Sheppard made a ridiculous save. Crozier had the puck at the point and shot one in on net, aiming right. Daniel Walcott tipped it midair, and it went the complete other direction to the left side, and somehow, Sheppard stretched all the way out to make the save.
A few minutes later, with just over three minutes to go in the second, the captain, Gabriel Dumont, converted on the power play and gave the Crunch a 2-1 lead. Derrick Pouliot carried the puck into the zone and passed the puck down to Duke next to the trapezoid. Duke flung one low at Sheppard, looking for a rebound, and it came to fruition, as Dumont scooped up the loose change and scored.
The Crunch were given a power play late and brought it with them into the final period.
The Crunch couldn’t convert on their power play chance, and that bad mojo carried on when the Bears tied it. Syracuse got hemmed into their zone once again, and when Joel Teasdale was trying to bring the puck out of the zone, Lapierre stripped him from behind. Lapierre took advantage of the opportunity and found Limoges on the cross-crease pass for the goal. The game was now 2-2 with a whole third period to play.
Syracuse was playing for overtime and trying to slow the game down while trying to find the right chance. They knew that if the game stayed like this, and if they won or forced overtime, they were playoff-bound. The contest went to overtime, the Crunch got their point, and they became the third team in the North Division to solidify their spot under the bright lights.
Even though they clinched a playoff spot, ‘Cuse decided that wasn’t enough for them. They want third place in the North and that first-round bye. The Bears had the puck in their offensive zone, but they turned it over, and Conor Sheary had a breakaway. Sheary made a gorgeous move on Sheppard, scoring on a delayed backhand shot after Sheppard was already sprawled out.
The Crunch have finally done it– they’ve clinched a playoff berth. They currently sit in third place in the North, two points ahead of the Cleveland Monsters and three points ahead of the Toronto Marlies.
This marks the seventh year in a row the Crunch have made the playoffs, the longest current streak in the AHL. To add, every team in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization have made the playoffs in their respective leagues; Lightning (NHL), Crunch (AHL), and Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL).
We’ll see how the season shapes up and who the Syracuse Crunch will play first in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
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