Syracuse Crunch defeats Rochester to end four-game homestand

The Syracuse Crunch’s North Division rival, the Rochester Americans, returned to Salt City on Sunday for the first time since Jan. 19. The last time they faced the Amerks, Syracuse won 3-2. The Crunch looked to level the season series at four games apiece and end their 4-game homestand with a third win. They did just that by defeating them 3-1. 

Ryan Fanti got the start in net for the Crunch and stepped up big in this game, saving 20 of 21 shots faced in the game. 

Early in the first period, both teams set the tone for the game. It’s the same story each time these two play: it’s a very physical game, with players throwing hard hits early, and it gets chippy early.

“Our game plan is being hard…we kind of take pride on being stick to puck and to finish hits,” forward Jacob Pelletier said after the game. 

It started off slow for both teams, with only two shots on goal in the first eight minutes of the period. The Crunch didn’t get their first shot till seven minutes into the game. It started to heat up near the halfway mark of the period with a flurry of shots toward both nets. 

Rochester defenseman Nikita Novikov committed a two-minute holding penalty to give the Crunch their first power play of the night. The Crunch converted the attempt as forward Connor Geekie scored the first goal of the game. He was assisted by forward Pelletier and forward Mitchell Chaffee. 

After the first period, tensions boiled over into a confrontation as each team headed to its locker room. Crunch defenseman Jarred Tinordi was assesed a two-minute unsportsmanlike penalty, giving Rochester a power play to start the second period. 

The Crunch began the second period shorthanded but were able to kill it off. They generated multiple scoring chances on the penalty kill. Eventually, the Crunch turned the momentum from the penalty kill into another goal less than five minutes into the period.

The goal was scored by forward Brendan Furry, assisted by defenseman Ethan Gauthier and defenseman Matteo Pietroniro. They also got another attempt at the power play with Amerks defenseman Vsevolod Komarov, but the Crunch failed to convert.

Rochester got a prime chance near the halfway point of the period, but a diving save by Fanti kept it 2-0. The Crunch got another power play attempt after a boarding penalty assessed to Amerks forward Jake Leschyshyn. Rochester kept putting on the pressure toward the end of the period, but multiple saves kept it a two-goal lead.  

Rochester got some momentum in the last three minutes of the period as Crunch forward Lucas Mercuri received two minutes for interference. But that was quickly taken away as the Crunch scored a shorthanded goal by forward Pelletier, assisted by Mitchell Chaffee. After that, Matteo Pietroniro was called for roughing, and the Amerks were given a 5-on-3 advantage. The Crunch killed off the first of the two penalties, and the other carried over into the third period. 

In the third, the Crunch killed off the power play. They continued to keep the Amerks pinned in their own zone. After a massive hit by defenseman Pietroniro on Rochester’s Oliver Nadeau, Pietroniro was called for roughing and boarding, while Amerks player Noah Laaouan was called for roughing and retaliating against Pietroniro’s hit. It gave the Americans their fifth power play of the night. The Crunch killed it off yet again.

Penalties led to four-on-four, then a goal by Rochester forward Riley Fidler-Schultz, assisted by forward Konsta Helenius, ended Fanti’s shutout. Rochester ended up getting another power play, but the Crunch took care of it, just like they did the other five. 

Head coach Joel Bouchard spoke on what he saw in the penalty kills performance that made it great.

“I saw that extra stick and extra block shot, that extra desperation, that extra clear,” Bouchard said. “It came down to the guys not panicking and the guys being really alert and aware of the situation.”

Following the win, the Crunch heads to Quebec to play the Laval Rockets on Wednesday at Place Bell. Face-off is slated for 7 p.m.