Syracuse Crunch
Crunch rally in third to defeat Albany 4-2
by Steven DiOssi | 
@StevenDiOssi | 
Like us on Facebook
December 9, 2016
The Syracuse Crunch defeated the Albany Devils 4-2 on Friday for their third win in the last four games. The Crunch have outscored their opponents 14-6 in that span, as the club is receiving offense from many different players.
After falling behind early in the first period on a goal by Devils forward John Quenneville at 8:08, Erik Condra fed a pass to Tanner Richard who was in the slot and fired a puck past Devils’ goaltender Ken Appleby to tie the game, 1-1. Jake Dotchin also tallied his fifth assist of the season on the play.
{mprestriction ids=”1,2″}
The Crunch put the Devils on their second power play of the period when Mike Halmo was called for a cross-checking penalty at 16:18. The Syracuse penalty killing unit was able to keep the Devils off the board and the teams were at even strength for just more than a minute when Richard received an unsportsmanlike penalty with just 18 seconds remaining in the frame.
.@Trichard71 put the #SyrCrunch on the board to even the score, 1-1, after the first.
Intermission report presented by @gannonpest. pic.twitter.com/Vo67DHuGso
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) December 10, 2016
After keeping the Devils’ power play unit at bay to start the second period, the Crunch had back-to-back power plays of their own but were unable to convert on either. The Devils took the lead at 11:04 of the period on a goal by Blake Coleman on a cross-ice feed from Blake Pietila who got behind both Crunch defensemen on the play.
The Crunch found themselves in a bit of trouble later in the frame, as Matthew Peca was called for a roughing penalty just 43 seconds after Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond took a two-minute penalty for tripping.
The Syracuse penalty killing unit was able to kill off both penalties, capping a perfect five for five in that department on the night.
The @AlbanyDevils lit the lamp to take a 2-1 lead after the second period.
Intermission report presented by @gannonpest. pic.twitter.com/PTus3PCDky
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) December 10, 2016
The Crunch entered the third period down 2-1 but were able to even the score on a power play goal by Adam Erne at 5:42 of the frame. Erne was parked just above the Devils’ crease as he tipped in a Peca slap shot from the point. The Crunch were on the power play again just over a minute and a half later, when Vojtech Mozik was called for his second holding penalty of the period at the 7:14 mark. The Syracuse power play was unable to find the back of the net and the teams were back to five players a side.
? @Adamerne73 https://t.co/nMcWStJWgH
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) December 10, 2016
They would take the lead with under six minutes remaining in regulation on a wraparound goal by Yanni Gourde. With Appleby pulled for an extra attacker, Condra made it 4-2 on a goal assisted by Gourde and Dotchin with under two minutes remaining in the game. As the final horn sounded, the Crunch secured the 4-2 victory and improved to 9-1-0-1 at Onondaga County War Memorial Arena this season.
Syracuse goaltender Adam Wilcox stopped 25-of-27 shots on the night and Condra and Dotchin paced the team with three points each.
The Crunch now turn their attention to Saturday’s matchup against their North Division rival, the Utica Comets. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET in Syracuse.
Full game highlights
The #SyrCrunch continued the home points streak with a 4-2 win over the @AlbanyDevils . #ALBvsSYR #WeAreOne #BLUnited pic.twitter.com/kWDpvkkG9y
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) December 10, 2016
{/mprestriction}