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Syracuse Crunch

Crunch snap Penguins winning streak in matinee rematch

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by Steven DiOssi | @StevenDiOssi | Like us on Facebook
January 16, 2017

The Syracuse Crunch earned their 20th win of the season as they defeated the AHL-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4-1 in a matinee contest at War Memorial Arena on Monday.

Yanni Gourde, Daniel Walcott, Slater Koekkoek and Matthew Peca tallied goals as the Crunch downed the Penguins in a rematch from Saturday’s meeting, won 3-1 by WBS. Syracuse snapped the Penguins’ seven-game winning streak, improving to 20-10-2-5 on the season and maintaining their lead in the North Division with 47 points.

Adam Wilcox, returning from a scare from an eye injury, stopped 31-of-32 shots as Syracuse defeated Wilkes-Barre for the first time in four meetings so far this season. Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry made 15 saves in the losing effort, as the Crunch went 1-for-4 on the power play and kept Wilkes-Barre off the board in each of their four opportunities with the man advantage.

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The Crunch got off to a lead midway through the opening frame after Gourde followed a strong forechecking effort by Walcott with a goal after a smooth play with the puck. Penguins’ defenseman Barry Goers controlled the puck just above the top of the circles in his own zone as Walcott skated in hard and put pressure on him with a stick check.

Goers was forced to pass the puck towards Stuart Percy but it hit the boards and as Percy attempted to clear it out of the zone, it was intercepted by Gourde who skated in and stickhandled around Goers before firing a low wrist shot past the blocker of Jarry. Walcott was credited with his eighth assist of the season on the goal.

Gourde’s 12th goal of the season put him in a three-way tie with Matt Taormina and Mike Halmo for the team-lead in that category.

Penguins forward Garrett Wilson received a double-minor for high-sticking just seconds later, giving the Syracuse power play their first opportunity of the game and Walcott capitalized quickly in to the man advantage.

Walcott carried the puck into the offensive zone along the right boards with speed and veered in towards the Penguins’ net on his backhand before firing a shot as he neared the goal line. Jarry made the initial save but Walcott tapped home his own rebound to give the Crunch a 2-0 lead late in the first period.

Walcott’s second goal of the season was assisted by Taormina and David Pacan. Taormina’s assist was his 37th point and the blueliner paces all Crunch players despite playing just 32 games. Pacan’s helper was his first point in just his third game with Syracuse since signing a professional tryout contract on Jan. 13.

Pacan, 25, tallied 21 goals and 15 assists with the Brampton Beast in the ECHL before signing a PTO with Syracuse as the Crunch look to add to their offense after a handful of top forwards have received call-ups to the Tampa Bay Lightning this season.

Syracuse opened the middle period with the man advantage after Peguins forward Kevin Porter was whistled with just 12 seconds left in the first period. Despite being unable to convert on the power play, the Crunch took a three-goal lead when Pacan drew the puck back cleanly in the left faceoff circle and Slater Koekkoek fired a one-timer past Jarry at 6:42 of the second period. Koekkoek’s first goal of the season came in his 11th game with the Crunch as the rearguard has spent a significant portion of the year with the Lightning, skating in 29 contests.

The Crunch killed off a Walcott tripping penalty and the teams were back at even strength when the Penguins cut the lead to two goals on Carter Rowney’s eighth goal of the campaign. Syracuse was forced to play down a man after Taormina was called for a delay of game but remained perfect on the afternoon.

Wilkes-Barre came out strong in the third period, outshooting the Crunch by a 10-3 margin but could not beat Wilcox who made some timely saves to preserve the win. Syracuse killed off two Penguins power-play opportunities during the period before Jarry was pulled for an extra-attacker with more than three minutes left in the contest.

The Crunch secured the victory when Matthew Peca scored an empty netter for his sixth goal of the season at just past the 17-minute mark. Tanner Richard and Mathieu Brodeur each tallied assists on the play and the three-goal Crunch lead was one that the Penguins could not overcome, falling in regulation for just the eighth time all season.

Syracuse will look to build on this momentum when they take on the Albany Devils on Wednesday — a team that trails the Crunch by a single point in the North Division standings.

Full game highlights from Syracuse Crunch


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