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Syracuse Crunch

Syracuse Crunch rally once again, but fall in overtime – again

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by Steven DiOssi | @StevenDiOssi | Like us on Facebook
January 18, 2017

The Syracuse Crunch overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period but fell in overtime to the Albany Devils 3-2 at Times Union Center on Wednesday.

Yanni Gourde and Tanner Richard scored goals in a two and a half minute span in the final frame as the Crunch battled back to earn a point and maintain their lead in the North Division. The Crunch are tied with the Devils with 48 points but have two games in hand and are 20-10-3-5 on the season.

Adam Wilcox stopped 23-of-26 shots while Devils goaltender Ken Appleby made 29 stops in the winning effort. Cory Conacher paced all Crunch players with 10 shots on goal. The Devils tallied one power play goal in three attempts and held the Crunch scoreless in four chances with the man advantage.

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Syracuse entered the contest seeking to build upon the momentum of a 4-1 victory over the AHL-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Monday but found themselves in a 1-0 hole against the Devils as they began the third period despite outshooting them 18-16 through 40 minutes of play. The Devils extended the lead to two goals early in the final period before the Crunch began their rally.

Albany killed off a Syracuse power play early in the game and opened the scoring minutes later. Devils forward Carter Camper carried the puck behind the Crunch net and backhanded a pass across the crease to Ryan Kujawinski who redirected it past Wilcox at 6:04 of the first period. Syracuse fired nine shots on goal to the Devils’ eight but couldn’t find the back of the net and ended the period down a goal.

The Devils held the Crunch power play unit off the board early in the middle frame, but were unable to convert on two opportunities of their own while up a skater in back-to-back chances near the midway point of the period. The Albany penalty killers held off Syracuse with the man advantage late in the second before defenseman Brandon Gormley was called for tripping with just 12 seconds remaining.

Albany held onto their lead as the Crunch power play expired early in the third period and made it a two-goal game just over seven minutes in when Vojtech Mozik fired a wrist shot into the Syracuse net for his fourth goal of the season.

Syracuse, however, wouldn’t back down as they began to stage their comeback minutes later and outshot Albany by a 13-8 margin in the period.

Ben Thomas fired the puck on net from the high slot with traffic in front of the Albany net. His shot was blocked and Gourde scooped up the rebound before skating to the right side of the crease around the scrum and netted his team-leading 13th goal of the season. Conacher also added an assist on the tally as the Crunch cut the Devils’ lead to one.

Syracuse struck again to tie the game under three minutes later. Jeremy Morin carried the puck around the Albany net and fended off Devils winger Blake Pietila before feeding Richard in the slot. Richard’s initial shot was stopped before he grabbed his own rebound and potted his ninth goal of the season. Richard extended his point streak to four games and Mathieu Brodeur also added a helper on the goal.

The teams were unable to break the tie in regulation and the Crunch entered overtime leading the Devils in shots, 31-24.

Albany made quick work of the extra session, as they registered one shot on net before Kevin Rooney tallied his eight goal of the year at 1:17 of overtime to earn the extra point and give the Devils their first win over Syracuse in three contests this season.

The Crunch host the Binghamton Senators in another important North Division matchup at War Memorial Arena on Friday.

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