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Syracuse Crunch

Conacher leads Crunch to victory over Marlies

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by Steven DiOssi | @StevenDiOssi | Like us on Facebook
February 4, 2017

The Syracuse Crunch broke open a tie game in the third period with a pair of goals and defeated the Toronto Marlies 5-3 at Ricoh Coliseum on Saturday

Cory Conacher paced the Crunch with two goals and assist, while Tanner Richard, Mike Halmo and Kevin Lynch each added goals. Conacher is on a five-game point streak and currently holds the league’s longest active road points streak with 11 points.

The Crunch improved to 23-13-4-5 on the season and maintain their lead in the North Division with 55 points

Adam Wilcox made 37 saves to secure his 15th win of the season, while Marlies goaltender Garrett Sparks stopped 30-of-35 shots in the losing effort. The Crunch went scoreless in two power play opportunities but held the Marlies to 1-for-3 with the man advantage.

The Crunch got off to an early lead when Ben Thomas controlled the puck in the offensive zone and fed a pass to Conacher who was near the top of the left circle. Conacher held the puck momentarily before wristing a shot past Sparks for his eighth goal of the season at 2:47.

The Crunch struck again just 30 seconds later when the puck came off the boards to the left of the Marlies’ net and bounced past the goal line and onto the stick of Brian Hart. He put a quick wrist shot on net and Sparks made the initial save but Henri Ikonen and Richard each crashed the net hard. Ikonen swiped at the puck before Richard tapped it past Sparks. Richard’s 11th goal of the season moved him into fourth on the Crunch in that department.

The Marlies answered minutes later, as Dmytro Timashov beat Wilcox to cut the Syracuse lead to one goal at the 9:17 mark of the period. The Crunch killed off Conacher’s holding penalty at 14:27 but Toronto evened the score with just 32 seconds left in the first period when Trevor Moore tallied his fifth goal of the year.

At the end of twenty minutes, the Marlies held a commanding 22-5 lead in shots but the score remained tied, 2-2.

Syracuse got to work quickly in the middle frame, regaining the lead after a strong forecheck by Erik Condra lead to a goal just 42 seconds into the period. Condra rounded the Toronto net in pursuit of defenseman Viktor Loov who controlled the puck. Condra forced a turnover just behind the goal line and fed the puck to Halmo who was alone out front. Halmo received the pass at the bottom of the left circle and deked Sparks with a quick play before backhanding it into the net for his 13th of the year. Condra’s 18th assist of the season tied him with Gourde for third on the team, while Halmo is second among all Syracuse players in goals.

The teams each registered 13 shots on goal in the second period, but Toronto was able to tie it up again when Moore tallied his second goal of the game at the 17:15 mark.

Syracuse saved their best for last, as they outshot the Marlies, 18-5 and registered two goals in the final period of play.

Conacher scored what would be the eventual game-winning goal at the 6:13 mark on one of the weirder goals of the year in the American Hockey League. Conacher had control of the puck in the left circle and attempted to pass it to Lynch who was skating along the right wing. When Conacher initiated the pass, it bounced off of Marlies defenseman William Wrenn’s leg and up into the air. Conacher swiped at the puck but missed as the puck continued towards the ice. While Conacher unable to make contact with it, the movement seemed to handcuff Sparks, as the puck snuck past him and into the net for Conacher’s second of the afternoon.

Lynch added the insurance goal at 12:57 when he beat Marlies forward Frederik Gauthier to a loose puck in the corner and backhanded a shot from behind the goal line off of Sparks and into the net. Lynch’s goal was his first as a member of the Crunch since being signed by the club to a professional tryout contract on Jan. 21. Conacher and Halmo each added assists on the marker.

The Crunch return to action when they play the Marlies again in another matinee affair on Super Sunday.



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