Syracuse Crunch
Syracuse tripped up on home ice by Hershey in McKenna’s debut
By Stanton Sullivan | 
@bucsboltsbatman | 
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March 3, 2017
The Crunch didn’t have much to be pleased with after losing yet again to the Hershey Bears on Friday night by a final of 5-1.
It was not an ideal return for Mike McKenna to the Lightning organization as he was pulled in the second period having saved just 5-of-9 shots in his first start since being acquired from the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. Kristers Gudlevskis closed out the game stopping 8-of-9 pucks directed on goal.
One positive note was the scoring return performance of Tye McGinn, who slapped in just his second goal of the season at 3:27 of the first period, leveling the score at 1-1. The goal came after a strong faceoff win by Yanni Gourde and a setup pass by Matt Taormina.
In his first game back since Oct. 16, @TyeMcGinn picks up @niceneasy goal of the game honors. pic.twitter.com/vRlO3Unf86
— Syracuse Crunch (@SyracuseCrunch) March 4, 2017
However, things went downhill from there as Hershey scored two more goals in the opening frame (both coming on the power play). A well-executed passing combination from Chris Bourque and Liam O’Brien was finished off by Riley Barber at 11:49 for his eighth goal of the season. Christian Thomas recovered a loose puck and put it home for his twentieth tally of the year with just under seven minutes remaining in the period.
Syracuse not only struggled on the penalty kill Friday night, but also with the man advantage. The Crunch had three opportunities in the second period alone and nine for the game, failing to score on any of them.
The Bears were able to work past all the penalties they took to score twice more in the second period. Christian Djoos skated into open space in the left circle and shot one past McKenna at 7:54 for his tenth goal of the season (it also increased his scoring streak to six games) to end the night for the new Crunch goaltender. Thomas found the back of the net again at 13:33 as he raced into the offensive zone and rocketed a shot through traffic and past Gudlevskis.
The Crunch remain atop the North Division (though they have the Albany Devils breathing down their necks) and will look to rebound Saturday as they host the Binghamton Senators.