Connect with us

Syracuse Crunch

Crunch fail to finish off weekend on a high note despite late comeback

Published

8 years ago

on

By KEVIN ERLENDSSON | @KErlendsson | Like us on Facebook
March 5, 2017

A late third period rally fell short Sunday evening as the Syracuse Crunch dropped the second half of the home-and-home series with Binghamton, 6-4.

John Kurtz and Mike Halmo scored 14 seconds apart with less than two minutes to go in the game, before the Senators’ Jason Akeson finished off his hattrick with his second empty-netter of the period to ice it. Daniel Walcott scored in his second straight game, while Matthew Peca registered a goal and an assist.

Casey Bailey enjoyed a three-point night, picking up an assist in addition to scoring the first goal of the game and adding a power play goal late in the second period. Former Lightning/Crunch forward Mike Blunden had the other Binghamton goal.

Matt O’Connor stopped 38 of 42 Syracuse shots to pick up the victory, while Mike McKenna made 29 saves in dropping his second game in as many starts since being acquired from Florida on March 1.

The Senators wasted no time in jumping on the Crunch. Bailey fired a wrister from the top of the right circle over McKenna’s glove just six minutes into play to take an early 1-0 lead. Blunden then struck on the power play, taking a cross ice feed and burying the one timer from just outside the hashmarks, to extend the lead to two. It was the Binghamton captain’s first goal against his former club in six tries this season.

However, Syracuse continued Saturday night’s theme of answering quickly. Walcott skated into the zone on a seemingly innocent rush, and, with linemates Peca and Halmo creating a screen by crashing the net, put a wrist shot into the top corner, cutting the lead to 2-1 just 48 seconds after Blunden’s goal. Peca picked up the only assist on the play.

The Crunch were unable to grab any momentum from the goal, and went into the intermission trailing by a goal. It was the Senators who would score the next one, with Akeson’s first restoring the two-goal lead seven minutes into the frame. He walked in from the half-boards untouched, and waited for McKenna to open the pads before sniping it through the five hole.

Peca answered back for Syracuse with five minutes left in the second to make it 3-2. Cory Conacher picked up a rebound in front of the net and made a gorgeous backhand feed through his legs to the waiting Peca, who one-timed it from the low-slot. That assist was Conacher’s team-leading 35th of the season.

Unfortunately the Quinnipiac grad committed a costly penalty, getting called for a slash on his next shift. On the ensuing power play Bailey launched a booming slapshot from the point that a screened McKenna couldn’t quite corral and the Senators had a two goal lead again with 53 seconds left in the second on Bailey’s second power play goal of the game.

Syracuse gave it all they had in the third, taking 16 shots in the period, but O’Connor bailed out his team with a pair of outstanding saves to keep the score 4-2. The Binghamton netminder stretched out his right pad to deny Kevin Lynch an open net, and moments later sliding across the crease with his left pad on the ice to rob Joel Vermin in tight.

A few minutes after killing off a penalty, Crunch head coach Benoit Groulx made an aggressive decision to pull McKenna with 4:30 left in the game. Syracuse would pay the price for it less than a minute later, when Akeson scored the empty netter to extend the Senators lead to 5-2.

The Crunch were not about to go down without a fight, however. John Kurtz scored his first goal in a Crunch uniform in over five years, deflecting a Halmo pass from behind the net past O’Connor, to get one back for Syracuse.

Halmo then took over, taking a saucer pass from Erik Condra on the next shift, and rifling it from the faceoff circle to bring the Crunch within one just 14 seconds after Kurtz’s goal made it 5-3.

That would be as close as they would get, as Akeson potted his second empty-net goal to complete the hattrick with 25 seconds left in the game, and seal the 6-4 win for the Senators.

The loss drops Syracuse to 29-19-5-5 on the season, but they still sit atop the North Division with 68 points, two up on the Albany Devils. They’re back in action Wednesday when the host St. John’s.

Related Topics:

Copyright © 2021 National Hockey Now and Erik Erlendsson. Tampa Bay Hockey Now is an independently owned and operated site and is not affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning organization or the National Hockey League.