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Syracuse Crunch

Conacher helps lead the way to big night on special teams for Crunch

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By Steven DiOssi | @StevenDiOssi | Like us on Facebook
March 8, 2017

Cory Conacher exploded for two goals and two assists to lead the Syracuse Crunch to a 4-2 victory over the St. John’s IceCaps at War Memorial Arena on Wednesday.

Conacher assisted on goals by Adam Comrie and Tye McGinn before scoring a pair of his own. In 47 games, he is third on the Crunch with 14 goals and leads the team with 37 assists and 51 points.

The Crunch, who had dropped two of their past three contests heading into the game, improved to 30-19-5-5 on the season and maintain their position atop the North Division standings with just 17 games remaining in the regular season.

Kristers Gudlevskis got the start in goal and stopped 25-of-27 shots he faced to earn his 11th win of the year and IceCaps goaltender Charlie Lindgren yielded three goals on 26 shots. The Crunch went 3-for-7 on the power play and held the IceCaps scoreless in four attempts with the man-advantage.

Comrie opened the scoring on the power play with just 46 seconds left in the first period. Erik Condra tapped a puck just above the right circle to Conacher. He fed the puck to Comrie who snapped a shot past Lindgren from the top of the left circle for his eighth goal of the year.

It was a tough one to swallow for the IceCaps, who outshot the Crunch 15-5 in the period but went into the first intermission down by a goal.

The Crunch began the middle frame on a power play and capitalized for the second straight time, making it a two-goal game on McGinn’s third tally of the season. Matthew Peca found Conacher at the bottom of the left circle. Conacher fired a shot on goal that was stopped by Lindgren with his right pad but McGinn scored on the rebound.

The IceCaps cut the lead to one goal after Gudlevskis made the initial save on a shot by Julien Brouillette but was unable to cover the puck before Max Friberg slid it into the net at 12:01 of the period.

The Crunch, who outshot the IceCaps 13-6 during the period, regained the two-goal lead when Conacher scored his first of the game at the 15:53 mark. Peca controlled the puck along the right boards in the offensive zone and sent a cross-ice pass to Conacher who one-timed it past Lindgren for his 13th goal of the season. Conacher’s tally was the third power-play goal for the Crunch in five opportunities at that point in the contest.

The Crunch went on the power play early in the third period after a delay of game call on St. John’s at 2:47 but were unable to find the back of the net.

The IceCaps carried over the momentum from that penalty kill and made it a one-goal game again when Stefan Matteau beat Gudlevskis for his 11th goal of the season at the 7:36 mark.

With 1:20 remaining in regulation, the IceCaps pulled Lindgren for an extra attacker. Conacher potted the empty-netter with just a second left to play, on assists from Joel Vermin and Matt Taormina, to seal the victory.

The Crunch continue their three-game homestand when they face the Springfield Thunderbirds on Friday followed by a rematch with the IceCaps the following night.

Full game highlights from Syracuse Crunch


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