Last-minute meltdown sees Syracuse fail to gain a stranglehold against Toronto

By Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
May 9, 2017

One-hundred and twenty seconds.

That is all that stood in front of the Syracuse Crunch and virtual ticket to the Eastern Conference finals in the American Hockey League playoffs.

In the blink of an eye, everything shifted as if a hole in the ice opened up in front of them and everybody stumbled in to the freezing water below just before reaching the finish line.

What could have been a commanding series lead for Syracuse provided sudden life for the Toronto Marlies following a 5-3 victory in Game 3 of the North Division finals. The Crunch still hold a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 back at Richoh Coliseum in Toronto on Wednesday.

But the stunning end to Tuesday may have provided a cosmic shift in momentum in the series.

The Crunch had a two-goal lead in the second period behind goals from Adam Erne and Byron Froese. Toronto would tie it up on a pair of goals from Adreas Johnsson in the span of 3:47 in the middle part of the period.

The game remained tied midway through the third period when Erik Condra broke the tie to put Syracuse in the lead. Coming off the rush in to the Toronto zone, Matthew Peca fed a cross-ice feed to a charging Slater Koekkoek coming down the left-wing side. With Condra providing the net drive down the slot, Koekkoek put a pass right in to Condra’s path and the Syracuse captain was able to get his stick on the pass and give the Crunch a 3-2 lead with 10:55 remaining in the game.

Syracuse kept up the pace and didn’t sit back while trying to protect the lead.

But everything started to unravel in the final minutes.

With Toronto pulling goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo for an extra attacker, Syracuse failed to take advantage of an opportunity to clear the puck, the Marlies were able to keep the Crunch hemmed in and took advantage when Andrew Nielsen fired a shot from the left point. The puck was stopped by goaltender Mike McKenna, but the kicked the puck with his left pad right to an unmarked Bredan Leipsic with 1:56 left to tie the score.

”We had the puck on our blade two or three times and unfortunately we could not make that play,’’ Syracuse head coach Ben Groulx said.

Before the tying goal could be announced, the Marlies took the lead on a near carbon copy play as Seth Griffin fired a shot from the center slot that McKenna stopped. But once again the Syracuse goaltender kicked the puck off to the side with his left pad, right to Carl Grundstrom at the side of the net with 1:38 left, just 18 seconds after Leipsic scored.

”You remind them after the tie while they’re celebrating that we still have to play some hockey here,” Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe told The Toronto Star after the game. “You’re getting a line ready, and we find a way to almost duplicate the goal. Then once again we get excited, but I’ve got to grab three forwards and get them to go out there and finish the job.”

The Marlies gave the Crunch absolutely no hope of a comeback as on the next shift, Kaspari Kapanen intercepted an errant pass in the Syracuse zone and skated in alone and beat McKenna at 18:37.

Three goals in 33 seconds.

It was game over in a stunning turn of events that completely turned the context of the series around.

”Give Toronto credit, they never quit,’’ Groulx said. “It was a tight game. We had our chances, they had their chances. Both goalies were good. … We had a good start, they were all over us in the second period and I thought we stopped skating a little bit, we stopped checking. In the third (Toronto) never quit, they made plays and they deserved to win.’’

There is little time for self-pity with such a quick turnaround for both teams.

”This is no different, we are going to watch the game and try to make the adjustments we think we need to make for (Game 5),’’ Groulx said. “It’s up to us to prepare to play. We knew they were going to come hard, they did, and we know it’s going to be a hard fought battle again.’’

Series schedule

Game 1 — Syracuse 3, Toronto 1 (Syracuse leads series 1-0)

Game 2 — Syracuse 8, Toronto 5 (Syracuse leads series 2-0)

Game 3 — Toronto 5, Syracuse 3 (Syracuse leads series 2-1)

Game 4 — Wednesday, 7 p.m. at Toronto

Game 5 — Saturday, May 13, 7 p.m. at Syracuse

Game 6 — Monday, May 15, 7 p.m. at Toronto (if necessary)

Game 7 — Wednesday, May 17, 7 p.m. at Syracuse (if necessary)