 |
Power
Play |
5TH
- 20.6 |
Penalty
Killing |
4TH
- 86.0 |
FORWARDS |
JOAKIM
LINDSTROM |
25-35-60
(-12) |
ZENON
KONOPKA |
21-34-55
(+9) |
DERICK
BRASSARD |
15-36-51
(+9) |
DEFENSEMEN |
CLAY
WILSON |
14-33-47
(+13) |
DUVIE
WESTCOTT |
4-23-27
(+6) |
ANDREI
PLEKHANOV |
9-16-25
(+18) |
GOALTENDERS |
KARL
GOEHRING |
15-9-2
(2 SO)
2.20 GA
.926 PCT |
|
ADAM
MUNRO |
13-9-1
(2 SO)
2.42 GA
.913 PCT |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Syracuse
vs Toronto |
|
|
SCHEDULE |
| 1 |
MAY
2 |
SYRACUSE
5 - TORONTO 1 |
SEED
2 |
2 |
MAY
4 |
SYRACUSE
3 - TORONTO 1 |
SEED
1 |
46-26-2-6
(100) |
3 |
MAY
6 |
TORONTO
8 - SYRACUSE 2 |
50-21-3-6
(109) |
| |
4 |
MAY
7 |
TORONTO
4 - SYRACUSE 5 (OT) |
|
| |
5 |
MAY
9 |
SYRACUSE
3 - TORONTO 4 (OT) |
|
| |
6 |
MAY
10 |
TORONTO
3 - SYRACUSE 2 |
|
| |
7 |
MAY
12 |
SYRACUSE
2 - TORONTO 3 |
|
|
Toronto
Wins Series 4-3 |
|
SERIES
PREVIEW
|
| Adriel
Bettelheim - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
The
Marlies beat out the Crunch for first place in the North
Division with 109 points and are coming off the first
playoff series win in franchise history. Bates Battaglia
sealed a dramatic Game 7 finish against the San Antonio
Rampage by scoring with just 59 seconds remaining in regulation.
Center John Mitchell leads the team with three goals and
an assist, while pivot Kris Newbury and wings Ben Ondrus
and Jiri Tlusty round out the top five. The Marlies also
boast capable two-way defensemen in Jay Harrison and Andy
Wozniewski and just-signed junior star Dale Mitchell,
who tallied 60 points in 63 games for the Oshawa Generals
of the Ontario Hockey League. Scott Clemmensen was in
goal for all but 33 minutes in the first round and has
a goals against average of 2.65 and a 92.1 save percentage.
Syracuse won the North Division semifinal by dispatching
the Manitoba Moose in six games, five of which went to
overtime. The Crunch won four of those games, setting
an AHL record for most OT victories in a single series.
Centers Derrick Brassard and Derek MacKenzie are tied
for the team scoring lead, with two goals and three assists
apiece. Goaltender Karl Goehring backstopped all six first-round
series games, posting a 1.93 goals against average and
a save percentage of 92.9. In Brassard, Gilbert Brule
and Alexandre Picard, the Crunch boast three forwards
who were drafted in the first round. But the team gets
contributions from seemingly unlikely sources; the deciding
goal in overtime of Game 6 came from bottom-line center
Trevor Frischmon. “The winning streak toward the end of
the year gave us the confidence that we just knew someone
would step up and find a way to win,” coach Ross Yates
said after the series-winner.
|
|
| Game
1 |
Syracuse
5 - Toronto 1 |
| PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Syracuse
Leads Series 1-0 |
Toronto
- The Toronto Marlies made some costly giveaways in their own end and failed to convert on key scoring chances. The end result was a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the Syracuse Crunch in Game 1 of the North Division finals.
Derek MacKenzie, Clay Wilson, Nate DiCasmirro, Mark Rycroft and Derek Brassard each scored for Syracuse, which has lost just once in regulation since Feb. 18 and which swept Toronto in their four-game regular season series.
MacKenzie beat Marlies netminder Scott Clemmensen on the game's first shot, off a scramble in front of the net just 1:40 into the first period. Wilson kept the momentum going when he took advantage of a Michael Leveille turnover behind the Toronto net and rifled a shot past Clemmensen. DiCasmirro converted on a power play midway through the second period, and though David Ling's point shot beat Crunch goaltender Karl Goehring soon after, Toronto was never able to get close.
Trevor Frischmon jumped on a loose puck and fed Rycroft for Syracuse's fourth goal. Brassard tapped in a rebound of a high Wilson slap shot to close out the scoring. Goehring finished with 31 saves.
|
|
| Game
2 |
Syracuse
3 - Toronto 1 |
|
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Syracuse
Leads Series 2-0 |
Toronto
- Karl Goehring turned aside 44 shots Sunday to pace the Syracuse Crunch to its fourth straight playoff win and a 2-0 lead in its North Division finals series against the Toronto Marlies.
Zenon Konopka, Derek MacKenzie and Mark Rycroft scored for the Crunch, who head home for Games 3 and 4 Tuesday and Wednesday in Syracuse.
Syracuse took a 1-0 lead just 2:32 into the game when Zenon Konopka scored on the power play, on assists from Derick Brassard and Duvie Wescott. MacKenzie doubled the lead at 7:18 of the second period by scoring his fourth of the playoffs and second of the series.
Toronto got on the board less than four minutes later, when Bates Battaglia netted his third of the playoffs on an assist from Kris Newbury at 10:44. Down by a goal the Marlies tried but could not tie the game and Rycroft sealed the outcome with an empty-netter 1:23 remaining in the game.
Goehring’s 44 saves were a season-high. The win was his eighth playoff victory in a Crunch uniform, tying him for the all-time team lead with J.F. Labbe and Mike Fountain.
|
|
| Game
3 |
Toronto
8 - Syracuse 2 |
|
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Syracuse
Leads Series 2-1 |
Syracuse,
NY
- Home ice isn't proving a very hospitable place in the
second-round Calder Cup playoff series between the Toronto
Marlies and Syracuse Crunch.
John Mitchell had two goals and an assist and six other
Marlies scored in an 8-2 rout of the Crunch Tuesday night
at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Jiri Tlusty, Andy Wozniewski, David Ling, Bates Battaglia,
Kris Newbury and Jaime Sifers each tallied for Toronto,
which had lost the first two games of the series at Ricoh
Coliseum. Scott Clemmensen made 27 saves in the winning
effort.
Crunch goaltender Karl Goehring was driven from the net
for the first time in the playoffs and replaced by Adam
Munro. The duo combined for 28 saves. Joakim Lindstrom
and Nate DiCasmirro scored the Syracuse goals.
It was only Syracuse's second loss in regulation time
since mid-February.
|
|
| Game
4 |
Toronto
4 - Syracuse 5 (OT) |
|
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Syracuse
Leads Series 3-1 |
Syracuse,
NY
- Joakim Lindstrom scored nearly 10 minutes into overtime to cap a dramatic comeback and lift the Syracuse Crunch to a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday night. The Crunch lead the second-round Calder Cup series, 3-1.
Syracuse came out flat and trailed, 4-2, with eight minutes left in regulation but began to reverse its fortunes when center Derek MacKenzie whistled a shot from the right faceoff circle past Toronto goalie Scott Clemmensen at 12:18. Suddenly energized, the Crunch sent wave after wave of attackers into the Toronto end. Derick Brassard wound up knotting the game, 4-4, on a power play with just over 90 seconds remaining when he threw a sharp-angle, desperation pass into the slot and it deflected off a Toronto defender and past Clemmensen.
“We didn’t feel very good about ourselves after the first period," Lindstrom said. "We didn’t play with desperation or enough energy. We had a big talk between the first two periods. Guys like Mark Rycroft and Zenon Konopka let us know that we need to play with a lot better effort. We came out with a lot more energy the second and third periods.”
The series continues with Game 5 in Toronto Friday night.
|
|
| Game
5 |
Syracuse
3 - Toronto 4 (OT) |
|
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Syracuse
Leads Series 3-2 |
Toronto
- Having gone to overtime in six of their previous ten games this
playoff season, the Syracuse Crunch probably figured they had the Toronto
Marlies right where they wanted them. They were wrong.
Veteran forward Bates Battaglia scored at 18:35 of overtime to give
the Marlies a 4-3 victory at the Ricoh Coliseum, cutting the Crunch’s North
Division final series lead to three games to two. Syracuse has another chance to
close the series Saturday night at the Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter
in Syracuse.
Given the intensity of Game 4 and the need for the Marlies to win or head to
summer vacation, the first half of the first period was rather tame. Neither
goalie was tested that badly but the tone of things changed in the final six
minutes of the stanza.
It started at the 14:34 mark when on a power play, Tom Sestito positioned
himself in front of the Toronto net and tipped Marc Methot’s shot past Marlies’
net minder Scott Clemmensen for the game’s first goal. Less than a minute later,
Toronto’s Brent Aubin won a face-off and chipped a shot over the shoulder of
Crunch goalie Karl Goehring to tie the score. Two minutes later, John Mitchell
continued his mastery of Goehring, coming off the bench on a delayed penalty to
take a pass from Jay Harrison and scoring to put Toronto in front. Twenty-four ticks
after that, Alexandre Picard stole the puck and fed teammate Gilbert Brule who
beat Clemmensen to once again knot the score.
Syracuse used the momentum from Brule’s tally to press the Marlies’ net early in
the second. Clemmensen was able to keep the puck out of the net, buying his team
time to regroup. Just past the midway point of the period, Toronto’s David Ling
banked a shot off of Goehring that trickled toward the goal line. After
discussing the play with his linesmen, referee Frederic L’Ecuyer conferred with
the goal judge who ruled that the puck had indeed completely crossed the line,
giving Toronto the lead for the second time in the game. Thanks to three
straight Syracuse penalties late in the period, the Marlies kept Goehring busy
but failed to increase the lead heading into the second intermission.
Not wanting to give Toronto any glimmer of hope of winning the series, Syracuse
took advantage of an early power play in the third to tie the score again. Nate
DiCasmirro had two chances close in, only to be denied by Clemmensen. The second
rebound ended up on the stick of Clay Wilson who didn’t miss, beating the
Toronto goalie to pull his team back even. The Crunch had two glittering
opportunities in the late stages of the period to win, one on a Brule shot that
broke through Clemmensen but hit the post, but failed to do so.
Early in the overtime, Kris Newbury had a great scoring chance for the Marlies
but Goehring’s arm got in the way. Toronto’s Jiri Tlusty then took a tripping
call for dumping Goehring, giving the Crunch a power play. Despite some heavy
pressure, Clemmensen and the Marlies survived to keep the extra period going.
Then it was Goehring’s turn again, stopping back-to-back shots by Ling and
Derrick Walser in close. Toronto had a man advantage as well but were not able
to dent Goehring to end the contest.
With time ticking toward a second extra stanza, Newbury and Ling combined to get
the puck away from two Syracuse defenders along the boards. Ling then centered
the puck and found Battaglia who saved Toronto’s season for at least one more
night when he put the biscuit past Goehring.
Game notes: Mitchell’s first period goal game him four tallies in three games
and was his seventh of the playoffs…Prior to Wednesday night’s loss in Game 4,
the Marlies had been 42-0-0-1 in games they had led going into the final period
this season…Syracuse’s next overtime win will tie the Crunch with Saint John
(1996) and Milwaukee (2004) for most overtime wins in one playoff season…Toronto
out shot Syracuse 11-7 in the extra period and 38-32 for the game.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
|
|
| Game
6 |
Toronto
3 - Syracuse 2 |
| by Don Money
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Series
Tied 3-3 |
Syracuse,
NY
- Once again Saturday night, the Toronto Marlies were
faced with a win-or-go-home game and for the second consecutive
evening, the pride of the maple leaf came through.
On the strength of a three-goal third period and the stout
goaltending of Scott Clemmensen, the Marlies defeated
the Syracuse Crunch 3-2 in Game 6 of the Calder Cup North
Division final series at the Onondaga County War Memorial
at Oncenter. The win forces a winner-take-all Game 7 Monday
night back at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto.
There was no doubt in the minds of the Syracuse players
that the longer that Toronto stayed alive, the stronger
they got. The Crunch came out of the locker room in the
first period trying to gain an early advantage. They buzzed
around the Toronto net but failed to score as Marlies
goalie Scott Clemmensen stood tall, especially during
a Crunch power play when the home team put four shots
on net. When the Marlies finally found their legs, they
began to test Karl Goehring who was equal to the task.
Late in the period, the Crunch finally got on the board
thanks to their “energy line” of Gilbert Brule, Alexandre
Picard and Trevor Frischmon. Brule drove the puck to the
net only to be parted from the biscuit by the Toronto
defense. Picard swooped in, grabbed the loose puck by
the side of the net and found just enough open space between
Clemmensen’s legs to squeeze it through to put Syracuse
in front. It was the only score of the stanza despite
the fact that each team logged 11 shots on net.
With another big home crowd urging them on, the Crunch
began looking to take complete control of the game. Syracuse
had plenty of chances early in the second but Clemmensen
had other ideas, making save after save. Down the other
end, the home team was using the tight confines of its
own rink to smother the Toronto offense. When the Marlies
did find opportunities, Goehring was a brick wall in net,
stopping everything coming his way. A late man advantage
gave the Marlies an opportunity to tie the score going
to the final period but the Crunch defense and Goehring
held the fort and the shutout as the horn sounded.
Fighting for its playoff life, Toronto withstood some
early Syracuse pressure, waiting for an opportunity. The
Marlies were rewarded 3:10 into the final period when
Peter Tsimikalis made the Crunch pay for a neutral zone
turnover, beating Goehring on the ensuing break-in to
knot the score at 1-1. Three minutes later, the Marlies
were given a five-on-three power play and they took advantage
as Kris Newbury’s good keep-in at the blue line led to
Derrick Walser’s goal to give Toronto its first lead of
the night. Clemmensen kept the Marlies in front when he
stoned Derick Brassard on a clean breakaway. Toronto’s
lock-down defense came up big as the tight checking led
to another turnover which Bates Battaglia cashed in with
a quick wrister that cleanly beat a surprised Goehring
to make it 3-1 with 9:07 remaining in regulation.
Syracuse wasn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.
With a delayed penalty to Toronto coming, Duvie Westcott
unleashed a wicked slapper from the point that found the
back of the net at the 13:45 mark to cut the Marlies’
lead to 3-2. With a new found energy, the Crunch began
an all-out assault on the Toronto end of the rink. Try
as they might, they were unable to find the equalizer
as Clemmensen came up huge down the stretch.
Game notes: After Friday night’s game in Toronto, both
teams boarded buses for the ride to Syracuse, arriving
at 4 AM Saturday morning…Syracuse’s power play, rated
the best in this year’s playoffs, went 0-3 in the game
while Toronto was 1-4 with the man advantage…The Crunch
averaged over 5,000 fans at each of their three home games
in the series, drawing 5,555 for Game 6...Clemmensen stopped
30 of 32 shots to post the win while Goehring made 24
saves on 27 shots…Through the first six games of the series,
the home team has won only twice.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
|
|
|
Game
7 |
Syracuse
3 - Toronto 2 |
| PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Toronto
Wins Series 4-3 |
Toronto
- The Toronto Marlies are finding Game 7 victories on
home ice contagious.
Toronto won its second consecutive Calder Cup playoff
series by prevailing in a do-or-die situation, defeating
the Syracuse Crunch, 3-2, in front of 4,753 at Ricoh Coliseum
Monday night. The Marlies advanced to the Western Conference
finals against the winner of the Chicago Wolves-Rockford
IceHogs series.
Toronto scored on its first shot of the game 2:47 into
the first period when Brent Aubin deflected an Alex Foster
shot past Crunch netminder Karl Goehring for his third
of the playoffs. Syracuse's Derek MacKenzie responded
only 41 seconds later, ripping a backhand shot over the
left shoulder of Marlies goaltender Scott Clemmensen to
knot the contest, 1-1. But Aubin and Foster combined for
another goal before the period was halfway over, when
Aubin took a feed, skated down the middle of the ice and
wristed a hard shot past Goehring.
Toronto limited Syracuse's scoring chances by clearing
out the slot and forcing the Crunch to take low percentage
shots from the perimeter. Goehring kept Syracuse in the
game, stopping 31 shots. After a scoreless second period,
John Mitchell gave Toronto some breathing room 7:20 into
the third, sending a Hail Mary shot from the side boards
past Goehring for his eighth goal of the postseason.
 |
Syracuse responded quickly, when Gilbert Brule one-timed
a pass from MacKenzie past Clemmensen just over two and
a-half minutes later. However, the Crunch were unable
to convert on a late power play, sealing their fate.
Toronto is now 4-0 in the postseason when facing elimination
and became only the 14th team in AHL history to overcome
a 3-1 series deficit. The Marlies also took seven games
to win their first-round series against the San Antonio
Rampage, triumphing on home ice thanks to a late goal
by Bates Battaglia.
If Chicago wins the Game 7 showdown with Rockford Tuesday
night, the conference final will begin on the Wolves'
home ice. If Rockford wins, Toronto will hold home ice
advantage.
MacKenzie had four goals and 10 points in the series.
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
Power
Play |
21ST
- 15.0 |
Penalty
Killing |
1ST
- 87.4 |
FORWARDS |
DAVID
LING |
17-42-59
(-3) |
JOHN
MITCHELL |
20-31-51
(+2) |
ROBBIE
EARL |
14-33-47
(+15) |
DEFENSEMEN |
DERRICK
WALSER |
16-29-45
(+6) |
JAY
HARRISON |
13-14-27
(+3) |
CHRIS
HARRINGTON |
9-11-20
(+2) |
GOALTENDERS |
JUSTIN
POGGE |
26-10-4
(4 SO)
2.34 GA
.908 PCT |
|
SCOTT
CLEMMENSEN |
23-14-2
(1 SO)
2.44 GA
.910 PCT |
|
|
|
