Cirelli earns AHL recognition as the Crunch's winning streak reaches nine

Last Week
Wed., Dec. 6 - Crunch at Utica - W, 6-1
Fri., Dec. 8 - Crunch at Binghamton - W, 5-2
Sat., Dec. 9 - Crunch at Belleville - W, 6-0
This Week
Fri., Dec. 15 - Crunch vs. Providence - 7 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 16 - Crunch at Lehigh Valley - 7:05 p.m.

Crunch collect three roads wins in Week 10
Syracuse stretched its winning streak to nine games with three road wins in three different cities over four nights in Week 10. The Crunch (13-9-1-2) win streak is the third longest in franchise history and puts the Crunch in third place in the North Division with a 0.580 points percentage.
The Crunch outscored their opponents 17-3, beginning the week with a 6-1 win at the Adirondack Bank Center over the Utica Comets. They trailed 1-0 before scoring the final six goals of the game, aided by an Adam Erne hat trick. Friday brought the Crunch to Binghamton where the Devils opened a 2-0 lead before Syracuse scored five straight goals in a 5-2 win. The Crunch capped the week with a 6-0 shutout in Belleville, their second win in a week against the Senators.
Syracuse plays two games in Week 11, opening at home with an Eastern Conference Finals rematch against the Providence Bruins. The Crunch travel to face the Lehigh Valley Phantoms the next day.
Top Performers
Anthony Cirelli led a potent and balanced Crunch attack with seven points (3g, 4a) in three games, earning AHL Player of the Week honors. Cirelli started with back-to-back three-point performances, the first two of his career, Wednesday in Utica and Friday in Binghamton. He capped the week with a goal in Belleville on Saturday.
The 20-year-old leads the Crunch with 19 points (6g, 13a) in 25 games, placing him sixth among AHL rookies. Cirelli became the first Crunch player to win AHL Player of the Week since Vlad Namestnikov for the week ending Feb. 22, 2015.
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Adam Erne pushed his scoring streak to a season-high five games, potting six points (3g, 3a) in Week 10. He netted his first career hat trick Wednesday in Utica as part of a four-point game, then added one assist in the final two games of the week.
Erne's hat trick was the first for the Crunch since Erik Condra's three-goal performance Feb. 25, 2017 vs. Rochester.
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First-year Crunch forward Carter Verhaeghe had a point in all three games in Week 11, extending his streak to four games. He had his first two-goal game of the season Wednesday, added a power-play goal Friday and an assist Saturday. Verhaeghe's four-game scoring streak (3g, 2a) gives him 11 points (6g, 5a) and a +7 rating in 12 games.
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Dominik Masin continued to add points from the blue line, contributing four assists in three games. He enters Week 11 on a career-high four-game point streak (5a) and has already set career-highs in goals (4) and points (10).
During the Crunch's nine-game winning streak, the second-year defenseman has seven points (2g, 5a), eclipsing his six points as a rookie in 69 games last season.
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Goaltender Connor Ingram logged his first professional shutout Saturday in Belleville, making 18 saves to earn his third straight win. He had 12 shutouts in three seasons with Kamloops of the WHL, plus one in the playoffs for the Blazers.
Alexander Volkov became the second Crunch player this season to log a four-point game with two goals and two assists against Belleville. The first multi-point game of his career gives him 12 points (6g, 6a) on the season and eight in nine games.
Week 10 ResultsWednesday, December 6 | Game 23 at Utica | W, 6-1
Syracuse 1 2 3 - 6 Shots: 8-12-8-28 PP: 1/6
Utica 1 0 0 - 1 Shots: 9-7-9-25 PP: 0/5
1st Period-Erne 4 (Lynch), 17:57. 2nd Period-Verhaeghe 4 (Masin, Cernak), 9:55. Verhaeghe 5 (Bournival), 11:02. 3rd Period-Spencer 1 (Cirelli, Erne), 7:54. Erne 5 (Bodie, Cirelli), 10:05. Erne 6 (Joseph, Cirelli), 12:48 (PP). . . . Domingue 5-2-0 (25 shots-24 saves). A-3,917
Friday, December 8 | Game 24 at Binghamton | W, 5-2
Syracuse 1 4 0 - 5 Shots: 5-14-4-23 PP: 1/2
Binghamton 2 0 0 - 2 Shots: 12-5-6-23 PP: 0/5
1st Period-Joseph 4 (Thomas, Bodie), 19:52. 2nd Period-Verhaeghe 6 (Erne, Bodie), 3:09 (PP). Gallant 1 (Masin, Cirelli), 4:45. Cirelli 4 (Joseph, McBain), 7:35. Cirelli 5 (Joseph), 17:19. . . . Domingue 6-2-0 (23 shots-21 saves). A-3,527
Saturday, December 9 | Game 25 at Belleville | W, 6-0
Syracuse 2 2 2 - 2 Shots: 9-9-8-26 PP: 2/4
Belleville 0 0 0 - 0 Shots: 7-7-4-18 PP: 0/8
1st Period-Volkov 5 (Lynch, Thomas), 9:01. Stephens 4 (Volkov, Verhaeghe), 14:37. 2nd Period-McBain (Volkov, Peca), 7:35 (PP). Stephens 5 (Masin), 15:05 (SH). 3rd Period-Cirelli 6 (Erne, Joseph), 10:37 (PP). Volkov 6 (Peca, Masin), 16:09. . . . Ingram 4-4-1 (18 shots-18 saves). A-3,417
Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play 14.8% (19-for-128) 24th (27th)
Penalty Kill 84.0% (121-for-144) 9th (20th)
Goals For 3.28 GFA (82) 10th (T-17th)
Goals Against 2.92 GAA (73) T-9th (T-18th)
Shots For 29.56 SF/G (739) 18th (14th)
Shots Against 25.00 SA/G (625) 1st (1st)
Penalty Minutes 17.84 PIM/G (446) 3rd (4th)
Category Leader
Points 19 Cirelli
Goals 7 Bournival, Conacher
Assists 13 Cirelli
PIM 81 Gallant
Plus/Minus +12 Bodie, Cernak, Stephens
Wins 6 Domingue
GAA 2.00 Domingue
Save % 0.926 Domingue