Strong goaltending leads the Crunch to two wins in Week 25

Last Week
Fri., March 23 - Crunch vs. Bridgeport - W, 4-1
Sat., March 24 - Crunch vs. Utica - W, 2-0
This Week
Wed. March 28 - Crunch vs. Binghamton - 7 p.m.
Fri., March 30 - Crunch vs. Belleville - 7 p.m.
Sat., March 31 - Crunch vs. Charlotte - 7 p.m.

Crunch roll to two wins in Week 25
The Crunch extended their winning streak to five games with two home wins in Week 25. It's the fourth time this season the Crunch have won at least five straight games; they also have winning streaks of 10 games, nine games and six games. With nine games remaining, the Crunch (41-19-3-4) are in second place in the North Division with 89 points, which is one point behind last season's final total.
Syracuse hit the 40-win mark for the sixth time in franchise history with a 4-1 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Friday night. The next night, the Crunch blanked the Utica Comets, 2-0, in a game that was deadlocked 0-0 past the halfway point of the third period.
The Crunch continue their homestand with three games in four nights in Week 26.
Top Performers
The Crunch goalie tandem of Connor Ingram and Eddie Pasquale combined to stop 45 of 46 shots over their two wins in Week 25. The two goalies are 10-0-1 in their last 11 appearances since Feb. 18.
Pasquale denied 22 of 23 in his win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Friday night. The win improved Pasquale to 13-6-6 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. In his 11 Crunch appearances, the 27-year-old has a 7-1-2 record with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
Ingram's 23-save performance the next night was the rookie's third shutout of the season and boosted is record to 18-9-2 with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. He has won his last six decisions and is 14-4-1 since Dec. 30. With 18 wins, Ingram is tied with Kristers Gudlevskis for the third-most wins by a rookie goalie in franchise history.
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Matthew Peca picked up assists in both games in Week 25 to extend his scoring streak to five games since March 14. He has six points (1g, 5a) over the five games to push past the 40-point plateau for the third straight season.
Peca is second on the Crunch with 41 points (11g, 30a) in 56 games, matching last season's total in 12 fewer games. Peca's career high came as a rookie in 2015-16, notching 43 points (8g, 35a) in 65 games.
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Carter Verhaeghe scored two goals against his former team Friday night, leading the Crunch to a 4-1 win over Bridgeport. Verhaeghe's two tallies came against the player he was traded for July 1, 2017-Kristers Gudlevskis.
In his first season with the Crunch, Verhaeghe is fourth on the team with 39 points (13g, 26a). He is three goals away from his career-high 16 that he scored last season for the Sound Tigers.
Team News
The Crunch's two home wins in Week 25 pushed them past 20 home victories for the second straight season; they ended with 23 home wins last regular season. Syracuse also has 20 wins on the road. It is the second time in team history the team has at least 20 wins both at home and on the road; they had 27 home wins and 20 road wins in an 80-game season in 2005-06.
Upcoming: Binghamton, Belleville, Charlotte
The Crunch play three home games in four days to conclude their season-long six-game homestand.
They open the week Wednesday with their eighth head-to-head match with the Devils. The Crunch have won the last six games of the series with Binghamton (22-34-7-4), outscoring the Devils 26-7 in the last six. The most recent matchup was a 6-2 win for the Crunch in Binghamton March 14. The Devils were eliminated from playoff contention last week.
The Belleville Senators make their final trip to Syracuse Friday night as the teams wrap up their eight-game season series. The teams haven't played since a 5-2 Crunch win Jan. 26 in Syracuse and the Crunch have five wins in the first seven matches. The Senators (26-37-2-3) have also been eliminated from playoff contention despite entering the week with two straight wins. They trounced the Laval Rocket, 8-2, in their most recent game Sunday. This season marks the fourth in a row that the Senators organization will miss the Calder Cup Playoffs; the Binghamton Senators last made the playoffs in 2013-14.
The Crunch end the week Saturday against Charlotte; the game is the Crunch's final match against the Atlantic Division this season. Syracuse has two wins in three games against the Checkers. Charlotte (39-26-0-3) have a nine-point cushion for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
Week 25 ResultsFriday, March 23 | Game 66 vs. Bridgeport | W, 4-1
Bridgeport 0 0 1 - 1 Shots: 9-9-5-23 PP: 1/2
Syracuse 1 1 2 - 4 Shots: 9-9-12-30 PP: 1/2
1st Period-Verhaeghe 12 (Joseph, Bodie), 5:00 (PP). 2nd Period-Walcott 4 (Lynch, Volkov), 2:00. 3rd Period-Verhaeghe 13 (Peca, Spencer), 12:27. Lynch 12 (Volkov), 19:42 (EN). . . . Pasquale 13-6-6 (23 shots-22 saves). A-5,112
Saturday, March 24 | Game 67 vs. Utica | W, 2-0
Utica 0 0 0 - 0 Shots: 8-9-6-23 PP: 0/5
Syracuse 0 0 2 - 2 Shots: 9-11-17-37 PP: 0/4
3rd Period-Stephens 19 (Dumont, Masin), 12:21. Cernak 5 (Peca, Condra), 19:57 (EN). . . . Ingram 18-9-2 (23 shots-23 saves). A-6,211
Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play 15.2% (46-for-302) 24th (25th)
Penalty Kill 84.1% (275-for-327) T-8th (8th)
Goals For 3.18 GFA (213) T-6th (6th)
Goals Against 2.54 GAA (170) 3rd (4th)
Shots For 30.48 SF/G (2042) 10th (10th)
Shots Against 26.31 SA/G (1763) 1st (1st)
Penalty Minutes 15.67 PIM/G (1,050) 4th (3rd)
Category Leader
Points 47 Joseph
Goals 19 Stephens
Assists 33 Joseph
PIM 159 Gallant
Plus/Minus +31 Cernak
Wins 18 Ingram
GAA 2.17 Domingue
Save % 0.919 Domingue