Syracuse Crunch lead division at quarter point
The Lightning's AHL affiliate regained the North Division lead in Week 8 with five of eight possible points.
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Press Release
Syracuse regained the North Division lead in Week 8 with five of eight possible points (2-1-0-1). The team's 12-6-0-1 record and .650 points percentage ranks second in the Eastern Conference.
Syracuse earned three points in St. John's, downing the IceCaps, 6-2, Tuesday before falling in a shootout Wednesday, 3-2. The Crunch completed a stretch of seven straight games against North Division opponents with a 4-0 win over Rochester Saturday at the War Memorial. Syracuse owns an intra-divisional record of 11-2-0-1. The Crunch slipped to 1-4-0-1 against the Atlantic Division with a 4-2 loss Sunday in Hershey, snapping a season high point streak at five games.
After playing four of five games on the road, Syracuse plays three straight at home. After a Wednesday meeting with Lehigh Valley, Syracuse plays two division games: Albany Friday and Utica Saturday. The Crunch are 7-1-0-1 at home and 5-5-0-1 on the road.
Top Performers
Adam Wilcox
recorded his first professional shutout Saturday vs. Rochester, stopping 25 shots in his 40th career appearance. Wilcox, who tied a school record with 13 shutouts in three seasons at Minnesota, last recorded a shutout in the Big Ten tournament March 20, 2014, with 39 saves vs. Ohio State at Joe Louis Arena.
Wilcox has won his last three starts, including both games in Week 8, improving to 8-3-0. His 2.14 goals-against average ranks 10th in the AHL. Last season, Wilcox was 9-12-6 in 27 appearances with a 3.34 G.A.A.
With six points (2g, 4a) in four games,
Matt Taormina
climbed atop the Crunch scoring leaderboard in Week 8. His total of 18 points ranks second in the AHL among defensemen, as do his 12 assists. Only one player in the AHL had more points in Week 8 than Taormina: Lehigh Valley's Jordan Weal at three goals and four assists.
Taormina recorded two goals Tuesday at St. John's, the third two-goal night of his career and the first since Feb. 28, 2014. He followed that with a three-point game (3a) Saturday vs. Rochester, his first since Oct. 30, 2015. He has four three-point games in his career, including a three-assist game in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at Portland May 2, 2013.
Taormina has at least one point in 12 of the 15 games he's played, with five multi-point games. He had eight last year and totaled 41 points (13g, 28a) in 61 games.
Tanner Richard
and
Erik Condra
contributed three-point games in Week 8. Richard totaled five assists in Week 8, including three in Tuesday's win at St. John's. Richard has two three-point games this year (hat trick Nov. 12) and is third on the Crunch at 15 points (6g, 9a).
Condra returned to Syracuse in Week 8 after spending more than a week in the NHL with Tampa Bay. He recorded three points (1g, 2a) in Saturday's shutout of Rochester. Condra has 12 points (4g, 8a) in 16 games.
Michael Bournival
and
Joel Vermin
were recalled by Tampa Bay Nov. 30 and made their Lightning season debuts Dec. 1. Vermin, in his first NHL game since Dec. 14, 2015, posted two assists vs. St. Louis. He has three career assists in nine NHL games. Bournival, whose first 89 NHL games came with Montreal, became the 40th player to appear in a game for the Crunch and Lightning since the teams affiliated in 2012.
Bournival, who leads Syracuse with a plus-11, and Syracuse captain
Luke Witkowski
were assigned to the Crunch by the Lightning Tuesday.
Upcoming: Lehigh Valley, Albany, Utica
The Crunch host three opponents in Week 9: Lehigh Valley Wednesday, Albany Friday and Utica Saturday.
The Phantoms, Philadelphia's affiliate, is second in the Atlantic Division and third in the conference at 15-6-1-0 (.705). Jordan Weal leads the team at 24 points (9g, 15a), tied for second in the AHL. He and Taylor Leier (6g, 14a) are two of 12 players in the AHL over 20 points. Colin McDonald is tied for the league lead in goals, 11.
Albany snapped a three-game skid with a 3-1 win Sunday vs. Binghamton; the clubs meet again Wednesday. The Devils are second in the North at 13-8-0-1 (.614), but are 4-6-0-1 on the road. Albany is without top scorer John Quenneville (recalled by New Jersey) and goalie Scott Wedgewood (shoulder). Joe Blandisi has 17 points.
The Comets have won two of three meetings with the Crunch, but are 9-11-1-0, fifth in the North Division. Utica has won its last two games, a home-and-home with Albany. The Comets, who play Toronto and Binghamton this week, rank 26th in the league at 2.48 goals per game, led by Alexandre Grenier's 15 points (5g, 9a) and Jordan Subban's 14 points (5g, 9a).
