Syracuse set to face Rochester in first round of Calder Cup Playoffs

Last Week
Wed., April 11 - Crunch at Rochester - W, 1-0
Fri., April 13 - Crunch at Utica - W, 2-1 (OT)
Sat., April 14 - Crunch vs. Rochester - L, 4-2
North Division Semifinals
Game 1 - Fri., April 20 - Crunch vs. Rochester - 7 p.m.
Game 2 - Sat., April 21 - Crunch vs. Rochester - 7 p.m.
Game 3 - Wed., April 25 - Crunch at Rochester - 7:05 p.m.
Game 4* - Fri., April 27 - Crunch at Rochester - 7:05 p.m.
Game 5* - Sat., April 28 - Crunch vs. Rochester - 7 p.m.
*If necessary

Crunch head into Calder Cup Playoffs
The Crunch ended the 2017-18 regular season with two wins in their final three games in Week 28. Those wins propelled the Crunch to their third 100 point season in franchise history, finishing with a 46-22-3-5 record. Their 46 wins tied for second-most in franchise history and their 0.658 points percentage is the best mark in team history.
The Crunch head into the playoffs as the number two seed in the North Division, finishing fourth overall in the AHL. They will host the Rochester Americans in the North Division Semifinals beginning Friday in Syracuse.
Syracuse began the week with a 1-0 win over the Amerks Wednesday. The Crunch played their final road game Friday in Utica, claiming the Galaxy Cup with a 2-1 overtime win against the Comets. Rochester beat the Crunch, 4-2, in the regular season finale in Syracuse Saturday night.
Top Performers
Goaltender Connor Ingram closed out his regular season Wednesday in Rochester with a 1-0 shutout victory over the Amerks. Ingram, 21, made a career-high 38 saves to earn his 20th win of the season, tying Andrew Penner for the second-most by a Crunch rookie goaltender in franchise history.
Ingram ended with a 20-11-2 record in 35 appearances. His 2.33 goals-against average ranked eighth in the AHL and was tied for the best among rookie goalies. After starting the season 1-4-1, Ingram went 19-7-1 with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage from Nov. 25 through the rest of the season.
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Carter Verhaeghe closed out the regular season with a point in all three games in Week 28, pushing his scoring streak to four games (1g, 4a). He had at least one point in 11 of the final 15 regular season games, totaling 14 points (6g, 8a) to lead the Crunch in that span.
The 22-year-old's final month pushed him to second on the Crunch in scoring, closing the season with 48 points in 58 games. His overtime game-winning goal Friday in Utica gave him a new career-high 17 tallies.
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Rookie forward Alexander Volkov scored the final two goals of the regular season for the Crunch, recording his sixth multi-goal game of the season. The 20-year-old finished fourth on the Crunch with 45 points (23g, 22a) in 75 games.
Volkov's 23 goals were the most by a Crunch rookie since Cedric Paquette's 20 in 2013-14. He finishes tied with Peter Holland for the sixth-most by a Crunch rookie in a season.
Team notes
-Mathieu Joseph became the second Crunch rookie to lead the team in regular season scoring, ending the season with 53 points (15g, 38a). He is the first to do so since Boris Protsenko, who led the Crunch with 48 points in 1998-99.
-In addition to setting a new points percentage franchise record (0.658), the Crunch's 22 regulation losses were tied for the fewest in franchise history (2012-13).
-This season was only the second time the Crunch allowed fewer than 200 goals in a season, allowing 189 goals, which tied a franchise-best.
Upcoming: North Division Semifinals vs. Rochester
The Crunch will face the Rochester Americans in the North Division Semifinals. The best-of-five series begins with two home games Friday, April 20 and Saturday, April 21. The series shifts to Rochester for games three and four; Game 5 would be back in Syracuse April 28 if necessary.
The Crunch won the regular season series over the Amerks, holding a 6-2-1-1 record against Rochester. The Amerks won the first two games of the regular season against the Crunch, including an overtime win in the Crunch's home opener. Syracuse then won five straight head-to-head matches. The Crunch went 3-1-1-0 at home against the Amerks and were 3-1-0-1 in Rochester.
It's the fourth ever Calder Cup Playoffs series between the Crunch and Amerks. Rochester has won the previous three playoff series, most recently winning a seven-game series in the 2004 North Division Semifinals. Rochester also swept the Crunch 3-0 in the 1997 Empire State Division Semifinals and captured a 4-1 series win in the 1996 Southern Conference Finals, en route to their most recent Calder Cup.
Week 28 ResultsWednesday, April 11 | Game 74 at Rochester | W, 1-0
Syracuse 0 0 1 - 1 Shots: 5-5-8-18 PP: 0/4
Rochester 0 0 0 - 0 Shots: 11-13-14-38 PP: 0/6
3rd Period-Peca 13 (Verhaeghe, McNeill), 1:22. . . . Ingram 20-11-2 (38 shots-38 saves). A-4,090
Friday, April 13 | Game 75 at Utica | W, 2-1 (OT)
Syracuse 0 1 0 1 - 2 Shots: 6-7-6-3-22 PP: 0/2
Utica 0 1 0 0 - 1 Shots: 9-8-10-1-28 PP: 0/6
2nd Period-Walcott 5 (Tammela, Verhaeghe), 3:29. Overtime-Verhaeghe 17 (Volkov, Thomas), 4:21. . . . Pasquale 16-6-7 (28 shots-27 saves). A-3,917
Saturday, April 14 | Game 76 vs. Rochester | L, 4-2
Rochester 2 1 1 - 4 Shots: 14-18-11-43 PP: 1/7
Syracuse 1 1 0 - 2 Shots: 9-9-8-26 PP: 1/5
1st Period-Volkov 22 (Archambault, Verhaeghe), 11:13 (PP). 3rd Period-Volkov (Spencer, Archambault), 18:36. . . . Mantha 0-1-0 (42 shots-39 saves). A-6,347
Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play 15.7% (53-for-338) 24th (T-22nd)
Penalty Kill 84.8% (319-for-376) 3rd (T-3rd)
Goals For 3.08 GFA (234) T-11th (7th)
Goals Against 2.49 GAA (189) 3rd (3rd)
Shots For 30.13 SF/G (2290) 12th (11th)
Shots Against 27.01 SA/G (2053) 4th (1st)
Penalty Minutes 16.12 PIM/G (1225) 2nd (3rd)
Category Leader
Points 53 Joseph
Goals 23 Volkov
Assists 38 Joseph
PIM 194 Gallant
Plus/Minus +32 Bodie
Wins 20 Ingram
GAA 2.17 Domingue
Save % 0.923 Pasqual