A perfect Week 24 has the Crunch headed back to the Calder Cup Playoffs

Last Week
Wed., March 14 - Crunch at Binghamton - W, 6-2
Fri., March 16 - Crunch at Springfield - W, 3-2 (OT)
Sat., March 17 - Crunch vs. Laval - W, 5-2
This Week
Fri., March 23 - Crunch vs. Bridgeport - 7 p.m.
Sat., March 24 - Crunch vs. Utica - 7 p.m.

Crunch playoff bound for second straight year
Syracuse locked in its second straight Calder Cup Playoffs berth by sweeping a three-game Week 24. The Crunch are headed to the Calder Cup Playoffs for the 14th time in franchise history; it's the first time they've made it in consecutive seasons since 2011-12 and 2012-13. The Crunch are 39-19-3-4 and remain in second place in the North Division with 85 points, within five of the Toronto Marlies.
Syracuse clinched its playoff berth Wednesday in Binghamton, earning a 6-2 win over the Devils while the Laval Rocket suffered a regulation loss to Toronto, which were the two pieces to the clinching puzzle. The Crunch then topped Springfield, 3-2, in overtime Friday and defeated the Rocket, 5-2, at home Saturday.
The Crunch play two home games in Week 25 to continue their season-long six-game homestand. They host Bridgeport Friday and Utica Saturday.
Top Performers
Defenseman Mat Bodie led all Crunch scorers in Week 24 with five points (1g, 4a) in three games. After being held without a point Wednesday in Binghamton, Bodie exploded with back-to-back multi-point performances. He had two assists Friday in Springfield and capped the week with three points (1g, 2a) Saturday against Laval.
Bodie, 28, leads all Crunch defensemen and ranks seventh among AHL blueliners with 35 points (6g, 29a) in 65 games. The fourth-year-pro had a career-high 39 points (10g, 19a) with Hartford and Rochester last season. He is the only player who has appeared in all 65 Crunch games this season and his +29 rating is fifth in the AHL.
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Olivier Archambault scored a goal in all three games in Week 25, extending his point streak to a career-high five games. He scored a power-play goal Wednesday in Binghamton, netted a highlight-reel overtime game-winning goal Friday in Springfield and then struck twice Saturday vs. Laval.
Archambault, 25, is near the end of his 25-game professional try-out with the Crunch. He has 13 points (8g, 5a) in 19 games since joining the team Jan. 23. Once his PTO expires, the Crunch can either sign Archambault to another PTO, an AHL contract or release him.
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Matthew Peca had a point in all three games last week, logging four total points (1g, 3a). He had two helpers Wednesday, netted a power-play goal Friday and earned another assist Saturday. He has eight points (3g, 5a) in 12 games following a month-long stint with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 54 Crunch games, Peca has 39 points (11g, 28a), which is four points shy of his career high.
Peca's two assist game against the Devils was his ninth multi-point game of the season. He ranks tied for second on the Crunch, only trailing Mathieu Joseph's 10 multi-point games.
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Goaltender Louis Domingue won his two starts with the Crunch last week before promptly getting recalled to Tampa Bay Saturday. He allowed four goals on 58 shots, good for a .931 save percentage, to improve to 13-5-0 with a 2.17 goals-against average with the Crunch.
Upcoming: Bridgeport, Utica
The Crunch continue their homestand with matches against Bridgeport and Utica in Week 25.
The Sound Tigers make their only appearance in Syracuse this season with their Friday visit to the War Memorial Arena. The Crunch topped Bridgeport, 3-2, Feb. 11 in what was the final game of a three-in-three weekend for Syracuse. The Sound Tigers (31-25-5-3) are on the outside off the Atlantic Division playoff positions, sitting seven points behind Charlotte with two games in hand on the Checkers. The game marks the return of former Crunch goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis, who has appeared in nine of the last 10 Sound Tigers games.
The Crunch and Comets clash Saturday night for their 10th Galaxy Cup series match, but the first since Feb. 14, a 3-2 Crunch win. Since that game, Utica is 5-9-0-1 to drop to fourth in the North Division. The Comets trail Rochester by four points and the Crunch by 13.
Week 24 ResultsWednesday, March 14 | Game 63 at Hershey | W, 6-2
Syracuse 2 2 2 - 6 Shots: 14-12-7-33 PP: 2/5
Binghamton 0 1 1 - 2 Shots: 7-11-12-30 PP: 1/5
1st Period-Volkov 17 (Peca, Cernak), 7:19. Yan 12 (Stephens), 15:19. 2nd Period-Yan 13 (Unassisted), 9:19. Lynch 10 (Stephens, Walcott), 13:20. 3rd Period-Volkov 18 (Verhaeghe, Joseph), 8:34 (PP). Archambault 7 (Condra, Peca), 17:33 (PP). . . . Domingue 12-5-0 (30 shots-28 saves). A-2,747
Friday, March 16 | Game 64 at Springfield | W, 3-2 (OT)
Syracuse 1 1 0 1 - 3 Shots: 15-12-6-2-35 PP: 1/7
Springfield 0 0 2 0 - 2 Shots: 7-10-10-1-28 PP: 1/5
1st Period-Dumont 3 (Bodie, Bournival), 13:47 (SH). 2nd Period-Peca 11 (Condra, Bournival), 18:26 (PP). Overtime-Archambault 8 (Verhaeghe, Bodie), 2:06. . . . Domingue 13-5-0 (28 shots-26 saves). A-5,417
Saturday, March 17 | Game 65 vs. Laval | W, 5-2
Laval 0 1 1 - 2 Shots: 3-10-8-21 PP: 1/7
Syracuse 2 1 2 - 5 Shots: 9-8-15-32 PP: 1/8
1st Period-Lynch 11 (Thomas, Bodie), 18:04. Archambault 9 (Dumont, Joseph), 18:31. 2nd Period-Bodie 6 (Dumont, Joseph), 8:19. 3rd Period-Archambault 10 (Peca, Joseph), 1:24 (PP). Dumont 4 (Bodie, Walcott), 17:20 (EN). . . . Ingram 17-9-2 (21 shots-19 saves). A-5,071
Category Average/Total AHL Rank (Prev)
Power Play 15.2% (45-for-296) 25th (25th)
Penalty Kill 84.1% (269-for-320) 8th (8th)
Goals For 3.18 GFA (207) 6th (T-9th)
Goals Against 2.60 GAA (169) 4th (4th)
Shots For 30.38 SF/G (1975) 10th (11th)
Shots Against 26.42 SA/G (1717) 1st (2nd)
Penalty Minutes 15.83 PIM/G (1,029) 3rd (3rd)
Category Leader
Points 46 Joseph
Goals 18 Stephens, Volkov
Assists 32 Joseph
PIM 154 Gallant
Plus/Minus +30 Cernak
Wins 17 Ingram
GAA 2.17 Domingue
Save % 0.919 Domingue