Weekly Wrap-Up - North Division (Week 22)

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This week in the North Division: Syracuse is streaking once again, the Devils finally escape the basement, and the Comets go cold.

Tuesday, February 27th

Binghamton 4, Belleville 1

With a little help from a rehabbing Cory Schneider, the Devils jumped out of the North basement with a win over the Senators, who dropped their fifth straight.  Four different Devil skaters would have goals, Tim Kennedy added three assists, Jacob MacDonald added two helpers, and Schneider stopped 19 of 20 shots in his first AHL appearance since 2010 with Manitoba.

Filip Chlapik had the lone Senators goal, and Danny Taylor added 21 saves.

Wednesday, February 28th

Syracuse 4, Toronto 3 (OT)

Mathieu Joseph’s 10th goal of the season 43 seconds into overtime would power the Crunch to their fifth straight win in a morning matchup against the Marlies.  Anthony Cirelli would score twice, Gabriel Dumont added three assists, and Eddie Pasquale stopped 44 shots and had an assist on the game winning goal.

Ben Smith had a goal and two assists, Andreas Johnsson added two helpers, and Garret Sparks had 35 saves.

Bridgeport 2, Rochester 1

After the Sound Tigers and Amerks traded goals in the first period, it took until 1:23 into overtime for Travis St. Denis to score the game winner for Bridgeport to edge Rochester.

Sean Malone would pick up the lone Rochester goal, and Linus Ullmark had 25 saves.

Friday, March 2nd

Syracuse 3, Binghamton 2

Things looked good for the Devils as they lead the Crunch 2-0 in the third period in Syracuse, thanks to goals by Nick Lappin and MacDonald.

Then, in a span of 2:53 midway through the third, Matthew Peca, Carter Verhaeghe, and Erik Condra all scored to give Syracuse a come from behind win to extend their latest win streak to six.

Connor Ingram picked up win #16 with 26 saves, while Ken Appleby finished with 21 saves in taking the loss.

Belleville 1, Utica 0

Gabriel Gagne had the lone goal in the second period, and Taylor stopped all 32 shots as the Senators stopped their 5-game skid with a road win over the Comets.

Richard Bachman would stop 27 of 28 shots in the hard luck defeat.

Bridgeport 4, Laval 2

Kane LaFranchise’s 2nd goal of the season with 7:31 remaining in regulation would break a 2-2 tie and the Sound Tigers would add a late insurance goal to down the Rocket.

Kerby Rychel and Adam Cracknell provided Laval’s offense, while Michael McNiven had 33 saves.

Saturday, March 3rd

Rochester 4, Toronto 1

A 2 goal opening period would power the Amerks to a road win over the Marlies.  Newcomer Daniel O’Regan would score his first two Rochester goals, Justin Bailey and Zach Redmond would each have a marker, and Ullmark had 26 saves.

Johnsson would have the lone Toronto goal, and Calvin Pickard added 27 saves.

Bridgeport 4, Belleville 2

The Senators jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the visiting Sound Tigers after one period thanks to goals from Ben Sexton and Nick Paul.  However, Bridgeport would then score four unanswered goals over the final 40 minutes to defeat Belleville.  Marcus Hogberg stopped 23 of 26 shots in defeat.

Hershey 3, Utica 0

For the second straight night, the Comets would fall victim to a shutout, this time at the hands of Pheonix Copley and the Bears.  In defeat, Thatcher Demko stopped 27 of 30 shots.

Laval 5, Syracuse 4 (OT)

The Crunch win streak may have ended at six, but their point streak made it to seven after the Rocket rallied in the third period to defeat Syracuse in overtime.  After the Crunch lead 4-2 going into the third on goals from Condra, Dumont, Dennis Yan, and Mat Bodie, Antoine Waked and Rychel would score on Domingue in the third to tie the game at 4, then Jeremy Gregoire would end it with 32 seconds remaining in the extra frame.  Chris Terry had his 23rd goal of the season in the first, and Zachary Fucale finished with 33 saves.  Domingue had 17 saves on 22 shots in defeat.

Lehigh Valley 4, Binghamton 0

A day after the Phantoms came back from a 5-1 deficit against Hershey to finish off a 7-6 comeback win over the Bears, it was a much easier night for goaltender Dustin Tokarski, as he stopped all 29 Devil shots in a win over visiting Binghamton.  Mackenzie Blackwood took the loss in net for the Devils, stopping 23 of 27 shots.

Sunday, March 4th

Toronto 4, Belleville 1

Justin Holl’s 5th goal of the season broke a 1-1 tie early in the second, and the Marlies would tack on two more in a road win over the Senators.  Trevor Moore added a goal and an assist, Ben Smith added two helpers, and Sparks needed just 15 saves for the victory.  Andreas Englund had the lone Belleville goal, while Taylor stopped 47 of 51 shots.

Rochester 4, Laval 2

Justin Danforth’s first goal of the season broke a 2-2 tie in the second, as the Amerks edged the Rocket at home.  Daniel Muzito-Bagenda added a goal and an assist, Zach Redmond and Kevin Porter each had goals, and Adam Wilcox added 21 saves.  Willie Corrin had a goal and an assist, Terry added two assists, and Michael McNiven had 25 saves for Laval.

Binghamton 7, Utica 2

Nick Lappin picked up his first career hat trick and added an assist, and Blake Pietila added two goals as the Devils pulled themselves back to sixth place with a blowout win over the reeling Comets.  Kevin Rooney added three assists, Ben Thomson and Brian Strait also added goals, and Eddie Lack made his first appearance since returning from New Jersey with 24 saves.  Andrew Chernichiwan and Reid Boucher each had goals, and Bachman stopped 25 of 29 in 31 minutes before being pulled for Demko, who stopped 7 of 10.

News & Notes Around the Division:

-Lack rejoined Binghamton on Thursday after Schneider was reinstated from the injured list.

-Rinat Valiev was recalled to Montreal on Saturday after making his Laval debut with an assist the day before.

-Rochester lost four players to recall this week: Seth Griffith was recalled on Tuesday, and Kyle Criscuolo and Brendan Guhle headed to Buffalo on Sunday. Daniel O'Reegan was called up on Wednesday morning.

-Michael Bournival was recalled to Tampa Bay on Tuesday, then was returned to Syracuse on Thursday to make room for Cirelli, who made his NHL debut with the Lightning later that night.

North Division Standings as of March 6th, 2018:

Toronto: 58 GP, 40-16-1-1, 82 points, .707 pct. Syracuse: 59 GP, 35-18-3-3, 76 points, .644 pct. Rochester: 59 GP, 29-15-9-6, 73 points, .619 pct. Utica: 59 GP, 29-20-6-4, 68 points, .576 pct. Laval: 58 GP, 22-28-6-2, 52 points, .448 pct. Binghamton: 58 GP, 19-30-6-3, 47 points, .405 pct. Belleville: 61 GP, 22-36-1-3, 48 points, .393 pct.

Playoff Picture

After Sunday’s action, updated magic numbers:

Toronto: 7 with 18 games remaining Syracuse: 13 with 17 games remaining Rochester: 16 with 17 games remaining Utica: 21 with 18 games remaining

As for Laval, Belleville, and Binghamton:

Belleville stands to be the first team eliminated, having the least amount of games remaining (15).  Their elimination number sits at 11. Binghamton has 18 games remaining, their elimination number sits at 16. Laval also has 18 games remaining, their elimination number is 21.

(Author’s note: Of course, these numbers are if the math involved is correct.)

This Week’s North Division Schedule:

Wednesday, March 7th

Providence at Laval, 7:30 PM

Friday, March 9th

Hershey at Syracuse, 7:00 PM Springfield at Utica, 7:00 PM Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Binghamton, 7:05 PM Providence at Rochester, 7:05 PM Belleville at Laval, 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 10th

Providence at Toronto, 4:00 PM Belleville at Laval, 7:00 PM Rochester at Syracuse, 7:00 PM Hershey at Binghamton, 7:05 PM Utica at Springfield, 7:05 PM

Sunday, March 11th

Syracuse at Rochester, 3:05 PM Binghamton at Lehigh Valley, 5:05 PM