Weekly Wrap-Up - North Division (Week 25)

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This week in the Spring edition of the North Division Notebook: the playoff field is set!  And the Crunch are at it once again.

Tuesday, March 20th

Toronto 4, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 (OT)

The Marlies celebrated their 1000th game as a franchise with an overtime win at home against the Penguins.  Adam Brooks would score his 4th of the season 1:17 into overtime for the win, while Andrew Nielsen, Calle Rosen, and Kyle Baun all added goals.  Garret Sparks would stop 37 shots for his 25th win of the season.

Friday, March 23rd

Toronto 4, Belleville 2

A three goal second period would spark the Marlies to a road victory over the Senators, officially eliminating Belleville from playoff contention.  Brooks lead all Toronto skaters with a goal and two assists, Vincent LoVerde added a goal and an assist, and Sparks stopped 25 shots.  Ethan Werek and Colin White had goals for the Senators, while Marcus Hogberg stopped 29 shots.

Syracuse 4, Bridgeport 1

Carter Verhaeghe scored twice against the team that traded him in the offseason--and against the player he was traded for, Kristers Gudlevskis--as the Crunch downed the visiting Sound Tigers, extending their latest point streak to six games.  Alexander Volkov added two assists, Kevin Lynch added a goal and an assist, and Eddie Pasquale had 22 saves.

Utica 5, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4 (OT)

The Comets would come out on home ice with a 3 goal first period, then allowed the Penguins to rally to tie the game late in the third period before finally pulling out an overtime win, lowering their magic number to clinch to 4.  Michael Chaput scored twice and assisted on Ashton Sautner’s overtime winner, Michael Carcone added a goal and an assist, Tanner MacMaster added two assists, and Thatcher Demko had 37 saves.

Binghamton 4, Rochester 2

Nick Lappin picked up his third hat trick of the season, upping his season goal total to 28, as the Devils downed the Amerks on the road.  John Quenneville, broken nose and all, added three assists, Tim Kennedy added two assists, and Eddie Lack had 29 saves.  Sahir Gill and Stuart Percy had goals for Rochester, and Adam Wilcox stopped 29 of 33 shots in defeat.

Charlotte 3, Laval 2 (OT)

The Rocket would carry a 2-0 lead into the third period on goals by Adam Cracknell and Jeremiah Addison.  But, the Checkers would score twice in the third to tie, then Lucas Wallmark would score his second goal of the game 2:41 into overtime to finish off the Charlotte comeback. Charlie Lindgren would finish with 30 saves.

Saturday, March 24th

Charlotte 5, Laval 3

The Rocket would fall behind 4-0 early in the third and never recover, resulting in a two-game sweep at the hands of the Checkers and pushing them closer to playoff extinction.  Cracknell scored his 25th goal of the season, Kerby Rychel and Jeremy Gregoire also scored, Matt Taormina and Chris Terry each added two assists, and Zachary Fucale had 32 saves.

Belleville 4, Toronto 2

Nick Moutrey’s goal with 6:06 remaining in regulation broke a 2-2 tie, leading the Senators past the Marlies, splitting a home and home series.  Jordan Murray added a goal and an assist, White and Max Reinhart also added goals, and Danny Taylor stopped 31 shots.  Miro Aaltonen and Andrew Nielsen had goals for Toronto, while Calvin Pickard stopped 13 of 15 in 31 minutes before leaving in favor of Sparks, who added 14 saves.

Syracuse 2, Utica 0

Mitchell Stephens would break a scoreless duel between Demko and Ingram with 7:39 remaining in regulation, giving the Crunch another five-game winning streak.  Erik Cernak added his fifth goal as time was running out, and Ingram stopped all 23 Comets shots for his third shutout of the season.  In the hard luck defeat, Demko would stop 35 of 36.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5, Binghamton 4 (SO)

Down 4-1 in the second period against the visiting Penguins in front of a sold-out crowd, the Devils would rally for three straight goals to send the game into overtime but were unable to grab the extra point after dropping an 8-round shootout.  Lappin picked up his 29th goal, Jacob MacDonald, Blake Speers, and Mario Lucia all added goals, Quenneville added two assists, and Mackenzie Blackwood had 27 saves.

Rochester 4, Springfield 2

Colin Blackwell would score twice, the second goal coming in the third period to break a 2-2 tie, and the Amerks broke a four-game losing streak and clinched the third North playoff spot with a home win over the Thunderbirds.  Seth Griffith had a goal and two assists, Danny O’Regan also had a goal, and Wilcox needed just 20 saves for the win.

Sunday, March 25th

Belleville 8, Laval 2

The Senators would score five unanswered goals over the final 21 minutes of the contest to turn a one goal game into a blowout of the Rocket.  Ville Pokka picked up a hat trick and had one assist, Ethan Werek had three assists, Murray and Reinhart each had two helpers, White added a goal and two assists, Boston Leier scored his first as a professional.  All but four Senator skaters had at least one point.  Filip Gustavsson, who was acquired in the Derick Brassard deal with Pittsburgh at the trade deadline, made his first appearance in North America and stopped 37 of 39 shots for the win.  Cracknell and Rychel each scored for Laval, and Lindgren had 24 saves.

Toronto 2, Springfield 0

Sparks needed just 20 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, and the Marlies capped off a busy week with a home win over the Thunderbirds.  Both Marlies goals were first pro goals for Pierre Engvall, a 2014 Maple Leafs 7th rounder from Sweden, and for amateur tryout Scott Pooley.

Utica 4, Binghamton 3

The Comets jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two periods, then had to hold off a Devil rally in the third to clinch the final North playoff spot.  All four Utica goals came from players signed to professional tryout agreements: Zac Lynch, Frankie Simonelli, Andrew Cherniwchan, and Matt Leitner.  Three other Comets would add assists, and Richard Bachman stopped 38 shots.  Speers, Nathan Bastian, and MacDonald would all have goals for the Devils, and Lack only stopped 10 of 14 shots.

News and Notes around the North:

Syracuse’s Michael Bournival is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a knee injury in the Crunch’s win over Laval last weekend.  He will have surgery to repair a torn ACL next week, with a six-month recovery period after.

In positive news for the Crunch, forward Olivier Archambault turned his PTO into a two-year AHL contract through next season.  The team also received forward Alexey Lipanov, a 2017 Tampa third rounder who just completed his junior season with Sudbury in the OHL.  He made his professional debut in Saturday’s win over Utica.

Forward Ben Sexton, a Kanata, Ontario native, was recalled to Ottawa on Saturday, his first career NHL recall after 155 AHL appearances with Providence, Albany, and Belleville.

Calder Cup Playoff Update

With all four spots in the North claimed—all that is left for the final three weeks of the regular season is positioning.

One game to keep an eye on this week: Utica and Rochester face off on Wednesday night at the Blue Cross Arena.  With Toronto and Syracuse likely staying in the first and second spots, the Comets and Amerks are essentially battling to avoid the Marlies in the first round.

If you want to look ahead, and if math is correct, the Marlies magic number to clinch the division sits at 12 with 9 games to play.  With the Crunch on another hot streak, it may take a while for Toronto to get to that point with help.

North Division Standings as of March 26, 2018

X-Toronto: 67 GP, 47-18-1-1, 96 points, .716 pct. X-Syracuse: 67 GP, 41-19-3-4, 89 points, .664 pct. X-Rochester: 67 GP, 31-20-10-6, 78 points, .582 pct. X-Utica: 67 GP, 33-24-6-4, 76 points, .567 pct. E-Laval: 68 GP, 24-35-7-2, 57 points, .419 pct. E-Belleville: 68 GP, 26-37-2-3, 57 points, .419 pct. E-Binghamton: 67 GP, 22-34-7-4, 55 points, .410 pct.

X = clinched 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs berth E - eliminated from playoff contention

This Week’s North Division Schedule

Wednesday, March 28th

Binghamton at Syracuse, 7:00 PM Laval at Toronto, 7:00 PM Utica at Rochester, 7:05 PM

Friday, March 30th

Belleville at Syracuse, 7:00 PM Hershey at Utica, 7:00 PM Laval at Binghamton, 7:05 PM Charlotte at Rochester, 7:05 PM Toronto at Manitoba, 7:05 PM CDT

Saturday, March 31st

Toronto at Manitoba, 2:00 PM CDT Laval at Hershey, 7:00 PM Charlotte at Syracuse, 7:00 PM Rochester at Binghamton, 7:05 PM Belleville at Lehigh Valley, 7:05 PM Utica at Springfield, 7:05 PM