Weekly Wrap-Up - North Division (Week 26)
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In the Easter edition of the North Division Notebook…a win streak ends at lucky seven, the fight for third place continues, and the awards season has begun.
Wednesday, March 28th
Syracuse 5, Binghamton 1
A 3 goal first period, including two from Carter Verhaeghe, was all the Crunch needed to extend their win streak to six games after a home win over the Devils. Mathieu Joseph dished out three assists, Olivier Archambault and Kevin Lynch each added a goal and an assist, and Connor Ingram stopped 34 of 35 shots. Steve Santini had the lone Binghamton goal in the second, and Eddie Lack had 30 saves.
Toronto 5, Laval 1
The Rocket would take a 1-0 lead late in the first on Chris Terry’s 28th goal of the season, but the Marlies would then score five unanswered goals en route to their 8th win in their last 10 games. Five different Toronto skaters would have goals, Jeremy Bracco had three assists, Timothy Liljegren added two helpers, and Garret Sparks stopped 38 shots. Charlie Lindgren had 25 saves for Laval.
Utica 3, Rochester 2 (OT)
Michael Chaput’s second goal of the game with 1:24 remaining in overtime would give the Comets a road win over the Amerks, and within one point of third place in the North. Frankie Simonelli would have a goal and an assist, Patrick Wiercioch added two assists, and Thatcher Demko had 31 saves. Seth Griffith and Zach Redmond each had a goal for Rochester, and Adam Wilcox stopped 19 of 22 shots.
Friday, March 30th
Syracuse 4, Belleville 1
Two goals from Alexander Volkov would spark the Crunch to their seventh straight win and break a modest two game win streak for the Senators. Joseph would add a goal and an assist, Gabriel Dumont added two assists, and Eddie Pasquale had 27 saves. Boston Leier would score the lone Belleville goal, and Filip Gustavsson added 26 saves.
Utica 3, Hershey 1
Alexis D’Aoust would score twice, leading the Comets to a home win over the Bears. Guillaume Brisebois would add two assists, and with Demko on an emergency recall to Vancouver, Richard Bachman would step in and get the win in net, stopping 25 shots.
Binghamton 3, Laval 2
Nick Lappin’s 30th goal of the season would break a 2-2 tie early in the third, and the Devils would snap a 3-game winless streak with a home victory over the Rocket. Blake Speers and Kevin Rooney would each add goals, John Quenneville added two assists, and Lack stopped 21 of 23 shots. Terry and Jeremy Gregoire each had goals for Laval, and Michael McNiven had 26 saves in defeat.
Rochester 4, Charlotte 3 (OT)
Colin Blackwell’s second goal of the game just 12 seconds into overtime would give the Amerks a much needed win over the Checkers, keeping a one point lead over the Comets for third place. Redmond would add a goal and an assist, Blackwell would assist on the other two Amerk goals, and Jonas Johansson, pressed into duty after Wilcox was recalled to Buffalo, stopped 18 of 21 shots.
Toronto 3, Manitoba 2
Chris Mueller’s goal with just 25 seconds remaining in regulation would break a 2-2 tie, and the Marlies would edge the Moose to become the first AHL team to break the 100-point mark. Dmytro Timashov and Adam Brooks would each have a goal and an assist, Ben Smith would add two helpers, and Calvin Pickard had 25 saves.
Saturday, March 31st
Toronto 5, Manitoba 4
The Marlies would finish off a two-game sweep of the Moose with another one goal victory. Calle Rosen and Jeremy Bracco would each have a goal and an assist, Smith, Miro Aaltonen, and Trevor Smith would all add goals, and Sparks picked up win #29 with 28 saves.
Hershey 6, Laval 3
The Rocket winless streak reached six games after a road loss to the Bears, pushing Laval to the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Nikita Korostelev scored his first AHL goal, Adam Cracknell and Antoine Waked also added goals, and Lindgren had 32 saves.
Charlotte 4, Syracuse 1
The Crunch offense suddenly went cold in a loss to the Checkers, halting their latest win streak at seven. Olivier Archambault had the lone Syracuse goal, while Ingram celebrated his 21st birthday with the loss, stopping 26 shots.
Rochester 5, Binghamton 3
The Devils took a 3-1 lead into the third period on goals by Jacob MacDonald, Blake Speers, and Santini. However, the Amerks would break out with four goals in the final 20 minutes to edge Binghamton. Eric Cornel would score twice, Blackwell and Hudson Fasching each had a goal and an assist, Garret Ross added two assists, and Johansson stopped 23 of 26 shots. Lack stopped 22 of 26 in the loss.
Lehigh Valley 4, Belleville 2
The Senators dropped their second straight on the weekend with a road loss to the Phantoms. Jordan Murray and Jack Rodewald each had a goal, while Marcus Hogberg got the start, stopped 10 of 13, then left the game early in the third in favor of Gustavsson, who went 9 for 9 the rest of the way.
Utica 6, Springfield 5
Carter Bancks’s second goal of the game with 40 seconds in regulation would cap off a wild one in western Massachusetts, as the Comets edged the Thunderbirds. Lukas Jasek would have a memorable AHL debut, scoring his first goal and adding two assists. Wacey Hamilton added three assists, and Bachman had 30 saves.
News and Notes around the North:
-Garret Sparks was named AHL Player of the Week on Monday after winning all three of his starts last week, stopping 96 of 102 shots and finishing with a 1.73 goals against average.
-Speaking of awards, the AHL named the 30 team finalists for the IOA/American Specialty Man of the Year, given to a player for their contributions to the communities they represent, and to charitable organizations during the season. Representing the North are: Ben Sexton (Belleville), Austin Cangelosi (Binghamton), Chris Terry (Laval), Nathan Paetsch (Rochester), Daniel Walcott (Syracuse), Colin Greening (Toronto), and Jaime Sifers (Utica). They are now eligible for the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, to be announced at a later date.
-Laval’s Matt Petgrave was given a 1 game suspension on Friday, after taking a slew footing penalty against Toronto on Wednesday, resulting in a match penalty.
-With four goalies on Binghamton’s roster, two of them—Ken Appleby, who recently returned from injury—and Mackenzie Blackwood—were sent to Adirondack for playing time. After two starts with the Thunder, Appleby returned to Binghamton’s roster on Sunday.
-After adding three more players this week on either a PTO or an ATO, the Comets have had 52 different players suit up for at least one game this season. -Syracuse will gain the services of 2017 14th overall draft pick Cal Foote, after he signed his entry level contract with the Lightning on Sunday.
Calder Cup Playoff Update:
The positioning is still up in the air as the month of April begins. Utica remains one point behind Rochester for third place. Toronto’s magic number to clinch the division sits at 4 with 6 games to play. Syracuse has a magic number of 3 to clinch second place with 6 games to go. The only race left is for third, between the Amerks and the Comets, to determine which teams visit the Crunch and the Marlies in the first round.
North Division Standings as of April 2nd, 2018
X-Toronto: 70 GP, 50-18-1-1, 102 points, .729 pct. X-Syracuse: 70 GP, 43-20-3-4, 93 points, .664 pct. X-Rochester: 70 GP, 33-20-11-6, 83 points, .593 pct. X-Utica: 70 GP, 36-24-6-4, 82 points, .586 pct. Binghamton: 70 GP, 23-36-7-4, 57 points, .407 pct. Belleville: 70 GP, 26-39-2-3, 57 points, .407 pct. Laval: 71 GP, 24-38-7-2, 57 points, .401 pct.
This Week’s North Division Schedule
Wednesday, April 4th
Springfield at Belleville, 7:00 PM Rochester at Laval, 7:30 PM
Thursday, April 5th
Utica at Toronto, 11:00 AM
Friday, April 6th
Toronto at Utica, 7:00 PM Syracuse at Binghamton, 7:05 PM Belleville at Rochester, 7:05 PM Springfield at Laval, 7:30 PM
Saturday, April 7th
Laval at Belleville, 7:00 PM Utica at Syracuse, 7:00 PM Toronto at Rochester, 7:05 PM Binghamton at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:05 PM
Sunday, April 8th
Binghamton at Syracuse, 5:00 PM
