FOUR FIRST-PERIOD GOALS PROPEL CRUNCH OVER ROCKET IN 5-2 WIN
SYRACUSE (December 6, 2019)—For a second Friday in a row, the Rocket were in Syracuse to face the Crunch at the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena. Four consecutive first-period goals were enough to lead the home side past the visitors with a 5-2 victory, avenging last week’s 4-2 loss against the Rocket.
Cory Conacher recorded two goals and an assist, earning the first star of the game. In his past four games, the right-winger has tallied six points (4 G, 2 A). Peter Abbandonato, Chris Mueller, Jake Evans, and Riley Barber each recorded a pair of assists. Barber extended his point streak to four games and leads all Rocket players with 16 points (5 G, 11 A). The Pittsburgh, PA native has produced 13 points (4 G, 9 A) in his last 11 outings. Keith Kinkaid made 24 saves in his debut with the Rocket.
The Crunch scored four unanswered goals in the opening frame off the sticks of Gemel Smith, Cameron Gaunce, Boris Katchouk, and Conacher. In the second period, captain Xavier Ouellet scored the Rocket’s first goal on a two-on-one rush with Jake Evans. On a 5-on-3 powerplay, Lukas Vejdemo recorded his eighth goal of the season. Conacher notched his second goal of the night on the powerplay in the third period.
“We started the week off right with a win at home on Wednesday. What happened today, happened. It’s over [now]. We need to [focus on] our game tomorrow in Springfield. […] You take what you can from the game, you move on, and you have to get ready for tomorrow,” said Barber after the game.
Marqueurs/Scorers
LAV: Ouellet (Barber, Evans) | Vejdemo (Barber, Evans)
SYR: Smith (Colton, Conacher) | Gaunce (Martel, Abbandonato) | Katchouk (Abbandonato, Stephens) | Conacher (Mueller) | Conacher (Foote, Mueller)
Unités spéciales/Special teams
LAV | AN/PP: 1/4 | IN/PK: 4/5
SYR | AN/PP: 1/5 | IN/PK: 3/4
Gardiens/Goaltenders
LAV: Kinkaid (24/29) | SYR: Wedgewood (15/17) Martin (3/3)
Trois étoiles/Three stars
1. Conacher – SYR 2. Witkowski – SYR 3. Colton – SYR
