Pascal Leclaire made 39 saves en route to his first shutout as a professional and the Syracuse Crunch downed the Rochester Americans 2-0 in American Hockey League action Saturday night.
Rochester opened the contest in strong fashion. They held a distinct advantage in play but could not solve Leclaire in the first. Syracuse, on the other hand, seemed to be reeling in the opening stanza, but remained in the game despite recording only 8 shots on the Rochester net.
The Amerks continued to carry the play in period number two, but it was the Crunch who would finally break the scoreless tie in this one. With Syracuse a man down, Darrel Scoville broke out of the Rochester zone, igniting a two on one break with center Brad Moran. Scoville did a good job of making Rochester blueliner David Cullen commit before sliding a backhand pass to Moran crashing the net. Moran didn't get much on the shot, but he did get enough to find the back of the net for a 1-0 Crunch lead.
In the third Rochester again held an advantage in play, but Pascal Leclaire just seemed to be getting stronger as the game progressed. He would hold the Amerks in check until Tim Jackman's tally gave the Crunch some breathing room at the 9:40 mark of the period. Jackman one-timed the rebound of a Jeremy Reich shot into the open side for his second goal in as many games and a 2-0 Syracuse lead.
From there it was all Leclaire. The former first round selection was just fantastic recording 39 saves in all as he pushed his record to 2-0 on the season. Ryan Miller registered 15 saves in the loss for the Amerks.
Crunch Ice Pack:
Date:October, 18, 2003
Where:Onondaga War Memorial at Oncenter
Opponent: Rochester Americans
Attendance:4,879
Boxscore:
First Period-Scoring-No Scoring. Syr (high-stick), 1:40; Lingren, Roc. (roughing), 9:03; Pandolfo, Syr (obs. hooking), 11:48; Cull, Syr (delay of game),18:24.
Second Period-Scoring-1. Syracuse Moran 3 (Scoville, Reich), 19:36, (sh). Penalties-Roc, Mosovsky, Roc (roughing), 2:37; Cull, Syr (roughing), 2:37; Traynor, Syr (holding), 2:42; Moran, Syr (holding the stick), 13:40; Eriksson, Syr (obs. hooking), 18:46; Bartovic, Roc (roughing), 19:52; Rohloff, Syr (double minor, roughing), 19:52.
Third Period:Scoring-2. Syracuse Jackman 2 (Reich, Scoville), 9:40.Penalties-Ryan, Roc (tripping), 7:36; Gaustad, Roc (holding the stick), 10:34; Knopp, Syr (boarding), 13:58.
Shots on Goal:Rochester, 12-12-15---39; Syracuse, 8-6-3---17. Power Play Opportunities:Rochester, 0-8; Syracuse, 0-3. Goalies-Rochester, Miller (1-1) 17 shots-15 saves; Syracuse, Leclaire (2-0) 39 shots-39 saves. Referee-Justin St. Pierre; Linesmen- John Everett, Tim Kotyra
Three Stars:
1. Pascal Leclaire: Leclaire was huge in this one as he turned away all 39 shots he faced on the night.
2. Brad Moran: The veteran center is off to a quick start this season as he notched his third goal of the season to open the scoring in the second.
3. Tim Jackman: Jacko was strong again tonight and his third period tally clinched it for the Crunch. Special Teams Continue to Shine
Special Teams Just Plain Special
The one constant to the Crunch's fast start this season has been the play of their special teams. Both units have thrived in the early going and that has enabled the Crunch to go unbeaten in their first three games of the season.
What has been especially strong is the play of Syracuse's penalty kill units. The Crunch have killed 19 of 20 opposing power play attempts and have been a perfect 15 of 15 the last two contests. Syracuse hasn't been exactly struggling with the man-advantage either even though they failed in all three power play attempts Saturday evening. Heading into last night's game the Crunch were a very respectable 4 of 9 when holding a man-advantage.
Quotes:
"You are thinking about it. Nobody says anything. It is one of the unwritten rules in hockey that nobody mentions it, but in the back of your mind you would love to get a guy who plays his heart out a shutout." -Crunch defenseman Darrel Scoville on if during the dying minutes of Saturday's game they were thinking about getting the shutout for Leclaire.
"We are trying to pressure on the penalty kill and not let them get set up and if they do get set up we try to just stay in the lanes." -Scoville on the success of the team's penalty kill.
"I was thinking shoot all the way actually and I saw the d-man slide so I brought it to my backhand and slid it across and Moran just happened to be there so it worked out well." -Scoville on his assist to open the scoring in the second period.
"I would have to say confidence. The big thing is he's got more confidence and in a goalie confidence is what you want." -Scoville on the difference so far this year in Pascal Leclaire.
"A shutout is always a bonus. We always play for the win and that is what we are doing right now. Individual stats are not my main concern." -Pascal Leclaire on recording his first professional shutout.
"I was maybe fighting the puck in the first half of the game, but I made a couple of saves in the second and it kind of gave me a little more confidence and I got a little more comfortable." -Leclaire commenting on how he seemed to get stronger as the game wore on.
"I will be alright. I will get some rest, some sleep on the bus. It is Gary's call and if I get the call I will be ready." -Leclaire on if he would be ready to start for the third straight night on Sunday.
Lineups: Rochester:Goal:Ryan Miller, Tom AskeyDefense:Scott Ricci, Doug Janik, Rick Mrozik, Ryan Jorde, Steve Lingren, Brian Chapman, Nathan Paetsch, David Cullen. Forwards:Milan Bartovic, Geoff Peters, Paul Gaustad, Jason Pominville, Chris Thornburn, Karel Mosovsky, Norm Milley, Sean McMorrow, Pete Gardiner, Jiri Novotny, Michael Ryan.
Syracuse:Goal:Karl Goehring, Pascal Leclaire. Defense:Darrel Scoville, Todd Rohloff, Paul Traynor, Pauli Levokari, Aaron Johnson, Anders Eriksson, Trent Cull. Forwards:Ben Knopp, Joe Motzko, Don MacLean, Jeremy Reich, Tim Jackman, Sean Pronger, Brad Moran, Tyler Sloan, Brandon Sugden, Mike Pandolfo.
Pre-game Skate:
Rochester scratched defenseman Ryan Jorde and forward Sean McMorrow. Syracuse's only scratch was forward Mark Hartigan, who is on recall to Columbus.
Crunch One-Timers:
Prior to the game the Crunch announced that the Blue Jackets have recalled forward Mark Hartigan. The 26 year-old Hartigan has appeared in two games with the Crunch this season recording one goal. He will be replacing Espen Knutsen who injured his neck against Chicago on Thursday evening…..After losing Hartigan and McDonell to the Jackets, Syracuse was forced to dress seven defensemen just to have 17 skaters in the contest.……On Friday the Amerks sent former Crunch netminder Greg Gardner to Mississippi of the ECHL. Gardner was signed in the off-season to give Rochester some depth in net, but was sent down to accommodate the arrival of Ryan Miller from the Sabres.
Parent Pulse:
Columbus dropped their second game of the season on Saturday, losing to the Nashville Predators 3-2 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville. In that game Kent McDonell notched his first NHL goal in his first game of the year for the Jackets. Mark Hartigan, who was also called up along with McDonell, did not play in the game. Fred Brathwaite recorded 30 saves in his first start as a member of the Blue Jackets. Also in the game Columbus enforcer Jody Shelley had a bout against former Binghamton Senator Wade Brookbank.
On Deck:
The Crunch continues their stretch of four games in five nights as they visit the Philadelphia Phantoms on Sunday. The Phantoms were beaten on Saturday 4-2 by the Toronto Roadrunners and are 2-2-1 on the season. Game time is set for 5:05 PM.