Andrew Penner recorded 37 saves and Ben Simon chipped in with two goals to lead the Syracuse Crunch to a 4-1 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in American Hockey League action Friday night.
Bridgeport opened the scoring in this one with a shorthanded tally at the 4:22 mark of the first period. Just nine seconds into Syracuse's first power play of the night, the Sound Tigers broke into the Crunch zone on a two-on-one. Sean Bergenheim fired a shot that Andrew Penner put a pad on, but following up the play was Bridgeport defender Allan Rourke and he easily deposited the rebound into the open side for the score.
Syracuse evened things up late in the period on a goal from forward Ben Simon. With the Crunch holding a five-on-four advantage, Geoff Platt controlled the rebound of an Andy Delmore offering and fired a shot that Bridgeport goaltender Chris Madden was able to keep out, but right there was Simon, who chipped home the rebound for his fifth of the season and a 1-1 game heading into the middle twenty.
The Crunch took the lead just past the midway point of the second on a goal from Greg Mauldin. Andrew Murray and Darcy Verot did an excellent job creating the opportunity and Mauldin cleaned things up by diving for a loose puck in the crease and tipping the puck home for his second goal in as many nights.
Syracuse retained their lead in the second despite multiple opportunities for Bridgeport thanks to some fine play in net from Andrew Penner. In just over a minute of game time Penner was able to stop Sean Bergenheim on a breakaway, stone Kevin Colley from point blank range and deny Masi Marjamaki on a penalty shot.
Penner also denied Allan Rourke on a shorthanded opportunity just seconds later and that save lead to Syracuse's third goal of the evening. Breaking the other way off Penner's save, Joe Motzko roofed a shot past Madden for the Crunch's second power play goal of the evening a 3-1 lead.
From there Penner and the Crunch defense did the rest. Syracuse was able to kill off four Sound Tiger power plays in the period, including 1:01 of five-on-three time, before Ben Simon closed things out with an empty-net goal at the 19:05 mark.
Crunch Ice Pack :
Date:Friday, November 25, 2005
Where:War Memorial at Oncenter
Opponent:Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Attendance:5,280
Boxscore:
First Period-Scoring-1. Bridgeport, Rourke 5 (Bergenheim, Colley), 4:22, (sh). 2. Syracuse, Simon 5 (Platt, Delmore), 13:03, (pp). Penalties-Gervais, Bri (slashing), 4:13; Hamilton, Bri (hooking), 12:19; Collins, Bri (roughing), 13:35; Verot, Syr (cross-checking), 18:35.
Second Period-Scoring-3. Syracuse, Mauldin 2 (Murray, Verot), 10:18. 4. Syracuse, Motzko 3 (Hartigan), 17:30, (pp). Penalties-Gornick, Syr (interference), 6:01; Murray, Syr (hooking), 14:18; Hamilton, Bri (delay of game), 16:29; Methot, Syr (high-stick), 19:06. Missed Penalty Shot: Marjamaki, Bri (11:56).
Third Period-Scoring-5. Syracuse, Simon 6 (Platt), 19:05, (en). Penalties-Colley, Bri (double minor, roughing), 4:09; Simon, Syr (roughing), 4:09; Platt, Syr (goaltender interference), 5:12; Motzko, Syr (holding), 5:28; Mauldin, Syr (tripping), 11:29: Colley, Bri (roughing), 18:18; MacMillan, Syr (slashing), 18:18; Delmore, Syr (hooking), 19:11.
Shots on Goal-Bridgeport, 8-13-13--34; Syracuse, 15-14-6--35.
Power Play Opportunities-Bridgeport, 0-8; Syracuse, 2-5.
Goalies-Bridgeport, Madden (6-4-0), 35 shots-32 saves; Syracuse, Penner (2-2-0), 38 shots-37 saves.
Referee-Harry Dumas (44); Linesmen-Jim Harper (59), Steve Lemay (64).
Three Stars:
1. Andrew Penner: Pens was strong all night, especially during a stretch in the second period, when he single handily kept the Crunch in the game.
2. Ben Simon: Is it ever good to have Simon back. He was his usual self all night long and added a pair of scores.
3. Joe Motzko: Notched the Crunch's second power play goal of the evening.
Lineups:
Sound Tigers: Goal: Wade Dubielewicz, Chris Madden. Defense: Mike Jarmuth, Paul Flache, Vince Macri, Cole Jarrett, Bruno Gervais, Ryan Caldwell, Allan Rourke. Forwards: Sean Bergenheim, Masi Marjamaki, Kevin Colley, Jeff Hamilton, Rob Collins, Matt Koalska, Wyatt Smith, Travis Brigley, Steve Regier, Evgeny Tunik, David Masse.
Crunch: Goal: Mike Ayers, Andrew Penner, Dan McGuire. Defense: Marc Methot, Jeff MacMillan, Jamie Pushor, Andy Canzanello, Andy Delmore, Mark Flood. Forwards: Ben Simon, Tyler Kolarik, Darcy Verot, Geoff Platt, Andrew Murray, Peter Sarno, Joe Motzko, Brandon Sugden, Joakim Lindstrom, Greg Mauldin, Brett Nowak, Brian Gornick, Lyon Porter.
Pre-Game Skate:
Scratched for the Crunch were goaltender Mike Ayers (concussion), centers Tyler Kolarik (suspension) and Peter Sarno (wrist) along with right wing Brandon Sugden (concussion). The Sound Tigers didn't dress defenseman Paul Flache.
Crunch One-Timers:
Another day, another flurry of activity for the Crunch and their parent club. For starters Mike Rupp, Aaron Johnson and Jaroslav Balastik were recalled by the Blue Jackets. Rupp replaces Ben Simon, who was returned by Columbus one day earlier. The Crunch then recalled blueliner Mark Flood from Dayton and signed right wing Lyon Porter and goaltender Dan McGuire to P.T.O's. Porter has appeared in 15 games with Adirondack (UHL) this season, recording 9 goals, 4 assists and 50 penalty minutes. McGuire last saw action during the 2000-01 season, splitting time between Adirondack (UHL) and Border City (CHL). These latest recalls by the Jackets were in response to Columbus placing netminder Marc Denis (groin) and Alexandre Picard (concussion) on Injured Reserve…... …….The Blue Jackets also announced on Friday that they have come to terms with center Geoff Platt on an NHL contract.……..Darcy Verot's assist on Greg Mauldin's second period goal was his first point as a member of the Crunch.
From the Hangar :
The Bombers lost 4-2 at home on Friday to the Wheeling Nailers. Scoring for Dayton was tough guy Marco Capara along with former Crunch forward Scott Cameron. With the loss the Bombers fall five games below .500 at 5-10.
On Deck:
The Crunch is right back at it again on Saturday, hosting the Toronto Marlies in a North Division battle. On Friday the Marlies lost 4-3 at home to the Manitoba Moose. Game time is set for 7:30 P.M. and it can be heard locally on 620 WHEN and nationwide via the internet on www.syracusecrunch.com. It also can be streamed live on the internet courtesy of the B2 Network.