Eric Manlow scored twice and added an assist to lead the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 4-3 win over the Syracuse Crunch in American Hockey League action on Sunday.
The Griffins opened the scoring in this one with a power play goal at the 6:41 mark of the first period. With Grand Rapids holding a two-man advantage, Eric Manlow tipped a Jiri Hudler feed past Syracuse netminder Andrew Penner for his 10th of the season and an early Grand Rapids advantage.
The Crunch answered with back-to-back goals from Jeff Szwez to take a 2-1 lead heading into the middle twenty. Summoned from Dayton back on December 12th, where he registered 22 points in 22 games, Szwez brought his scoring touch with him to Syracuse.
His first tally came off an Ole-Kristian Tollefsen drive that was deflected on the way to the net by Mark Hartigan. Szwez corralled the loose puck in the slot and flipped a shot past Griffins goaltender Joey MacDonald for his first American League goal of the season.
Just over nine minutes later Szwez struck again, this time on the power play. Parked to the right of the Griffins net, Szwez collected the rebound of an Aaron Johnson drive and from a bad angle beat MacDonald for the score.
Early in the second Grand Rapids evened things up with a little help from lady luck. With Steve Goertzen in the box for hooking, former Crunch forward Donald MacLean fired a pass that deflected off the skate of Andrew Murray and past Penner to tie things at two.
Later in the period the Crunch recaptured the lead on a goal from Ben Simon. Andy Delmore ignited the play by firing a shot from the point that Simon deflected on the way in for his 9th of the year and a 3-2 game.
In the third the ghosts of Crunch past rose to the forefront yet again, this time in the form of Kent McDonell. The man infamous for missing an open net two seasons ago in the playoffs versus Rochester, didn’t miss this time and deposited Eric Manlow’s pass behind Penner for the score.
Grand Rapids completed their comeback later in the period on the second goal of the night from Manlow. Just as the Crunch had killed an extended five-on-three power play, Jiri Hudler found Manlow on the doorstep for the game-winner.
Joey MacDonald overcame a slow start and made 26 saves to pick up his fifth win of the season. Andrew Penner recorded 35 saves in a losing effort for the Crunch.
Crunch Ice Pack :
Date:Saturday, December 18, 2005
Where:War Memorial at Oncenter
Opponent:Grand Rapids Griffins
Attendance:4,056
Boxscore:
First Period-Scoring-1. Grand Rapids, Manlow 10 (Hudler, Quincey), 6:41, (pp). 2. Syracuse, Szwez 1 (Hartigan, Tollefsen), 9:15. Penalties-Kopecky, Gra (cross-checking), 2:50; Verot, Syr (tripping), 5:20; Methot, Syr (hooking), 6:24; Havern, Syr (hooking), 11:27; Oulahen, Gra (slashing), 17:28; Nowak, Syr (interference), 18:50.
Second Period-Scoring-4. Grand Rapids, MacLean 13 (unassisted), 2:25, (pp). 5. Syracuse, Simon 9 (Delmore), 7:11. Penalties-Goertzen, Syr (hooking), 2:04; Sugden, Syr (interference), 9:30; Szwez, Syr (tripping), 12:38.
Third Period-Scoring-6. Grand Rapids, McDonell 9 (Manlow, Quincey), 4:55, (pp). 7. Grand Rapids, Manlow 11 (Hudler, Bootland), 11:51. Penalties-Ellis, Gra (slashing), 1:53; Mauldin, Syr (tripping), 3:15; Nowak, Syr (hooking), 9:43; Bench Minor, Syr (too many men), 9:43; Helmer, Gra (hooking), 13:12. Shots on Goal-Grand Rapids, 21-9-9--39; Syracuse, 10-12-7--29.
Power Play Opportunities-Grand Rapids, 3-10; Syracuse, 1-4.
Goalies-Grand Rapids, MacDonald (5-4-1), 29 shots-26 saves; Syracuse, Penner (6-5-1), 39 shots-35 saves.
Referee-Dean Morton (36); Linesmen-Derek Sylvester (98), Brian Lemon (25).
Three Stars:
1. Eric Manlow: Manlow opened the scoring early and then notched the game-winner in the third.
2. Jeff Szwez: The latest in the Dayton pipeline, Szwez potted two in the first for Syracuse.
3. Donald MacLean: MacLean finished the night with a goal and an assist.
Lineups:
Griffins: Goal: Drew MacIntyre, Joey MacDonald. Defense: Greg Amadio, Clay Wilson, Nick Martens, Bryan Helmer, Kyle Quincey, Travis Richards, Derek Meech.Forwards:Eric Manlow, Tomas Kopecky, Donald MacLean, Kent McDonell, Nate DiCasmirro, Ryan Oulahen, Todd Jackson, Scott Cameron, Eric Himelfarb, Matt Ellis, Jiri Hudler, Darryl Bootland, Ryan Keller, Brad Bonello.
Crunch: Goal: Mike Ayers, Andrew Penner, Martin Prusek Defense: Marc Methot, Jeff MacMillan, Jamie Pushor, Andy Canzanello, Andy Delmore, Aaron Johnson, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen. Forwards:Mark Hartigan, Steve Goertzen, Ben Simon, Tyler Kolarik, Darcy Verot, Andrew Murray, Peter Sarno, Brandon Sugden, Joakim Lindstrom, Greg Mauldin, Brett Nowak, Tim Konsorada, Jeff Szwez, Ned Havern, Joe Motzko.
Pre-Game Skate:
Scratched for the Crunch was goaltender Martin Prusek (groin), defenseman Andy Canzanello, right wings Joe Motzko (knee) and Tim Konsorada (abdomen), left wing Joakim Lindstrom (shoulder) along with center Peter Sarno (wrist). The Griffins sat defenseman Travis Richards, left wing Nate DiCasmirro, right wing Todd Jackson and center Brad Bonello.
Crunch One-Timers:
Prior to the game the Crunch announced another bevy of transactions. Steven Goertzen was returned to Syracuse to kick things off. Goertzen returns after missing the last four games while playing for the Jackets. Goaltender Mike Ayers also returned to replace the injured Martin Prusek and the Crunch signed forward Ned Havern to a P.T.O. Havern has appeared in 25 games with Trenton of the ECHL, recording 11 points (6g, 5a)………… With two assists on Sunday Andy Delmore extended his points streak to six games. Over that time he has recorded 1goal and 10 assists……..Mark Hartigan also extended his points streak to four games with an assist on Sunday.
On Deck:
The Crunch is off until Thursday when they hit the Thruway to pay a visit to the Blue Cross Arena for a game versus the Rochester Americans. The game is slated to start at 7:05 P.M and 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.