Syracuse, NY (March 24, 2012) – The Crunch had their six-game winning streak snapped by a 4-3 shootout loss to the Rochester Americans tonight at the War Memorial Arena.
Tonight was the third consecutive game and second straight game against the Rochester Americans that a shootout was needed to determine a winner. The Crunch picked up a valuable point in the playoff race but dropped their overall record to 31-27-4-5.
The Crunch scored two goals in the span of 30 seconds to jump out to a 2-0 lead early in the first period. Riley Holzapfel scored his 15th of the season 4:07 into the first period, followed by Ryan O’Marra at the 4:37 mark.
Rochester scored three unanswered goals in the second period, giving the Amerks a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission. Phil Varone got Rochester on the board less than a minute into the period, followed by goals from Evan Rankin at the 9:41 mark and Paul Szczechura with 3:32 remaining in the frame.
Rick Schofield scored the lone goal of the third period at the 1:51 mark to tie the game and force overtime.
Neither team could score in the overtime session sending the game to a shootout. Rochester’s Varone was the lone player to score during the tiebreaking drill, and Rochester goaltender David Leggio turned aside all five Crunch shooters earning the victory.
The Crunch is tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference with the Manchester Monarchs. Syracuse, however, sits in eighth because Manchester owns the tiebreaker.
Crunchables: The Crunch have points in seven consecutive games…Riley Holzapfel is on a seven-game point streak, which matches a season-high set by Kyle Palmieri from February 21 to March 4…Troy Bodie has seven points (2g, 4a) in his last eight games…
Courtesy: Syracuse Crunch
