It was a weekend where going 50/50 on road trips hit both the Syrause Silver Knights and the Syracuse Crunch. Both teams had incentive to win; the Knights looking to snap a three game losing streak and get back to .500 while the Crunch were fighting to remain top dog in the AHL North Division. On the pitch, the Knights travelled to the middle of the United States to face Milwaukee and Chicago. On Friday, the Knights battled back from a slow start to defeat the Milwakee Wave 6-3. Kenardo Forbes led the Knights, scoring a hat trick while Slavisa Ubiparivpovic contributed a goal and two assists in the win. However, the Knights would not climb back to .500 on the year, falling to the Chicago Mustangs 10-7 on Sunday. The Knights were up 5-1 at the half and 6-2 after three quarters in the game. However, they collpased completely, allowing eight goals in the fourth quarter, allowing Chicago to comeback and win. In the loss, Antonio Manfut scored a hat trick with an assist while Joey Tavernese had two goals for Syracuse. Now at 2-4, the Silver Knights return home to the Salt City for a match against the Harrisburg Heat this Friday at the War Memorial. The match is scheduled to start at 7:30pm. It is Ugly Sweater Night, so if you attend, be sure to wear your ugliest sweater. The Syracuse Crunch remained on the East Coast the entire weekend, having games against Hartford, Bridgeport, and Providence. They have been stricken by roster shake-ups as of late which proved to be costly. This included a bothced call-up of Tanner Richard by Tampa Bay and successful call-ups of Erik Condra. On Friday, Hartford and Syracuse had a close battle which would be decided in a shooutout. Despite a regulation goal by Brian Hart, the Crunch would fall to the Wolf Pack 2-1 after a shoout out. Even with the loss, the Crunch picked up a valuable point. Saturday night proved to be anything but boring. The Crunch stormed out to a 3-0 lead after a period with goals from Brian Hart, Yanni Gourde, and Auburn native Jeremy Morin. The second period is where things would get out of control. Bridgeport would get three goals to knot the game at three and the Crunch would retake the lead with a Mike Halmo goal. However, the period would feature a major bench scrum which would end with 169 total penatly minutes between both squads and a goalie fight between Kristers Gudlevskis and Stephon Williams. After all that excitement, a goal from Adam Comrie in the third would seal a 5-3 Crunch victory. Finally, Sunday would feature the Crunch travelling to Rhode Island to face off with the Providence Bruins. Mike Halmo would get the only goal for the Crunch as they would suffer a 3-1 loss to the Baby Bruins. From all three games, the Crunch would get half the avaiable points, three out of six. They are back in action Wednesday night, hosting the Hartfrod Wolf Pack at the War Memorial at 7pm. Like the Knights, it is also Ugly Sweater night. So, you have two chances to proudly wear your best ugly sweater. Saturday night was busy for Syracuse sports. In the Salt City, the Crunch had their hands full, facing off with their arch rivals, the Utica Comets. Coming off a 4-2 win over Albany Friday night, the Crunch were looking to continue their winning ways and stronghold of the AHL North Division. Even with goals from Henri Ikonen, Ben Thomas, and Matt Taormina, Utica was able to force overtime with regulation ended with a 3-3 tie. After overtime failed to produce a winner, the teams went to a shootout. The Crunch, who have had a mixed history in shootouts, found goals from Corey Conacher and Tanner Richard to pick up a 2-1 shootout win and a 4-3 victory over Utica. With the win, Kristers Gudlevskis made 31 saves. Concerning the Galaxy Cup, the teams are tied with 2 wins a piece with the total goals tied at 11. Utica would own the tie breaker based on they own a win in Syracuse. However, with their .696 winning percentage, the Crunch continue to hold a commanding lead in the North Division. They have a three game road trip next weekend, travelling to Hartford Friday, Bridgeport Saturday, and Providence on Sunday. Meanwhile, it was a different script for the Syracuse Silver Knights down in Harrisburg. Trying to stop a two game skid, the Knights were looking to pick up a crucial East Division win against the Heat. A close game the entire 60 minutes, Joey Tavernese put Syracuse on his back, scoring a game high 5 goals. In the end, Harrisburg would hold on and beat the Knights 10-8, extending the Syracuse losing streak to 3 games. The Heat had an answer to every Knights' goal, several coming only seconds after Syracuse tallies. The Knights' defense struggled once again, allowing both Ricardo Carvalho and Val Teixeria to score hat tricks for the Heat. It is also key to note that the Knight's captain armband was not on Bo Jelovac, but on Joey Tavernese, who played like a leader and captian on a mission. This will definately be a focus of questions from both the media and fans this coming week as the Knights prepare for road matches with Milwaukee and Kansas City. Keep with The Fair Cuse Sports Report for the latest news on both the Crunch and the Silver Knights. |
Nicholas Episcopo
Broadcasting Graduate Archives
November 2018
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