Syracuse Crunch

The Entertainer, en fuego.

CT-0
SYR-4

Cedrick "The Entertainer" Desjardins stopped all 29 shots he faced for his second consecutive shutout. Nothing wrong with that.

First Period
SYR Labrie, (11) (Namestnikov, Connolly), 9:11
SYR Johnson, (27) (Palat, Barberio), 14:29 (PP)

Second Period
SYR Johnson, (28) (Barberio, Palat), 18:16 (PP)

Third Period
SYR Wyman, (10) (Palat), 7:34

Desjardins, Tyler Johnson (pictured), and Ondrej Palat were the game's three stars. Johnson currently sits 1 point behind Grover Nyquist of Grand Rapids for the top spot in the league in scoring and Brett Connolly is 4 back of Nyqvist in a tie for 5th in the league. Johnson also leads the league in goals and Palat is tied for 2nd in the league in assists, 2 back of leader Jeff Taffe of Hershey.

After scoring just 2 points in the entire month of January, Mark Barberio has 11 so far in February.

With Springfield getting thumped by Worcester today, Syracuse extends their Eastern Conference lead to 5 points over the Falcons and Senators with the Falcons hold 2 games in hand. Syracuse will go for 8 straight on Tuesday against Rochester.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

By Jeremy Houghtaling

Not even 24 hours after notching his first shutout in a Syracuse Crunch sweater, Cedrick Desjardins was back at it.

The netminder kept his streak going, stopping all 29 shots and leading the Crunch to a 4-0 win over the Connecticut Whale at the Onondaga County War Memorial Sunday afternoon.

"You never expect that," Desjardins said of his back-to-back whitewashes. "Those were two big games for us and teams we don't see a lot. We need to step up against those teams."

By Jeremy Houghtaling

Most first impressions take all of a few seconds.

For the first 13-plus minutes in front of his new home crowd at the Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse Crunch goalie Cedrick Desjardins waited for his opportunity.

When the shots finally came - 26 in total - the New Brunswick native had an answer, notching his first shutout in a Crunch uniform and third of the season in a 3-0 win over the Springfield Falcons Saturday night.

"You want a good first impression at home," Desjardins said. "I don't think it gets better than that."

Beasts of the East.

SPR-0
SYR-3

Cedrick Desjardin (pictured) raised shields for a 26 save shutout.

First Period
NO SCORING

Second Period
NO SCORING

Third Period
SYR Barberio, (8) (Labrie, Connolly), 4:37
SYR Labrie, (10) (Cote, Wyman), 12:35
SYR Brown, (7) (Tyrell, Cote), 19:33 (EN)

Desjardins, Mark Barberio, and Pierre-Cedric Labrie were the game's three stars. J.T. Brown returned from injury and had an empty net goal in his first game back.

Syracuse came into this game 1 point ahead of Springfield for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. This was a battle of titans with a lot on the line, and ultimately Syracuse smoked the Falcons like a fine cigar. Mind you, Springfield netminder Allen York made it interesting, but Syracuse outshot Springfield 46-26 in this game, including 17-8 in the decisive final frame. That was a 1 versus 2 game. Think on that. Then think on the fact that the Crunch have won 6 in a row.

Uh oh, rest of the AHL. Jon Cooper sorted out the post-lockout madness. Jon Cooper has started to tune up the machine again. We've seen this movie before, folks, and we all remember how it ends.

Syracuse draws Connecticut next tomorrow afternoon.

Box score from TheAHL.com.

By Jeremy Houghtaling

Dana Tyrell believes it was a bit of hockey karma.

His team trailing 3-2 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation, the Syracuse Crunch forward caught a break. The puck bounced behind the net, and despite many of the Toronto Marlies looking for the puck in the corner, Tyrell found it on his stick.

"I think it went up my pants. To be honest, I'm not really sure what happened," Tyrell said. "I was forechecking the puck down - hunting it down - and it bounced up somewhere. I think it got caught up in my gear somewhere. As I was coming around the net, it dropped down in front of me and I had an open net.

"If we work hard as a team, we're going to get bounces like that," he added.

Tyrell's goal sent the game to overtime and the Crunch completed the comeback in the shootout, topping the Marlies 4-3 at the Onondaga County War Memorial Wednesday night. Syracuse has shrugged its slump that lasted from late January into early February, winning its last five games.