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Game Notes: 2/23/08 v. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Crunch Send Penguins Home Waddling
Syracuse, NY (February 23, 2008) - The smallest guy in the room came up big and the guy with the biggest heart came up even bigger as the Syracuse Crunch Captain scored late in the third period and Karl Goehring made 21 saves in a 1-0 shutout of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Saturday at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
The pint-sized goalie wearing his Penguins pads kept Syracuse in the game in the first period when the Crunch had a bit of penalty trouble turning aside 13 shots. The former Penguin kept it going in the second and third stopping eight more offerings by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Syracuse bottled up the Pens during the latter two periods and made very few errors waiting for the opportunity to figure out Marc-Andre Fleury, who was in the nets for the Pens in his last rehab start before returning to Pittsburgh.
That opportunity came with six minutes left in the third. Adam Pineault kept the puck moving through the neutral zone and passed ahead to Joakim Lindstrom along the left half-boards. Lindstrom kept ahead of his check and as they came out from behind the net, Lindstrom found Konopka cruising down the slot. The pass was perfect and Konopka labeled his shot for the far top corner to Fleury's stick side.
The teams will do it all over again Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre.
3 Stars--No. 1, Konopka, No. 2 Dan Smith, No. 3 Goehring.
They Said It--"The most frustrating day of my life in Syracuse was (Friday). Everything went wrong. We didn't come to play but now fro everyone to come together was just great. (Adam) Pineault made a great play through the neutral zone to keep possession and gets it to Lindstrom who gets step on his guy which draws another guy to him. I was cruising down the slot and tried to get it up as quick as possible because I knew (Marc-Andre) Fleury is good down low. Lucky for us it found the back of the net. It would have been devastating for us to play as hard as we did and not get anything for it. The win really energizes everyone and we can't wait for Wednesday (A rematch with the Penguins at Wilkes-Barre)." Captain Zenon Konopka on the game and the winning goal.
"It was huge for us (to come out strong defensively). It was a huge shot in the arm. It proved we can play 60 minutes of hard defensive hockey and come out with a win. Tonight it was all about playing a strong defense and take care of our own end. When an opportunity showed itself we tried to take advantage of them." Clay Wilson's post-game thoughts.
"It was a total team effort. Dan Smith was huge with his blocked shots. he sacrificed his body especially in the first period during a 5-on-3. It was exciting to be a part of the win. I was happy to help contribute any way I could. We took a lot of penalties in the first period but in the second we stayed more disciplined. We focused on our game and it helped us stay clam and then it helped us on our forecheck. We talked about (Friday's loss) during the day and we made some changes and adjustments and it definitely showed tonight." Karl Goerhing's post-game thoughts.
The pint-sized goalie wearing his Penguins pads kept Syracuse in the game in the first period when the Crunch had a bit of penalty trouble turning aside 13 shots. The former Penguin kept it going in the second and third stopping eight more offerings by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Syracuse bottled up the Pens during the latter two periods and made very few errors waiting for the opportunity to figure out Marc-Andre Fleury, who was in the nets for the Pens in his last rehab start before returning to Pittsburgh.
That opportunity came with six minutes left in the third. Adam Pineault kept the puck moving through the neutral zone and passed ahead to Joakim Lindstrom along the left half-boards. Lindstrom kept ahead of his check and as they came out from behind the net, Lindstrom found Konopka cruising down the slot. The pass was perfect and Konopka labeled his shot for the far top corner to Fleury's stick side.
The teams will do it all over again Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre.
3 Stars--No. 1, Konopka, No. 2 Dan Smith, No. 3 Goehring.
They Said It--"The most frustrating day of my life in Syracuse was (Friday). Everything went wrong. We didn't come to play but now fro everyone to come together was just great. (Adam) Pineault made a great play through the neutral zone to keep possession and gets it to Lindstrom who gets step on his guy which draws another guy to him. I was cruising down the slot and tried to get it up as quick as possible because I knew (Marc-Andre) Fleury is good down low. Lucky for us it found the back of the net. It would have been devastating for us to play as hard as we did and not get anything for it. The win really energizes everyone and we can't wait for Wednesday (A rematch with the Penguins at Wilkes-Barre)." Captain Zenon Konopka on the game and the winning goal.
"It was huge for us (to come out strong defensively). It was a huge shot in the arm. It proved we can play 60 minutes of hard defensive hockey and come out with a win. Tonight it was all about playing a strong defense and take care of our own end. When an opportunity showed itself we tried to take advantage of them." Clay Wilson's post-game thoughts.
"It was a total team effort. Dan Smith was huge with his blocked shots. he sacrificed his body especially in the first period during a 5-on-3. It was exciting to be a part of the win. I was happy to help contribute any way I could. We took a lot of penalties in the first period but in the second we stayed more disciplined. We focused on our game and it helped us stay clam and then it helped us on our forecheck. We talked about (Friday's loss) during the day and we made some changes and adjustments and it definitely showed tonight." Karl Goerhing's post-game thoughts.