Calder Cup Finals (Grand Rapids leads, 3-1)
Game 5: (E3) Syracuse Crunch vs. (W3) Grand Rapids Griffins
7 p.m. at Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Syracuse kept it's season alive with a 3-2 win Friday in Grand Rapids, the first Calder Cup FInals win in franchise history. Trailing the series three games to none, Syracuse avoided the sweep thanks in part to goals from
Brett Connolly,
Ondrej Palat and
Richard Panik and a stell performance from goalie
Cedrick Desjardins who stopped 26 of 28 Griffins shots. Syracuse trailed 1-0 and 2-1 in the first period, but scored the only two tallies of the second, and the 3-2 score after two frames stood up as the final. Griffins fans celebrated an apparent game-tying goal with 17 seconds left in the contest when the goal light flashed and horn sounded, but the officials confirmed the on-ice call of 'no goal' using video replay. The Crunch were outshot in teh game 28-24, and both sides were unable to convert on the power play, as Syracuse was 0-for-6 and Grand Rapids was 0-for-5.
For aditional coverage of the Calder Cup Finals, visit The AHL's
preview.
Coverage
Time Warner Cable Sports Channel broadcasts tonight's game live at 7 p.m. (Ch. 19, HD 813). Online video is available for free on
AHL Live for every game of the Calder Cup Finals. Register for free access by using the promo code CALDER2013. Listen to live play-by-play on
The Score 1260 and
iHeartRadio with pregame coverage starting at 6:45 p.m. For in-game updates on Twitter, follow
@SyracuseCrunch and broadcaster
@Dan_Duva. For post-game recap, visit
SyracuseCrunch.com and join the conversation on
Facebook.
Griffins Scouting Report
Right wing Jan Mursak and center Joakim Andersson potted the goals for the Griffins in Game 4. Mursak has 17 postseason points (11g, 6a), second on the Grand Rapids roster to left wing Tomas Tatar (13g-5a-18pts). Andersson's goal Friday was his second of the playoffs after 43 regular season games of NHL experience over the last wo seasons. He had eight points (3g, 5a) in 38 games with Detroit this season, along with five points in 14 Stanley Cup playoff games.Riley Sheahan had three assists in Game 2 and now has 15 points (3g, 12a) in the playoffs. Gustav Nyquist rejoined the Griffins after a playoff stint with the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. He has four points in eight playoff games with the Griffins, but took a spearing major and game misconduct Friday and missed the second half of the game.
In goal, Petr Mrazek has played in all 22 games for the Griffins, posting an 14-8 record with a 2.24 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. The rookie has four shutouts, including a pair in the Western Conference Final against the Barons. No other goaltender in Griffins history has more than one shutout in the playoffs.
Crunch Scouting Report
Richard Panik potted two points Friday, an assist on
Ondrej Palat's game-tying goal, plus the game-winner later in the second period. Panik has goals in three straight games and is tied with
J.P. Cote (1g, 3a) for most points on the Crunch roster during the Calder Cup Finals. Cote and
Matt Taormina are tied for the AHL postseason lead with plus-16.
Brett Connolly scored a goal in Friday's game, an unassisted tally on a first-period breakaway. Connolly now has 10 points (5g, 5a) in the Calder Cup playoffs.
Cedrick Desjardins improved to 12-4 with the win Friday, and made kep pad saves during a Griffins power play. His goals-against average in the playoffs is 2.27.
Crunch defenseman
Radko Gudas, who has missed the last four games becuase of a leg injury in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final, suited up for morning skate and will be a game-time decision for coach
Rob Zettler. Gudas led the AHL with a plus-32 during the regular season, and has two goals and one assist in 11 postseason games.
