The Syracuse Crunch’s first look at the Rochester Americans this season went sideways in a hurry.
Rochester rolled to a 7-1 win at Blue Cross Arena on Friday night, handing Syracuse a rough result in the opening game of the 12-game season series. The Crunch are now 1-2-0-0 and will try to reset quickly with their Home Opener set for tomorrow night.
Syracuse’s lone bright spot came from Furry, who scored his first goal of the season. Jarred Tinordi and Dylan Duke picked up the assists on the play, which gave the Crunch a brief answer after Rochester had already built a cushion.
The Amerks controlled the special teams battle, too. Syracuse went 0-for-4 on the power play, while Rochester cashed in three times on seven chances.
Olivier Rodrigue started in net for the Crunch and stopped 13 of 19 shots before Mads Sogaard took over to begin the third period. Sogaard finished by turning aside 10 of 11. At the other end, Matthew Villalta allowed one goal on 24 shots.
Rochester got moving late in the first period. On the opening goal, Rodrigue made the initial save on Riley Fiddler-Schultz’s shot from the left side, but the rebound bounced out for Matteo Constantini to chip in at 17:12. Not long after, Constantini turned distributor and fed Carson Meyer for a slot chance that made it 2-0.
The middle period brought more of the same. Jason Polin tipped in a Conor Sheary pass on the power play just 28 seconds in to push the lead to 3-0. Syracuse answered at 5:54 when Villalta blocked Tinordi’s first try, only to leave the rebound for Furry to bury into an open net.
That was as close as the Crunch would get.
Rochester added three more before the second intermission. Sheary created another one by forcing a turnover and setting up Red Savage for a wrister from the top of the left circle at 8:45. Later in the period, Polin tipped in a shot from Matthew Peca, and Aidan McDonough scored from the right circle at 15:46 for back-to-back power-play goals.
Trevor Kuntar closed the scoring late in the third when he finished off a rebound chance to make it 7-1.
The Crunch head back to Syracuse to host the Belleville Senators tomorrow in the 33rd Home Opener presented by Upstate University Hospital.
Zach Uens and Jansen Harkins both made their Crunch debuts in the game, and Syracuse and Rochester will see each other 12 times this season.
In Other News...
Lightning Just Sent Dominic James On An Important Next Step
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James has not appeared for the Lightning this season after sustaining a hand fracture during offseason training, so the emphasis now shifts from recovery to repetition. Because he is exempt from waivers, Tampa Bay can manage the assignment more easily while the organization works to help him rebuild his form with the Crunch. [Read more 🡒]
Lightning Newcomers Are Already Changing What This Team Can Be
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John Carlson and Dennis Hildeby both fit into that picture in different ways. Carlson gave the Lightning an important lift on the power play, while Hildeby steadied things in his first game with Tampa Bay with 34 saves, the sort of debut that can buy a team time when the schedule is moving fast. With injuries stacking up around the league and scoring trending upward in the seasons opening stretch, the Lightning are already learning what their newest pieces can add. [Read more 🡒]
Stars Close The Book On A Recent Roster Move With Dumba Done
The recent chapter involving Mathew Dumba has come to an end, with the veteran defensemans time around the league now turning into a career retrospective. Drafted seventh overall by Minnesota in 2012, Dumba logged 13 NHL seasons across Minnesota, Arizona, Tampa Bay, Dallas and Pittsburgh, building a rsum that included 85 goals and 261 points in 748 games. For Lightning fans, he was one of the more notable deadline additions in a stretch where Tampa Bay was still trying to balance present-day depth with longer-term uncertainty on the blue line.
Dumbas path through the league wound through several contenders and rebuilds, and his brief stop in Tampa Bay fit the kind of all-in roster churn that often defines the trade deadline. The move gave the Lightning a veteran option for the stretch run, even if his time in Tampa was part of a much larger career that has now been formally closed by the NHLPA confirmation of his retirement. [Read more 🡒]