By Michael Wax
It was a successful week again for the Crunch, as Syracuse picked up back-to-back wins against the Toronto Marlies. The Crunch won 4-3 on Friday, Dec. 1, followed by a 3-1 win on Dec. 2.
Syracuse sits at 12-5-0-2, one point behind the Cleveland Monsters for first in the North Division.
Before we get into what we saw this week, here is some admin:
The Crunch signed G Brandon Halverson to a two-year AHL contract on Wednesday and loaned him back to ECHL Orlando on Thursday. Halverson was originally on a PTO with the Crunch, putting up a 4-1-0 record with a .896 save percentage and 2.99 GAA.
F Jaydon Dureau was reassigned from the Crunch to the Solar Bears Friday.
We had F Félix Robert on the show! Check out our most recent episode of Thunderstruck below, where we discussed Robert's last three years and hockey journey overall.
Here are three things we noticed over this week's games from the Crunch:
Marvelous Mitchell
Forward Mitchell Chaffee has been saving his best in recent weeks and has been rewarded with some big numbers. Against the Marlies, Chaffee put up three goals and four points, each of which was crucial for the Crunch to pick up their wins.
Chaffee's goal in Friday's game came on the power play, and was very reminiscent of some of the quick goals Lightning fans are used to on the power play. After a quick face-off win, defender Jack Thompson shuffled over to his spot at the top of the key before sending a pass to Chaffee, standing in the left circle. Chaffee unleashed a one-timer that found its way into the net for the game-opening goal. It wasn't a tough shot, but it had perfect placement to get the Crunch the lead. Chaffee would also add a secondary assist to Gage Goncalves' 3-0 goal.
In the Saturday performance, Chaffee recorded his second two-goal game of the season and picked up his first game-winning goal of the season. With 1:22 to go, Chaffee found himself in the right circle, took a pass from Goncalves, and sent a one-timer into the back of the net to double Syracuse's lead. With less than four minutes left to go in a one-goal game, Chaffee would add his first shorthanded goal of the year courtesy of a cross-crease pass from Crunch rookie Maxim Groshev.
Chaffee's point totals have been pretty consistent this year, but his play and confidence improve with each passing week. This step in the right direction is a welcome sight after last year's season ended abruptly due to injury.
GGs
Forward Gage Goncalves had another fantastic week, putting up over a point per game and six points in his last three games. Goncalves ended up with the 3-0 goal in Friday's game. Phil Myers did his very best wheeling and dealing to set up the goal, entering the zone and going around from behind the net before finding Goncalves open on the opposite side. Goncalves had an easy shot into an empty cage for the 3-0 lead.
In Saturday's game, Goncalves' poise and passing made all the difference on the first two goals. On each goal, he found an open man in the circle, the 1-0 goal with Goncalves on the left wall and the 2-0 goal with him behind the net.
Stability
Finally, some stable goaltending.
With Matt Tomkins firmly in the picture and Hugo Alnefelt firmly planted as the 1B, the Crunch have their answer in net for the foreseeable future. That plan got off to a great start this past week.
Tomkins took the net for the Friday home game and put together an excellent performance in the Crunch's 4-3 win against the Marlies. Tomkins would stop 28 of 31 shots and make crucial saves throughout different moments of the game. His most significant stop came in the second when he stopped F Alex Steeves on a breakaway.
Alnefelt was even better on Saturday. The 23-year-old stopped 35 of 36 Marlie shots, his year's best performance. The crucial goaltending earned him first star of the game, while Tomkins earned third star of the night on Friday.
It's great to have some stability back in the Crunch's goaltending, and hopefully, the stars will align to where these two can build a great rapport and schedule over the next few weeks to get the Crunch rolling.
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