Syracuse, NY — The Syracuse Crunch are in the Calder Cup Playoffs for a sixth-consecutive season, starting a best-of-five series against the Rochester Americans on Friday night at Blue Cross Arena.
That kind of consistency deserves a stick tap.
On the other hand, the last thing the Crunch needs is more of the same as its last three trips to the postseason have been brief and painful.
The opening-round hex started in 2019 when the Crunch were eliminated by Cleveland in four games by a Monsters squad that finished 18 points behind Syracuse in the standings.
After the pandemic took out the 2020 and 2021 playoffs, the Crunch exited the postseason as quickly as it returned in 2022, a 3-2 loss in overtime to the Laval Rocket, which sent Syracuse packing in five games.
Last season, the Crunch blew a 2-0 series lead and were eliminated by the Americans in five games. Rochester became just the 12th team in AHL history to win a best-of-five playoff series after losing the first two games.
Syracuse made the playoffs in every season (aside from the two Covid cancellations) under former coach Ben Groulx. The Crunch finished either first or second in the AHL’s North Division in those playoff runs and reached the Calder Cup Finals in 2017, but flamed out early in every other appearance.
So what’s different? What can get the Crunch out of the playoff mud?
Syracuse coach Joel Bouchard is leaning on an old cliche in order for his team to establish a mentality to go further into the playoffs.
“A really smart former coach of mine said take care of today. In the playoffs, take care of today,” Bouchard said. “What does today bring? Challenge the guys in practice to see what they can do today.”
Syracuse’s best-of-five series with Rochester will mark the first time the Crunch have opened a playoff series as a lower seed on the road since the 2018 North Division Finals vs. Toronto. That was also the last time Syracuse lasted more than one round in the AHL postseason.
Syracuse was 5-0-1 at Rochester this season.
This will be the sixth playoff series between the Thruway rivals. The Americans have won four of those series (1996, 1997, 2004, 2023) while the Crunch have taken just one (2018).
Syracuse stumbled down the stretch, losing five of six games heading into the postseason and letting the North Division title slip out of its hands, finishing third in a tight race with 87 points. Cleveland and Rochester had 88.
The most important ingredient of a long playoff run is solid goaltending, and Syracuse’s situation in net is unstable.
Goalie Matt Tomkins is up with the Lightning, leaving a combination of Hugo Alnefelt and recent ECHL call-up Brandon Halverson to carry the load.
Bouchard declined to name his starter for Game 1, but Halverson saw more time in net down the stretch than Alnefelt.
Alnefelt has prior Calder Cup Playoff experience for the Crunch but has struggled this season with a .893 save percentage in net.
Rochester counters with Devon Levi, who ranks second in the AHL with a .927 save percentage and has won 16 games since being sent down by the Buffalo Sabres.
Making the situation more tenuous is Syracuse’s lack of experience on the defensive end with Phil Myers (plus-31) qualifying as the lone veteran.
The Lightning dented Syracuse’s defense a bit more when it recalled defenseman Max Crozier, who had a team-leading 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 10 games since March 22, four off the AHL lead in that span.
Rochester’s offense features plenty of speed and three players that topped 20 goals in centers Jiri Kulich (27) and Mason Jobst (22) along with forward Isak Rosén (20).
The Crunch offense is led by center Gage Gonclaves, who finished fifth in the AHL with 45 assists. Syracuse’s second-leading scorer Cole Koepke (20 goals, 19 assists) was skating at practice on Wednesday and is expected to be back in the lineup for Game 1 at Rochester after missing time toward the end of the season with a lower-body injury.
Syracuse will also have veteran forward Alex Barré-Boulet at his disposal again in the postseason, sent down from Tampa Bay in late February.
Barré-Boulet was a rookie when the Crunch’s string of early playoff exits began against Cleveland in 2019.
Barré-Boulet is now, as he put it this week “one of the old guys in the room,” and the first Crunch player to record at least 300 points with the franchise.
He thinks this Crunch team has the elements to take it past its opening round.
“We weren’t missing much the last two years,” Barré-Boulet said. “Both were game five overtime goals. It could have gone one way or the other. It’s up to us to learn from that and play harder from the get go. Last year we had a lead, blew it when we got to Rochester.
“It’s got to be payback this year.”
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Syracuse Crunch-Rochester Americans Playoff Schedule:
Game 1: Friday, April 26 at Rochester | 7:05 pm
Game 2: Saturday, April 28 at Rochester | 3:05 pm
Game 3: Thursday, May 2 vs. Rochester | 7 pm
*Game 4: Saturday, May 4 vs. Rochester | 7 pm
*Game 5: Friday, May 10 at Rochester | 7:05 pm
*If necessary
Contact Brent Axe: Email | X | Voicemail 315-552-1964
