Crunch sweep away Amerks, advance to round two

Photo: Micheline Veluvolu/ Rochester Americans

The Syracuse Crunch moved another step closer to defending their Eastern Conference championship, completing a three-game sweep of the Rochester Americans with a 6-3 win on Wednesday night.

The Crunch became the first AHL team in 30 years to score at least six goals in three consecutive playoff games, a feat last accomplished by the 1988 Hershey Bears. They will play either Toronto or Utica in the North Division Finals.

Matthew Peca and Mitchell Stephens led the Syracuse offense with a goal and two assists each in Game 3. Peca finished with eight points in the three games vs. Rochester.

Mathieu Joseph and Alexander Volkov had a goal and an assist each, and Cal Foote and Olivier Archambault scored 19 seconds apart in the second period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.

https://twitter.com/SyracuseCrunch/status/989300781051449345

Connor Ingram made 33 saves for the Crunch in his playoff debut.

Zach Redmond, Justin Bailey and Daniel O’Regan scored for the Amerks, who have now lost seven consecutive playoff series since last reaching the second round in 2005.

North Division Semifinals – Series “D” (best-of-5)
N2-Syracuse Crunch vs. N3-Rochester Americans
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 20 – SYRACUSE 6, Rochester 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 21 – SYRACUSE 6, Rochester 5 | Recap
Game 3 – Wed., Apr. 25 – Syracuse 6, ROCHESTER 3