Drouin nets winner in pro debut

A week after their first matchup against new Northeast Division opponent Springfield, the Syracuse Crunch found themselves in a familiar position, trailing 2-1 to the Falcons.

This time would be different, though.

In his first professional game, Jonathan Drouin scored the game-winning goal in the third period to propel the Crunch to a 3-2 victory at the War Memorial Arena on Friday night.

Drouin took the puck at center ice, raced two Falcons defensemen into the offensive zone and beat Anton Forsberg for the goal, snapping a 2-2 tie with 12:42 left in regulation.

The third overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning was on the ice for all three Crunch goals, finishing the night with a plus-3 rating.

Jonathan Marchessault and Cedric Paquette also scored for the Crunch, who earned their first win of the season.

Dana Tyrell and Domenic Monardo scored for the Falcons.

The Crunch outshot the Falcons, 38-29, and Andrei Vasilevskiy got his first career AHL victory with 27 saves.